Cesar Figueroa, a Peruvian immigrant, outside his home in Rosebank on Staten Island. (Photo: David Gonzalez/The New York Times)Cesar Figueroa does not wear his heart on his sleeve. No, sir. He painted it on his new truck, in capital letters, and drives it all around town:
I Do Everything for My Family
God Bless America
Sure, it has his phone number. It also has his nickname, El Chalaco, which is how people from his native Callao region in Peru are known. But nationalist boasts or getting new clients for his carting and delivery service aren’t the point. Gratitude is his attitude.
“This is the vessel that puts food on the table,” he said. “I came here 20 years ago to struggle. Life gave me bruises. But look — my house, my truck.”
When he arrived in New York, he spent years working at a mirror factory in Brooklyn. Mr. Figueroa worked two shifts, from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. He had little choice, because he had two young daughters in Peru to support.
Later, he bought a van and started hauling stuff for his bosses. They paid what they wanted, which was enough to persuade him to become a full-time delivery guy when the factory went bust.
“Around that time, they had put up a Home Depot on Northern Boulevard in Queens,” Mr. Figueroa said. “I went there with my van before it opened. Some friends of mine went with their vans, too, and we started delivering construction supplies.”
If it can be hauled, he’s game. Drywall, speakers, furniture. He worked hard enough that last month he bought a GMC truck. Cash. He was so happy that he wondered what he could do to commemorate not just his good fortune, but also his hard work. He sent it to a sign painter on Staten Island, who emblazoned his emotions on the back of the truck.
“If not for God, and above all this country, I would not have what I have now,” he said. “What I could not have in my country, I am trying to have here.”
Mr. Figueroa means that. His home, in Staten Island’s Rosebank neighborhood, is currently undergoing renovation, getting a new master bedroom and bathroom with a Jacuzzi. His older daughters — now adults — lived with him for a while before they married. Now he has two younger daughters, Ashley and Sasha, who have rooms of their own. The backyard has a trampoline, a pool, swings and a slide.
“I raised them to have anything they want,” said Mr. Figueroa, 44. “Sometimes I have to work some more to get it, toys, whatever. That’s why I say I do anything. I do.”
This is no exaggeration. His new truck looks plain (except for the painted inscription). But with a flick of a switch, the cargo section tilts backward.
“This is not a normal truck,” he said with pride. “I put in a hydraulic lift. Now I can remove construction debris and dump it. You see, I do everything.”
