Martha Delia Valencia Velasco Sees the Heart at Casago

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Martha Delia Valencia Velasco of Casago Rocky Point is endearing to everyone she meets. With over 20 years working in housekeeping for Casago, she affectionately greets all around her with a ‘Cómo estás, muñeco? …mi hermosa, mi’hija’ – How are you, handsome? …my beautiful, my child.

Martha’s beaming smile and infectious laugh, paired with wide-eyed wonder when recalling the many stories she’s experienced with Casago, make it easy to wade through her on-and-off-again stutter. Her admiration for Steve Schwab, founder of Casago (formerly SeaSide), is palpable. So, too, are her vivid memories of working with the company.

Over the decades, Martha has remained steadfast in her commitment to performing her work well. This has entailed learning and discovering a new appreciation for family and her coworkers.

Drawn to hospitality

Originally from Guadalajara, Martha and her family came to Puerto Peñasco in 1992. Before housekeeping, she was no stranger to hospitality, having worked briefly as a bartender. In exploring other opportunities, Martha began working as a housekeeper at the Marina Pinacate condos, where Esthela Hernandez was the manager.

It was around that time, when Esthela left her role at the Pinacate condos, that Martha met Steve Schwab. As she describes it, “That’s when Steve started with Cyndi’s Beach Rentals in the office next to the pizzas (on Blvd. Juarez)…I forget about dates, but I remember everything. Steve had separated from two other partners and formed SeaSide, and the offices were in the plaza in front of the Pinacate.”

As companies shifted, Steve stepped in, offering Martha a place at SeaSide. “I feel proud,” her eyes sparkle, “Because he offered me a job, I didn’t ask for it. He said, – If you’d like to work for my company, the door is open for you -”

In Casago’s history in Rocky Point, this would’ve been in  2003 when another property management company seemingly disappeared overnight. Martha recalls, “It was in December, just before Christmas. Steve stepped in to support the employees and me, so we wouldn’t be left without work, and so as to not cancel rentals. Some of the owners helped with food baskets, as there were many of us.”

First Impressions

Curiously, Martha met Steve’s mother first. Martha recalls she would accompany her daughter to beachside RV parks in the area to sell handcrafted wreaths. She has fond memories of meeting Steve’s mother, stating, “She was very kind, she invited us in, gave us water…Steve comes from good stock.”

Martha’s first impressions of Steve surprised even herself as she observed him guiding the company. “Wow,” she sighs, “I had a very different impression of gringos…but when I would observe him, and see how he really was…his priority was work, honesty, respect, and tolerance.” 

She focuses on an experience from early at the Princesa de Peñasco condos. Steve had gathered the entire staff at the clubhouse to address – through an interpreter – the importance of being honest, taking owners into consideration, and not abusing the owners’ trust. “This gave me a good impression of him,” she details, “that he got us all together to speak directly to us.”

In another example, she describes how she would pick up extra hours in the evenings, washing linens in the laundry behind the main office near the Pinacate condos. She isn’t sure if he realized she was there, but Martha remembers astutely watching Steve put in late hours.

“One of the times, Steve was working, and wow, the impression it made on me!  Such admiration. He was working and he had his son’s baby-carrier next to him while he worked; the baby would cry and he’d reach down to give him his pacifier, or like this (making a rocking motion). It impacted me tremendously because, for me, gringos were cold and not affectionate, but that impacted me. I learned through him.”

Martha was equally impressed by Steve’s tenaciousness, explaining that when he knew an owner was there, he’d grab his portfolio and knock on doors, offering his services. “I say this because I saw him with new owners,” she confirms.

A dose of humor

Martha starts giggling as she recalls the early days, whispering, “Some guys gave him a nickname…not me…but some of the others. They would call him chanclón (big sandals). But he didn’t wear sandals, he wore huaraches that looked like they were too big for his feet. Well, all the gringos do that … always, always …I’ve seen gringos wearing huaraches and their toes only reach to here (she points). But Steve, he was happy with his huaraches that were too big for his feet; he was content.”

Examples of Martha’s interactions with the Casago founder over the years are numerous. There’s the time he introduced her to an owner and asked for her impression of the new condo. Her eyes were quickly drawn to a mirror with a handcrafted wooden frame depicting a small ranch scene, which she adored. Just as notable was a large, heavy trunk in the living room, which she did not find as appealing. She told the owner in her broken English, “This is not good for here, because maybe it’s not good for the kids…” 

Martha laughs as she tells the story, “The owner told me, ‘No, everything here is fine,’ and the boss just looked at me. ‘Ah yes, everything is beautiful,’ I said. The boss never called me up again, haha!”

That condo was eventually sold, and the mirror with the frame went with it, “But guess what stayed?!” she exclaims, “That trunk! And nothing’s ever happened to it with the kids. It’s still there!”

Martha Delia Valencia Velasco: The Observant Storyteller 

Martha is a storyteller at heart. Her tales are bursting with observations mixed with tangents and humor, and she is firm about her dedication to Steve and the company.

“I would tell him,” she details, “you’re going to do something big here, because of your tenacity of going and knocking on doors.” She starts laughing, “He doesn’t knock on doors anymore, now it’s all over video calls; he doesn’t walk around as much, but sometimes he still wears his huaraches.”

This same encouraging spirit is present with every affectionate “muñeco, muñeca, chiquito” term Martha uses to warmly address staff throughout the company, “Even if I don’t really know them, I like to be kind and say – whether to men or women – they are all beautiful. I have always said, you are all valuable, trust in yourselves and in what you can give. You are not lesser than anyone else; there can be someone else like you, but never more than you.”

Over the years, as a housekeeper with Casago, Martha has seen generations come and go. She longingly recalls how, at one time, the company would give out awards and pins to staff, based on renters’ feedback. “Oh,” she sighs, “I lost the two pins I had, and I can’t really say what they looked like as I can’t distinguish figures that well, but I had two.”

She relates how her daughter became one of her assistants, how her late mother joined the Casago team by knocking 10 years off her age, and how her coworkers stepped up with activities to help her at a crucial time. Martha also goes into rapid detail of how the Mexico Children’s Foundation, founded by Steve Schwab, has helped families of fellow coworkers with medical problems. She describes how Steve would do a fundraising walk from Phoenix to Rocky Point for the Foundation, and how she was part of a group that went to meet him one year, along with the then mayor.

Ongoing Training & Education

It has been a continual process of learning for Martha at Casago.. This has included training courses on cleaning standards, customer service, recording inventory, and creation of work orders, as well as the task of navigating changing technology. 

“Blessed be technology,” Martha remarks as she picks up her iPad, “I was already older when they gave us this, and I didn’t know how to use it. I struggled a lot, but I had a coworker, Octavio, who was very patient and taught me. We used to have to take pictures and then upload those to a computer with a cable, but now we can use our phone or this – but the iPad isn’t mandatory.”

Along with hands-on training for Casago standards and the use of technology, Martha reflects on meetings to talk about how the staff feel about the company and those with whom they come into contact. She notes the culture of respect, which she’s observed through Steve’s actions, has been transmitted to her coworkers.

Seeing the heart

Most notably, Martha recalls how housekeeping coworkers showed their solidarity when they learned she had to take a costly medicine regimen to combat vision and nerve issues she was battling. “While I couldn’t see well, what I DID see was the solidarity of some of my compañeras – my coworkers, I could see how Steve’s way of being transmitted through their actions.”

“It was a challenging time. I felt like the world was closing in on me. But, I didn’t want to let myself be defeated,” she explains. She notes she kept working through it all. “Since I kept going to work, some of my coworkers didn’t believe that I couldn’t see. But, I knew how to do everything by memory. That is when my daughter also came to help me, and she would also check everything I did. She took time off from school in San Luis Rio Colorado, where she was studying International Business. How I wish I could repay her for everything.”

When Martha talks of concerns she had with her vision about a decade ago, she reiterates she continued working. At times this entailed supervising her assistants. Her vivid descriptions can’t help but paint a picture, setting a bit of a melancholy mood.

“Imagine, it was like when it’s going to rain, when everything is cloudy and the sun’s gone. But, I could feel the sun,” she recalls.

When she met with a doctor for a second time, she tried to describe it wasn’t an issue of blurred vision. Rather, she was afraid she was losing her sight. “It was like, I’m in a room with no doors, no windows, (and) no light. It was like that, I couldn’t see the light.”

As treatment progressed and her full eyesight started to return, there was still a veil. “Just envision being in a field illuminated only with moonlight,” she describes. “Though now,” she laughs, “I see things in black and white, like an old TV.”

Legacy of Learning

Woven throughout Martha’s stories is a clear admiration for the company she’s been with for 20 years. Much more than that is a fervent respect for the company’s founder, and what she has learned by being part of Casago.

As she sits back and shuffles through her colorful memories, Martha reflects on how Casago continues to expand. She also harkens back to the words she had for its founder shortly after starting out in Rocky Point.

“When I see him, I remember what I told him. I still observe him and see how tenacious he is. And now, the company and he are growing even more so in other areas.”

“I keep working, and with joy,” she concludes. “I don’t really like work, but since I’m able, I do it with joy. I have to do it with joy, because if I don’t, then I can’t do it well.”

“I’ve learned so many things in this company,” she summarizes. “I’ve learned to be tolerant and to get to know people. Additionally, I’ve learned from my boss. I’ve learned respect, integrity, and tolerance, and of course, to treat guests well so they’ll want to return.”