Adriana Contreras styles the hair of stylist Cecilia Trejo in Adriana’s Salon & Blowdry Bar in Coralville. Contreras was born in Mexico and raised in Chicago before moving to Iowa.
By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
Adriana Contreras steps away from the counter of her elegant beauty salon, Adriana’s Salon & Blowdry Bar in Coralville — one of two salons that she owns — to begin an interview with The Catholic Messenger. She greets her interviewer with a warm smile and a trace of concern. One of her five kids forgot a musical instrument at home and she needs to pick it up and take it to school. Gratitude replaces concern. As a child immigrant growing up in the Chicago area, she did not have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities such as band or dance.
Now in her early 40s, the successful business owner manages to balance family, career and extensive parish ministry at St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City. The support she receives from her mother, husband and extended family members is a blessing that allows her to thrive.
Born in Mexico in 1983, Adriana moved to Chicago in 1988 with her parents, two sisters and a brother. Before the move, “My dad was always a migrant worker. He would come up to the United States every year to work.” He was gone for months at a time. One year, when Adriana’s sister Lourdes was a baby, their mother gave their father an ultimatum. The whole family moved to Chicago with him.
Adriana’s memories as a 5-year-old immigrant are limited but one stands out: “My teacher was talking to me and I was looking right at her. I could not understand what she was saying,” recalls Adriana, who spoke only Spanish at that time. She doesn’t remember her teacher’s reaction, but Adriana did learn English and to adapt to life in the United States.
Her dad, Alfredo, allowed his children to try new activities as he watched them adapt and thrive. “My dad gave freedom to my oldest siblings, freedom in the sense of listening to them. He would be open to our ideas, our wants.”
Career beginnings
One of Adriana’s “wants” was to visit her family’s hometown, Guadalajara, Mexico, and work for a year in a salon. “I had already gotten my cosmetologist license and I wanted to work down there. “I was raised here and I was born there … I felt like I was going to open a salon one day and I was going to cater to Latino people,” she explained. Gaining expertise in ethnic hair care was essential to her goal.
During that extended visit, Adriana met her future husband, Rogelio. They continued to date — long distance — after she returned to the United States. Eventually, Rogelio immigrated to California at the invitation of his family members there. Later, he moved to Iowa to work in the mechanic shop that Adriana’s brother owned. Her family had moved from Chicago to Iowa.
Adriana opened her first salon in Ainsworth, Iowa at age 21, with the support of her parents, and continued dating Rogelio. “My parents didn’t want us getting married too young,” she explained, recalling with a smile how her future husband said, “I think we should listen to your dad, he’s an adult.”
The couple married in 2009 and a year later welcomed the first of their five children into the world. Today, their firstborn child, Rogelio, is 15. The other children are Sofia, 14; Aurora, 12; Alonso, 11; and Victoria, 9.
Now the owner of two successful businesses, the one in Coralville and Adriana’s Salon and Boutique in Iowa City, Adriana also works as a business coach for Action Coach in Iowa City. She welcomes clients of diverse cultures to the salons but markets specifically to the Hispanic community. “I have marketed that way for a long time. I feel like we’re known throughout this region,” she said of her salons. Clients come from the Iowa City region, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids, Fairfield, Mount Pleasant and Sigourney.
Adriana Contreras poses with her family.
Faith is first
In addition to her family and career responsibilities, Adriana serves as parish council president, teaches Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) in Spanish and serves on the parish’s Hispanic Committee and God’s Helping Hands Committee. “I love it!” she says of her parish ministries. “She and her husband are also sponsor couples,” Pastor Father Troy Richmond says. “She does so much for our parish. I think she serves as a bridge between the Hispanic community and the rest of our community in the parish.”
“The entire family is actively involved in so many ministries in our parish,” Father Richmond said. “Their faith is certainly a family affair.” Adriana’s husband Rogelio is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the two oldest children are lectors, and all five are altar servers, said Deacon Angel Hernandez, their uncle, who also serves St. Patrick Parish.
“I am so, so appreciative of their generosity — not just in treasure, but in their presence, in their sense of community, and in how involved they are,” Deacon Hernandez said. “Everyone knows who the Contreras family is because of how present they are in parish life. They are truly a blessing.”
Adriana’s successful, busy life comes with challenges. “I’m still a mother of five kids and I still want to try as much as I can to be like my mom,” Adriana said. When Sophia was 3 years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Baby Alonzo was just 5 months old and Rogelio was 4 years old. Still, Adriana felt blessed. Her mother Otilia was living with the family and able to help take care of the children.
“My mom was always there to help me; she had just moved in to help us,” Adriana recalled. Sophia survived leukemia and has been cancer-free for seven years. Another blessing? Adriana’s youngest sister, Lourdes Hernandez, the wife of Deacon Hernandez, had been working for Adriana’s Salon since she was 18. “She’s my right hand,” Adriana said. “She kept my salon going.”
Adriana said her faith keeps her going. “Faith is my number 1 in my life. Sometimes we have to go through difficult things but when we have our faith, I feel like Jesus is taking you by the hand.” She cherishes the religious traditions of her native land, especially during Holy Week and the weeks leading up to Christmas, including Las Posadas and Our Lady of Guadalupe. “We’re big on posadas (which reenacts the story of Mary and Joseph’s arduous search for shelter as they journeyed to Bethlehem) and we’re big on the rosary.” Her family also enjoys a Lenten tradition involving Mexican bread pudding, which her mom makes.
Empathy and reality
At home, Adriana and her husband speak Spanish to their children because “I don’t want them to forget Spanish.” The kids, who attend Regina Catholic Education Center in Iowa City, “learned prayers in English. My brain doesn’t pray in English,” Adriana confessed, “so I had to learn to pray the rosary in English.”
Reflecting on her personal journey, Adriana said, she understands why people “want to go to a different country to make a better life.” Her parents brought their family to this country for a better life.
