Maria Silva had been working as a cook in the food stand on Olvera Street called "La Noche Buena" in 1948 when Mrs. Christine Sterling offered her one of the empty puestos down the street in order for her to start her own retail import business. Mrs. Sterling had a keen eye for character and she saw in Mrs. Silva a fine hardworking woman who was determined to be successful in her adopted country.
In the 1940's,while living in Sacramento, California, Maria Silva experienced discrimination when her young daughter, Lydia was threatened and chased in the public schoolyard because she was of Mexican decent. The frightened youngster was saved when she ran into a classroom to avoid the crowd of taunting Anglo children. Mrs. Silva wrote to the school board and was persistent in changing attitudes in her school and community. Soon classmates and parents were invited to each others homes and her handling of the ugly incident was turned into a positive learning experience.
