Zulia means Courageous in Wayuu, the native tongue of the Guajira tribe. It is also the name of my native state located in the North-Western part of Venezuela. The State its name to honor the life and greatness of a Guajira tribal Princess who outstood for her bravery and boldness as she fought against the Spanish conquerors who had arrived from Europe and were determined to control the new land and the lives of local inhabitants.
I have chosen the name Zulia for my bakery because it represents my own roots, and the desire of pursuits our dreams. This story is very close to my heart because first of all, I am Zuliana, and I am a mix of South American Indian. My own father is from the same tribe which is the Guajira tribe.
Here it is the Story
The story about Zulia
For many years, the indigenous people lived in peace and harmony without fear of the outside world.
One day, with the threat of war upon them from the European soldiers, their Chief leader taught his daughter Zulia (who was born in 1538) to not only become a wise negotiator, but also a fierce warrior.
Zulia was very elegant and beautiful inside and out; but she was also a woman of tremendous resilience and infallible value and was tasked with the challenge of representing her village on visits to various tribal chiefs to gain their allied support against the fast approaching armies.
During the battles, Zulia found out that the Spanish had betrayed her people and had killed her father; she would not believe it for in her mind human beings could not be so evil. So, she disguised herself as a subject of their king, managed to enter the kingdom, and saw with her own eyes that indeed her father was hanging from a tree.
This brought much grief and outrage to the people of the surrounding villages and they joined Zulia as she began to take her rightful place as warrior princess of the Guajira to fight back against the Spanish armies.
Zulia and her husband Guaimaral led their combined forces against the invaders and fought to save their people and their homes. According to the story, they often saw Zulia riding a horse during the battles, urging their warriors to fight. The foreign armies were too strong, and it was during battle in the year 1561 that Zulia lost her life. Guaimaral, full of pain and anger, sailed North in search of his ancestors, looking for a reason to go on without his beloved bride and he promised himself that he would name his new land after his greatest love, Princess Zulia.
The village where he took possession of his land at the death of his father, became known as the State of Zulia in Venezuela.
ABOUT ME
A Visual Storyteller
My name is Angelica Medina. I am from Zulia State in Venezuela; I came to United States some years ago by myself to study English, with about $30.00 in my pocket, a free airline ticket and an awesome friend who helped me to get settled.
I was determined to achieve my goal to master the language which I successfully accomplished. After all these years and with God's help; I have discovered few passions in my life to keep me going and excited. One of them is baking! In the beginning years, my mother taught me how to bake over the phone! She explained the steps to make a good loaf of bread. The first one was hard and salty, but believe me, after baking classes, try and error and after so many years; I am proud to say that I have overcome that first loaf.
I have graduated from college earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Management in North Carolina Central University (Eagles Pride!), I have also accomplished entrepreneurship studies, theology studies, etc.
Despite of these achievements, I was determined to run my own business, and what a better idea to combine my passion and my academic experience.
My first efforts I devoted hours and hours finding out what the best product would be by studying American food market and trends.
Throughout these years, I have managed to create a fusion cuisine, in an effort to bring together traditional recipes and exotic flavors; the result has been a vast range of sweet and savory roll-ups breads. My mother, a friend and I are eager to work together to come up with even more combinations to keep our customers excited and the business expanding.
