Sasha Stroman Malaret she knew as a child that her mother was someone special.
A trip to the supermarket or to the stores always included that someone totally strange greeted her warmly and, in many occasions, even asked to take a photo with her.
After all, her mom possessed, as she describes, “exuberant beauty.” Then she understood the concept of her parent being the first Miss Universe of Puerto Rico, a matter that was not a topic of conversation in the house, but had to be assumed when crossing the threshold of the home towards the street.
Sasha assures, however, that although the public has admired her mother for these past five decades, Marisol Malaret, for its beauty, elegance, projection before the cameras and business successes, in its case the love and the great admiration you feel for it is born from the wisdom and inner strength that it possesses, and which constitute an example that ensures, although difficult to emulate, it serves as a north, now as a mother and professional.
“For me, mommy has always been an example to follow, my north in terms of hard work, responsibility, how good a friend and counselor she is. It is so brilliant that sometimes I wonder ‘what topic will she not know about? If people knew how wise he is; she is an inexhaustible source of knowledge. She is a queen of life! I grew up seeing her as the businesswoman, the magazine editor. She is strict, but fair and down to earth. I think of all that she has accomplished in her life coming from a humble background where she did not have so many opportunities. Thanks to her I feel that I come from a lineage of strong and fighting women, women who stand on their own feet and get what they want by working hard. She saw it from her aunt who was her foster mom, instilled it in me and I hope to pass that legacy on to my daughter, Luna, ”explains Sasha, who has an upward career as a screenwriter in Hollywood.
“If I have moved forward in this highly competitive world, it is because of what I learned from the example of mommy” adds Stroman Malaret, who was part of the writing team for the popular animated series “American Dad”as well as “East Los High” and more recently from the sitcom “The Baker and the Beauty”, of the chain ABC.
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Thanks to her I feel that I come from a lineage of strong and fighting women, women who stand on their own feet and get what they want by working hard.
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“She supported me in this dream, this goal and unfortunately, now with the coronavirus pandemic, we are very far physically, because we talk to each other up to three times a day. It makes me sad because she really enjoys being a grandmother and because we have always been very close. ”
About his career abounds. “Staying as a ‘working writer’ in Hollywood is difficult and if I have succeeded it is because of that work ethic that she instilled in me. At Marisol Malaret’s house you had to work and even if it was summer it was not to get up late and do nothing. That mindset has helped me excel in an industry that is highly competitive, where you can’t rest on your laurels. So forget about film school, this has been Marisol Malaret’s school ”.
Among the anecdotes that the screenwriter treasures about her upbringing was when, at 16, she asked her mother to send her to a summer camp outside the island, just as her friends were going to do. Instead of this: “One morning we went to Plaza Las Américas and Mami left me in the parking lot and told me: ‘When I come to pick you up in the afternoon you have to have gotten a job at a store for the summer'”.
But growing up being the daughter of a public figure and, in this case, of a Miss Universe, may have her less sweet side.
“Growing up being ‘Marisol’s daughter’ in Puerto Rico was not easy. My mom is a woman show and people sometimes said things that were not pleasant. It was strong for me, especially in adolescence, at that stage of life, to feel that I did not measure up in terms of beauty, public projection or achievements; and she had that wisdom, she made me feel that I was the most important person in her life and that I have better qualities than she; She showed me my strengths so that I would not listen to the voices that tried to compare me to her. She gave me all the tools to value myself and to understand that I could go where I wanted to go. It’s funny, because contests and beauty were not a topic of conversation at home, that was not important. “
In this way, says Sasha, she understood that it was the human qualities of her mother that would guide her.
“She is a leader, she is a worker, she is a good counselor, those who know her can attest to that. There are people who call her to consult important decisions in her life ”.
For this reason, in a country that tends to forget its history and its characters so easily, Sasha is a source of pride and joy in the expressions of affection of people towards her mother.
“I attest that people love her and that fills me with so much pride. Since I can remember, people stop her to greet her and take a photo with her. In that sense, I have been her photographer all my life, ”he says between laughs. “And it is nice to see the ladies stop her and say to their daughters and granddaughters: ‘Look, that’s what started it all with her.'”
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