Lucía Betancourt: ‘I Wish We Could All Walk Together, Hand in Hand’

“I’m an independent woman. I’m happy with where I am. I have my daughter Bella, who is my anchor in every sense—professionally, emotionally, and as my stabilizer.”

“This is going to be like a telenovela,” Lucía Betancourt tells me at the beginning of the interview.

She laughs, but very serious at the same time — that is, with a smile that captures the spontaneity of a woman about to walk a path full of flowers, thorns, stones, and a sun that protects her.

“I grew up without my parents, they weren’t around. I never met my dad. My mom was absent. But I grew up with my grandmother, a woman from whom I learned whatever I could. A strong, hardworking woman full of love,” says Lucía, a woman who shoulders projects that benefit others and support new entrepreneurs.

Her childhood memories are happy ones. She was born in Acapulco but grew up in Playa Azul, a beautiful town that at the time was untouched by tourism. There, she played hide and seek, jacks, baseball, and other typical childhood games with her friends. She remembers her grandmother, who shared her name, a thin woman going out to sell goods around town. She had to support the family because her husband had died when she was very young.

“She loved me deeply, she saw me as her daughter, not her granddaughter. She worked hard harvesting salt, you’d never see her resting. She had a merchant’s spirit. She was very introverted, didn’t let anyone get close to her. Even though she was widowed very young—she had been abducted when she was 14, can you imagine? She was my role model,” Lucía says.

Lucía felt a lack of affection; the absence of her parents affected her in some ways, but her grandmother’s presence and her own innate desire to help others began to shape her path. Yes, Lucía lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world, but she often stayed inside, watching from the window what others were out enjoying.

She always had the idea of becoming a doctor. Her grandmother wanted to have a doctor in the family, and Lucía tried to make that dream come true.

However, when she was 14, some cousins who lived in California convinced her grandmother that Lucía would be better off with them. She could study and make money. So they simply told her she had to be ready—she was going with them to Los Angeles.

“A better life? That’s what they said. But the truth is, they already had plans to put me to work as soon as I got there. I was taking care of kids, handling the house, cleaning, doing everything—and all that in a country that was completely new to me,” she says.

The bus from Acapulco to Tijuana took several days. There she was, sitting next to a man she didn’t know, while her cousin and her son were in other seats. That feeling of loneliness overcame her once again. “I didn’t know where I was going,” she recalls.

She embraced silence as her friend, and introversion as her defense.

“No one could make me talk—not even the immigration agents in Tijuana,” she remembers.

She endured the routine of taking care of her cousins’ children, house chores, and school. She was in high school, getting good grades, and had her sights set on becoming a pediatrician. Her grandmother deserved that gift.

When her cousins went back to Mexico, she was about to graduate and didn’t want to lose that opportunity. She had also been approved for financial aid to go to college. She wasn’t going to give that up, even if it meant being alone.

“I had a job at a locksmith shop, and they offered me a place to stay—imagine that, they all left and I was sleeping locked inside that place. I was practically homeless. Living in that little corner, feeling so alone, surrounded by tires, tools, and ladders,” she says emotionally.

Lucía cares about seeing the community grow, setting goals, and moving forward. She is now fully committed to a new company that hired her as the Latina leader of their project, Neora — a direct sales company that sells beauty, personal care, and wellness products, including skincare, hair products, and dietary supplements, through a network of Brand Partners.

Her reaction was partly rebellious. Imitating her grandmother, she knew she was strong, and that fear had no place in her life.

“At my high school graduation, there was no one—just me. I had one American friend who showed up to support me. I remember he gave me a pair of scissors. That’s how I lived through what was supposed to be the happiest day of your life,” she recalls.

After high school, her grandmother had an accident. Her cousins told her it was her responsibility to go back and care for her. Just as she was starting to build her life—she had rented a small trailer for just over $300 a month and was making about $600—she returned to Mexico for a while.

When she came back, she started working in different areas: back at the locksmith shop with new responsibilities, catering at a restaurant near the airport, babysitting—whatever helped her get by. Lucía was a woman in constant motion, searching for her place, with no barriers, and a conviction that her talent and faith in God would move her forward.

She began connecting with new circles. That shy, reserved girl started stepping out into the world.

“I learned to do makeup and wear heels. I met a friend who became very important in my life. She introduced me to agencies where I offered my services for different events. I also began collaborating with artists, radio, and television—the entertainment world came into my life,” she says.

Later, she began to switch between that world and community events. She understood how exhausting and demanding the entertainment industry was. At an event at the Mexican Consulate, she was invited to work at Liborio’s Supermarket, where she started organizing events.

“I entered another world. I became part of organizing telethons, donation drives, and other events. I was in high demand. I created my own agency, which I named Ayeskah Entertainment. I didn’t know how to value my image—companies would approach me and I’d work with them without questioning what I charged. I never said no, and that’s how I developed this skill of connecting businesses with the community. I make projects succeed and reach where they need to go. I left Liborio’s because I had room to grow. I was young, alone, and very in demand. Unfortunately, I had some very negative experiences, which led me to seek a different path,” she adds.

After some ups and downs, she found stability—enough to help community members achieve their dreams, share her experiences, and watch them take flight.

“I’m an independent woman. I’m happy with where I am. I have my daughter Bella, who is my anchor in every sense—professionally, emotionally, and as my stabilizer. I’m working on myself, on my spiritual growth. And honestly, I’m very concerned about the community and everything that’s going on. Sometimes I wake up and ask myself, ‘What will happen to these people? To others?’ We’re all vulnerable. I wish I could hold everyone’s hand and that we could all walk together. I always see the potential for the community to move forward,” she says.

Lucía cares about seeing the community grow, setting goals, and moving forward. She is now fully committed to an exciting new chapter with Neora as a Brand Partner — a company well known for its exclusive age-defying skincare and wellness products.

“It’s a very noble company that’s offering a lot of opportunities to the community—immigrants or not. That’s why I decided to support them. People are my family. In Neora, I see an opportunity for many to grow, and that’s my bet,” she adds.

She doesn’t like listening to negativity. She avoids it. She prefers to focus on what is possible. “I always tell myself, ‘Here we go, moving forward.’”

Lucía has a powerful ally—her faith.

“I have a strong belief in God. It gives me spiritual and mental strength, which allows me to do what I do. That’s what makes my work with the community better,” she concludes.