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MIGUEL GUZMÁN, FOUNDER OF PIGGLY WIGGLY

IN BELOIT AND PRIDE OF THE LATINA COMMUNITY

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Miguel Guzmán of 48 years born in Copándaro of Galeana, Michigan state. At 15 years old he left his beautiful state and like many people that live in the United States, began to search for the American Dream. Miguel arrived in California with a Michigan backpack full of illusions and a few pennies. Without experience in field cultivation work, achieved work for one year cultivating fruits and vegetables like strawberries, chilis, cucumbers, lettuce, and plums. He learned the art of cultivation but missed the livestock and trade which he had been exposed to as a child by his family. So after a year of working in the field, he continued to look for his dreams and at 16 years old he set out on a flight to the beautiful city of Chicago. Miguel did not know the trade of grocery stores, but his origin of livestock and his eagerness to learn the did not leave him behind. He began working in stores of Armando’s Mexican products, of Italian dreams, situated in the 26 street of the mere city of Chicago. He continued working in Ray Farmers, Mexican stores until he became the manager of the butcher shop of Fiestas Market, of Greek dreams. After he undertook a new challenge beginning to work in the store Buteras Market, of Italian dreams, and had dealt with and American market without knowing English. 

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Miguel Guzmán has faced a lot of challenges like any other person who comes to the United States without speaking English and without the possibility of integrating into the classroom and learning the language. Miguel did not give up and thanks to his fighting spirit and managed to learn English due to the need to communicate in his job. Miguel said: “I learned English working to get ahead”. Since 2007 to 2014 he worked at Piggly Wiggly as a supervisor of Hispanic products in the area of Milwaukee, Racine, Waukesha and other cities of eastern area of Wisconsin. 

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Miguel came from a family of ranchers that have dedicated to butchers for generations for which they feel prideful to say: “Here at Piggly Wiggly in Beloit you can find the best cuts of meat whether it be in the American or Hispanic style.” Actually, Miguel Guzmán is the founder of Piggly Wiggly in Beloit, he has been fighting like any business owner for five years, the store has 70 employees, of which approximately 40% are Hispanic. The challenge Miguel has had with a store with an Americanized name since it is a franchise and wants to tell everyone in the Hispanic community: “Here we serve Latinos, although we don’t have a Hispanic name”. Miguel Guzmán es the pride of the Hispanic community in Beloit. After arriving a young man without money and without speaking English, he has achieved being the founder of a store and gave jobs to 70 people. He has been a sponsor in various events of the Latina Coalition, contributed with the newspaper in Spanish, La Voz de Beloit, and bought agricultural products from the famers in the community. Miguel Guzmán, founder of Piggly Wiggly in Beloit gives us the secret that has led him to achieve so high, “The secret is to not deviate from the right path, fight for your dreams without limiting your hours at work and learn to speak English. Work a lot when you are young, so when you reach a mature age, you can slow down”.