On July 13, 2018, Gloria Chavira of the Wilkinson Public Library, interviewed Marlen Olivas Romero about her life, thus far, in Telluride, Colorado. Here is a summary of this interview:
Marlen is from Mexico and moved to Telluride in 2003 with her ex-husband and her daughter. Marlen decided to stay in Telluride, after her ex-husband moved away, because she wanted to raise her daughter in a beautiful place. She has enjoyed her careers, here, and really likes the community.
The biggest difference that Marlen notes, in Telluride, since her move in 2003, is that there were a lot fewer people in 2003 and fewer tourists. Telluride used to be much quieter.
Marlen enjoys the quality of life in Telluride and likes the people here.
Marlen mentions some challenges of the immigrant community to be affordable health care and housing. She also discusses the low pay that many immigrants get, compared to the high cost of living in Telluride.
She does believe she has faced discrimination, mainly from her housekeeping career in Telluride.
Finally, Marlen does not believe that immigrants contribute to the culture in Telluride, because the community of Telluride does not allow them to. But she is positive about the future of immigrants because of the organizations that support them.
