[As published in the Florida Daily Post]
Veronica Herrera has armed herself with an army of Amazonians who cannot be stopped. These super motivated women have beauty, strength, speed, agility, stamina, and endurance, out to defy the evil of this world with their symbol of truth, power, and equality.
Shoe designer by day, super wife, and mom by night. Veronica Herrera–a shoe designer and manufacturer from Colombia–has traveled thousands of miles to our shores not only to sell Vero Milan’s most recent line of shoes but more importantly, to stand up for herself and empower other women to follow in her footsteps.
Since I met her at the Hilton Hotel in West Palm Beach during a photoshoot with Miss Universe El Salvador 2020, Vanessa Velásquez (who modeled Herrera’s shoe line) her voice is still ringing in my mind.
“We, as women, need to lift up our voices because you know, los buenos somos mas.” The good ones are more, she said. So true and so on cue, that her phrase became viral on Instagram shortly after her small factory was ransacked by a band of thieves on September 21, 2021. At that moment, her rage surpassed her shock. The thieves may have stolen every pair of shoes, every shopping bag, decorative bow, and even the factory’s tile floors. They tore off so forcefully that it ate away some of the cement, but not her total belief in human goodness.
After it finally sunk in that her company was all but empty walls and dirt floors, Herrera dried her eyes and picked up the phone. She called every business owner she knew in Colombia. She asked them for help, and one by one, they began to answer her call. The government certainly voiced their concern, but that’s as far as their involvement extended, she said. As in most Latin countries, Colombians expect the government to take care of their business regardless of the circumstances.
In an unprecedented act of kindness, the people responded—and how! —Read more