Carmen was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

She opened her first Beauty Spa in Bloomington in 1971.

She was the first Latina aesthetician on 5th Avenue, New York.

Message to Latino youth

“Don’t be afraid to start from the bottom, knowing that you want to get to the top, never forgetting where you want to go… I do not compete with anyone. I am not jealous of people; whenever I see any Hispanic doing well I am delighted for them. If they are in business, I try to support them. I came to Indiana in 1968…I didn’t know anyone and I had to start from the bottom after working in 5th Avenue making good money…So I did work in a restaurant, in the kitchen cooking…and I knew that eventually I was going to have my business…then I was the first one to open in the aesthetics profession here in Indiana.”

Has being a Latina affected your career?

“I don’t think of myself as different from anybody else… I look at myself as a person. I am very happy to be Latina. I noticed when I went to 5th Avenue that the people with accents got the most tips, and I still have my accent! I use Carmen Delgado (it is part of the name of her two businesses), I never gave that up, that’s my name, and I want everyone to know that I am Hispanic. I am not ashamed to be Latina. I like my music, I like my food, I like my dancing, I like my history, in other words I love everything that is Latino. I love my people… All these things that I am today is all my background, all my culture, why shouldn’t I be happy of who I am?”