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Rocio Aldana Landa is acutely aware of when she started working with Casago. It was just days after the birth of her youngest son, who just turned 20. Originally from Puerto Peñasco, Rocio has been a central figure in the laundry at Casago for two decades, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Rocio’s keen tact in working with others, familiarity with her environment, love of music, and infectious laugh are just some of the reasons she is a beloved figure within the company. She humbly jokes that everyone knows her, and she’s loved by almost everyone. Yet, joking aside, Rocio is steadfast in her role as Casago’s longest-standing laundry woman. One may consider her the reina, the queen of the laundry, just don’t call her doña.
Awash in experience
Rocio Aldana Landa entered Casago in March of 2005 (then known as SeaSide). At the time, she was looking to rejoin the workforce after the birth of her son, the youngest of four children. She had previously worked for a decade in cleaning at the Puesta del Sol restaurant of the Playa Bonita Resort, as well as in the hotel’s laundry.
When a friend recommended SeaSide, Rocio first inquired about a job as a housekeeper. Instead of housekeeping, there was a position open in the small laundry located behind reception at the company’s main office near the Pinacate condos. With varying day and night shifts, Rocio found the opportunity offered flexibility between her mom and work duties.
“When I started, there were only two of us, with one shift in the morning and one at night. Now, there are 5 of us, with a morning shift, an intermediary one, and a late night from 11 pm – 6 am,” she explains thoroughly. Since she’s not a night owl, Rocio tends to prefer the morning shifts. As her two sons and two daughters are all adults, Rocio jokes about working the night and red-eye shifts, “There’s no one crying for me at home now, but the really late night shift is hard for me, maybe because of my age.”
Just Rocio
With two decades of working the ins and outs of the laundry at Casago, no one else even comes close to Rocio’s tenure. “There’s one woman with a little over three years,” Rocio details, “so I’ve been there the longest; when new women come in they’ll ask me, ‘how long have you been here Doña Rosa´, and they can’t believe I’ve lasted here so long.”
A sly smile crosses Rocio’s expression as she laughs, “I tell them not to call me doña (frequently a sign of respect for older women, such as madam or señora); there’s one that calls me Doña Rocio, but it makes me feel old, so just Rocio, that’s it.”
Though she may not define it this way, “just” Rocio is a knowledgeable and joyful mentor in the laundry. “I like to tell the (new hires), come with me and learn what I’m telling you. I don’t like to act as if I know more; I teach them what I know. If they learn, well good, and if they ask, I’ll tell them not like that, like this, watch me as I’m folding.”
Star Quality
In the early years after the pandemic, Casago founder Steve Schwab visited Rocio, together with Matt Landau, who were filming excerpts for Landau’s vacation rental series Homerunners.
Rocio laughs at the memory, “He was there for a while, putting up with me. They put a small ball in the dryer, I don’t know why, but to measure the amount of sheets or something like that. They filmed me, so I’m a star, but I don’t know where.”
Rocio met Steve shortly after entering Casago. “Just hola! and that was it. He used to come by when the laundry was just here below, he’d give me a hug… I didn’t really know what he was saying, but that was ok. When he sees me now, he says, ¿cómo estás Rocio? Bien – and ¿todavía aquí, still here? Yes, I say, I’m still here. ‘Muy bien, muy bien, that’s good”.
Rocio Aldana Landa & the Laundry Beat
Washing, folding, and organizing the linen coming in and going out has a rhythm all its own, and more so during busy seasons.
This symphonic dance consists of housekeepers dropping off items, registering everything, sorting and retiring linens when needed, and keeping track of inventory. Rocio is quick to point out how linens from the resorts vary from the homes, how to differentiate folded queen, king, and single sets when they’re ready to roll out, and how responsibilities have grown over the years.
Taking a beat from the laundry lullaby, Rocio enjoys listening to music to help the time go by. If you catch her at a family gathering or a party, and maybe even on a quiet night at the laundry, you’ll find she also likes to dance, “I like cumbias, and I know how to dance,” she affirms.
“I really enjoy music,” she continues, “For example, El Buquí, Los Temerarios, slower, relaxing – I don’t like raucous music. I’ll sing, shout, let them hear me! I’ll dance sometimes. It’s very quiet in the laundry and I’ll put on my music, they let us have a small speaker and we’ll listen while we work.”
¨How about earphones?¨ I ask.
She quickly responds with wisdom, “No, we cannot use earphones as we’re also listening to the machines. For example, I know (the machines) and if I listen, I can tell when one of them is failing. People ask, how do you know? It’s because I know what’s happening, or when a machine needs something. I tell people, I know these machines, they’re mine, they’re my friends,” she bursts into laughter, “Yes, they’re my friends, but no I haven’t named them yet.”
Music is a shared medium within the often quiet recess of the laundry, with some of the others singing just as Rocio. “Not everyone likes the music,” she laughs, “There’s one girl that doesn’t like the same songs we do and she’ll say, one hour for you and one hour for me.”
“But, we always work with music, it’s nice because music relaxes you, for example, at night when everything is calm.”
Work Ethic
As Casago’s longest-lasting laundry connoisseur, Rocio Aldana Landa shares her experiences of seeing turnover. She is amazed how some people choose not to stay long, providing valuable insight into her work ethic.
“I’ve always told my children, never jump from one job to another – from one thing to another – It’s always nice to have a record with a company,” she explains. “It’s nice when people see you have a history, that you come through, and are present. In the end, I’ve lasted because I like it. When you like something, you’re going to stay. If you look at (a job) as a waste of time, well, then why are you coming to work?”
Rocio’s soft-spoken mannerism and hearty laugh do not mask her fierce concentration and dedication to her job. She contemplates retirement in the future, adding that one of her biggest dreams is to get her passport so she can visit her aging mother in Texas.
“I’m calm, I don’t anger easily, I’m easy going and don’t like to get angry,” she summarizes as we wrap up our conversation. “Well, I do get mad at times, but I’m calm, and I’m joyful.”
In looking back on her two decades with Casago in Rocky Point, Rocio reiterates, “After my son was born on March 4th, I started here and here I am,” she laughs, “and here I’ll be, like I tell Erika (Curiel, General Casago Manager for Mexico), until they run me out.”
