Chassidy Davis

Arms spread, Senior Isabel Silva holds a Venezuelan flag representing her home country. Silva moved to the United States in 2018.

Texas High holds a large ratio of Hispanic students, most of them coming from Mexican backgrounds. Isabel Silva Cedeno, a senior at Texas High, comes from a Venezuelan background and stands out among the Hispanic community at school. 

Silva was born in the city of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, just five hours from the country’s capital, Caracas. As a little girl, she enjoyed being with her family and going on trips.

“My earliest memories were going to the beach like every break,” Silva said. “We would have Christmas and spring break and during the summer every time because it would be the same weather all the time over there.”

At a young age, Silva had to witness the downfall of her country.

 “The prices were really high and people wouldn’t get paid enough so that was a struggle. You just didn’t make enough money to get the food or the resources you needed to just live a normal life,” Silva said. “I remember there [would] be really long lines, and sometimes you would make it to the line, and there wouldn’t be any more food left because of the food shortage.” 

With the rise of Nicolas Maduro in the presidential office in 2013, the people of Venezuela started to protest against the country’s corruption. 

“I think it was around 2014 when there would be a lot of protests,” Silva said. “The military, which came to end the protests, would just start bombing.” 

Due to the inflation in Venezuela getting worse as the years passed during Maduro’s term and the crime rate being excessively high, Silva’s family finally decided to make a change.

“My parents told me that we were moving in December of 2017, and we left in February of the following year,” Silva said. “I had time to say goodbye to all my friends and my family and I feel like at first it didn’t settle in my head [that] I’m moving to another country.”

With a limited knowledge of english, Silva found it hard to learn when she first arrived in the United States. Silva quickly learned the language, made several friends and found passions like cooking and singing.

One of her closest friends, senior Kenya Torres, has known Silva since middle school, but did not have a strong bond until freshman year. 

“It must’ve been really hard for her because I know that she still has family and friends over there,” Torres said. “She had to leave everything behind and come over here for a better life and better opportunities, but I’m glad she did because she’s one of the best human beings I’ve met.”

Since Silva came to the United States, she follows passions that continued or that she could have never done in Venezuela, due to its lack of financial support. Silva involves herself in several activities at Texas High such as choir, culinary arts and Multicultural club.

Math teacher Alejandra Hernandez, is the sponsor for Multicultural club as sees the dedication from Silva since she entered the club.

“She is very willing to help anybody and if I ask her to do something, she does it with a good attitude,” Hernandez said. “She adds more diversity to the club and her ideas that bring to the table just kind of gives it a different perspective makes us want to be more open.”

With this being Silva’s last year in Texas High before graduation, she has given everything that she could to this campus.

“Since my parents made us move for our future, I want to go to college, try to get scholarships to go to college and maybe get a degree in business to then have my own Venezuelan restaurant,” Silva said. “Thats my goal, to represent my country.”

Despite living far away from home, Silva knows the roots that she carries and the journey that she made to have a better life.

“I’m proud of being Venezuelan, I’m proud of my story, I’m proud of saying where I come from, and not many people come from that,” Silva said. “I’m proud that even though I went through that, my parents pushed through it and I pushed through it, my whole family pushed through it and now we’re here and we’re doing good. I’m proud of my story.”