• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 05 / 10 / 2011

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Mirta de Peralis, one of the first Hispanic women to find success in the U.S. cosmetics industry, dies at 88. BY ARTURO ARIAS-POLO. Mirta de Perales, one of the first Hispanic women to find success in the cosmetics industry in the United States, died from Alzheimer’s on May 3 in her Miami Beach residence. She was 88.

Rich and famous in Cuba until 1962, when she left her country to come to the United States with her two children and barely $5 in her purse, De Perales resumed her career in Miami by making a living styling hair and doing pedicures, as she had in her younger years. Eventually, she put her experience to work and, armed with a good business sense and charisma, founded Mirta de Perales, Inc., the emporium that distributes her products in the U.S. domestic market and in Puerto Rico.

“She was a millionaire in Cuba and she multiplied her fortune here,” said Maribel Sotolongo, the firm’s account executive and the person authorized by De Perales’ children to speak to El Nuevo Herald. “Mirta was, at the same time, tough and sweet. She knew every detail of the company and demanded from her staff to always look their best. She was a very good person, to the point of giving many of her employees the down payment they needed to buy a house, and she helped those newly arrived from Cuba to buy their first car. She always said she had to give back all that God had given her. She was a very devoted Catholic.”

Mirta de Perales, Inc., located in Doral, has a staff of 10. For the past decade, it has been managed by Mirta C. Perales, 57, daughter of the famous entrepreneur.

Cuban stylist and entrepreneur Samy said De Perales was the pride of Hispanics because, despite being a woman, a Cuban and an exile, she established her brand in a country that was new to her.

“Mirta made her dream come true and opened the doors to people like me who wanted to follow in her footsteps,” said Samy, who remembers her as an affectionate and elegant woman who always had sweet things to tell him. “She carried forward her trajectory from Cuba and dared to compete in the major leagues with a lot of success. Her products continue to fascinate because they have an exquisite quality.”

Another colleague she inspired was Santiago Ruiz, owner of Santi International & Wave Spa at FIU, who met De Perales in 1956 when she had a salon at the Naroca building in the Vedado neighborhood in Havana.

“She gave me good advice and always insisted in being up to date on the latest trends,’’ Ruiz said.

Her closest collaborators say that when De Perales was finally able to establish herself in Miami, she began to travel to New York and Puerto Rico to expand her business. In her zeal for quality, she ordered the best laboratory products without stopping to look at the price. And when she became famous again, she would send her products to Gloria Estefan, Don Francisco and Julio Iglesias, among other celebrities. Sometimes, to promote her work, she simply introduced herself to those who did not recognize her and recommended her products.

“Mirta was ahead of her time in marketing techniques,” said Mari Rodríguez Ichaso, filmmaker and correspondent of Vanidades magazine in New York, remembering Cinco minutos con Mirta de Perales, a Sunday morning program De Perales hosted on Cuban television.

Mirta Raya, known internationally by the name of Mirta de Perales, was born on Sept. 2, 1922 in Rancho Veloz, Las Villas province, Cuba, where her neighbors would pay her small amounts to cut their hair. At the time, her mother worked as a maid in Havana. “When she saved a few pennies, she sent her mother a telegram saying, ‘Mom, come home, we are rich,’” the account executive said.

At age 14, De Perales decided to find success in Havana, although she did not know her way around the city. There, she placed an ad in a newspaper offering her services as a hair stylist and a manicure at the clients’ homes.Then she met Benito Perales, a pharmacist 10 years her senior whom she married on Jan. 6, 1944 at the church Nuestra Señora del Carmen. After some time, the couple had two children and consolidated the Mirta de Perales firm of hair products that would make her famous. They separated in the early 1960s.

Luis Cuervo, deputy director of the Latin Chamber of Commerce in the United States, said De Perales “made a difference and became an icon in her community while she was active.” Personally, “she was a sociable person, though not giving much access to her private life.”

President Ronald Reagan had recognized Mirta de Perales’ legacy in a White House ceremony, where the president said addressing her in his speech: “You are the American Dream.”

Private funeral services were held at St. Kevin’s Church. Her son, the Rev. Jorge Perales, 59, officiated at the Requiem Mass. Besides her children, De Perales is survived by her grandchildren, Jorge and Cristina Echevarría.

Source: www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/09/2209514/mirta-de-peralis-who-found-succes...