When Linda Bautista Jimenez arrived in New York in 1972, she was young, pregnant and had only $450 to her name.
She had left the Philippines with no guarantee of work, housing or stability. But she also carried a determination shaped by the family she hoped to help: her mother, Berta, and her two sisters.
Jimenez was 9 when her father left the family. Her mother supported three daughters by buying and selling whatever she could and taking small jobs to keep food on the table.
In early 1972, an unexpected opening came when her friend and co-worker, Tita, asked her to travel with her to New York. Jimenez, then in her early 20s, saw the opportunity as a possible route out of poverty.
“I was excited and fearful at the same time,” Jimenez told TOFA NEWS. “But I had to suppress my fear because my mother and sisters were relying on me. I had to find a way out of poverty.”
Her first months in New York were difficult. While pregnant and living in Queens, Jimenez unexpectedly lost her place to stay. She was crying near an elevator when a Filipino couple noticed her and asked what was wrong.
The couple took her into their apartment and used an aparador, or wardrobe, as a divider to give her a small private space. Jimenez said their kindness stayed with her, recalling that they reminded her of the Holy Family.
After her daughter, Analyn, was born, Jimenez began looking for work. She had trained as a hairdresser in the Philippines but had few connections and no local experience.
A salon in Astoria offered her an opportunity after she demonstrated her skills during an interview. When Jimenez explained that she sometimes had no one to care for her infant daughter, the owners allowed Analyn to come to work with her and kept a crib at the salon.
In 1974, while providing hair and makeup services for a wedding, she met photographer Tony Jimenez. They married in 1980 and built businesses together, including Linda’s Beauty Salon in Astoria, which opened in 1987. The couple also operated a restaurant and provided wedding beauty and photography services.
Jimenez became active in the God the Father Apostolate in Astoria, where she was among its early members. She worked with Tita and Rudy Fernandez (a community leader who shared a name with the late Filipino actor), as the prayer community grew in New York City and later developed connections in Boston.
She also worked for more than 22 years with the San Lorenzo Ruiz of the Bronx group and helped establish the Immaculate Conception Prayer Group in Astoria.
As her 60th birthday approached, Jimenez was asked what she wanted for the occasion. Her response was simple: She wanted to build a chapel in Biñan, Laguna, her hometown in the Philippines.
Rather than accept personal gifts, she asked friends and community members to contribute to the project. On April 14, 2013, the God the Father Chapel was built in Biñan under the Parish of St. Vincent.
For Jimenez, the chapel reflects a journey that began with childhood hardship and continued through the uncertainty of immigrant life. It also represents the support she received from friends and strangers when she needed it most.
“Keep the faith, and stay close to the Father who is one with the Son, Jesus,” Jimenez said, referring to John 15:9.
Her message to younger people is also rooted in friendship.
“Remain faithful to your friends,” she said. “We can always call them brothers and sisters.”
Yoyong Suarez, also known as Jean Heracleo Suarez, is a New York-based artist, performer and community advocate active in Filipino American cultural organizations. He has performed with Kinding Sindaw, a New York-based traditional dance and cultural ensemble, and participates in Filipino American community activities in Queens, Astoria and Manhattan.
