Today’s guest is Evelin Andrade, founder of Ir Al Sol Swimwear. She shares her story of growing up in Queens, New York, with immigrant Colombian parents. Starting at the age of eight, she and her sisters would spend the summers in Colombia. Evelin shares the first culture shocks she experienced during the summers in Colombia and the great memories of playing soccer in the rain.
Evelin’s Upbringing in Queens
Evelin shares that her parents immigrated to the US from Colombia in the mid-70s. Although they were immigrants, she never considered them immigrants until she got older – when she and her sister would bring homework, her parents had them translate it, and they would watch Sesame Street.
Living in Queens, New York, Evelin was surrounded by a vibrant Colombian community, a place where she felt a strong sense of belonging. Her parents, like many others, were immigrants trying to integrate into American culture, for example, by having straightened hair. Evelin says she doesn’t remember having curly hair growing up.
Evelin’s father worked for an airline, so she and her sister would spend summers in Colombia.
Summer’s in Colombia
Although they lived in the United States, Evelin’s parents were determined to pass on their Colombian heritage to their children. They taught them about Colombia’s Independence Day, July 20th, and the significance of the flag. They encouraged them to speak Spanish, and the summers in Colombia were a crucial part of this cultural education.
Evelin says going to Colombia for the first time at eight years old was a culture shock. She remembers getting milk from the goats in the backyard, hearing the rooster crow at dawn, and getting fresh fish from the sea and bringing it home for her grandma to cook.
Her first year visiting, they went during Carnival. Barranquilla has a Carnival at the beginning of February, the four days leading up to Lent. The Carnival in Barranquilla is the second-largest carnival in South America after Rio de Janeiro’s. And every year after that, she would visit with her sister during the summers.
Why Evelin Start Ir Al Sol Swimwear
Evelin shares that the inspiration for the swimwear line came from her own struggles of finding swimsuits that would fit her body. She says she was a late bloomer so in high school she would actually have to buy children’s tops and then large swimsuit bottoms – so essentially they were two different swimsuits she had to make into one.
Evelin learned how to sew with her paternal grandmother who lived with them briefly in New York. She would sit on her grandmothers lap to hold the fabric as her grandmother sew. When her father remarried – her stepmom was a seamstress in Colombia. She was also a widow, just like Evelin at the time, so when they met they had that in common and clicked. Evelin’s husband told her she should start her business and her stepmom helps her with the sewing of the swimsuits.
After about 13 years of Evelin’s husband telling her to do this – because she was making swimsuits for herself, she finally took the leap and launched Ir Al Sol!
Listen Now
Listen to Evelin’s incredible journey right now on The American Dream in The Eyes of Immigrants Podcast.
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