IMMIGRANT DEFIES THE ODDS TO BUILD A BEAUTIFUL FUTURE.

Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer

RESEDA -- Twenty years ago, Maria Villalobos fled Bolivia with $900, her young son Jaime and hope for a better future.

Her ex-husband had run off, the bank where she worked went bankrupt and her country's economy was in shambles. She had a friend in North Hollywood, a place to stay and not much else.

But even that sliver of hope didn't last long, when she overstayed her welcome at the friend's home, and her money ran out. She walked to the nearest church, Pentecostal Assemblies of God, and appealed for help. The pastor got her lodging with a friend, who helped get her a job in a garment factory.

Villalobos, trained as an accountant in her native country, suddenly found herself working for 20 cents a garment. She never complained.

``If I didn't work hard, I couldn't pay my bills, I couldn't send my son to school,'' she said. ``I said, I have to do this.''

And she did. Making a better life for Jaime became her relentless focus. She moved on from garment-making and took a job as a nurse assistant in a convalescent home, working double shifts and running home in between to make sure he'd done his homework. On Sundays, she took him to church, then went back to work.

She still held a tenuous grasp on English, so she taught herself the language through movies and books. Though her workday began at 7 a.m. and ended at 11 p.m., she found time to study at home. When she had days off, she took Jaime fishing.

``She's amazing, man, really, really amazing,'' he said. ``I have no clue how she did it. I used to look at her W-2s. She was earning $12,000, $14,000 a year, but she found a way to do it.''

By the time Jaime, now 25 and working as an insurance broker in Orange County, graduated from high school, Villalobos was ready for another change. She went to cosmetology school and got a job in a salon. For another six years, she worked layering locks just so, learning how to transform a bad haircut into something flattering.

She saved her money, bought a condo in North Hills, then traded up to a house in Reseda in 2000. Two years later, she sold the home when the market got hot and put the money in the bank.

Recently, she invested the money to become a partner in the Golden Scissors Salon in Reseda. After years of laboring with her hands -- which she still does -- she now calls herself president and chief executive officer.

``When I heard her story, her anguish, it was tough,'' said Mark Wasson, her partner in the salon. ``I grew up here, not wanting for anything, so I can't imagine going through all the things she did. ... I get tears in my eyes sometimes when I hear her story.''

The two plan to run Golden Scissors not just as a business, but as an exercise in social responsibility. They want to offer English tutoring for employees and health insurance, possibly expanding into franchises or additional locations. Villalobos wants to build the business around women like her, women who persevered.

``In the beginning, I was thinking of going back,'' she said. ``If I'd had the money, I would have left, but I realized I had to stay. Back there, there's no way to get ahead.''

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Maria Villalobos, a Bolivian immigrant who worked hard to attain a better life, now co-owns Golden Scissors Salon in Reseda.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer