Vanesa Amaro has become a social media sensation — and earned big bucks — thanks to her cleaning tips and candid conversations about what it’s like to be a Latina domestic worker, she told Noticias Telemundo.
The big picture: Over 61% of people who work cleaning homes in the US are Hispanic, according to an analysis of census data by the Economic Policy Institute.
- Domestic workers are three times more likely than others to live in poverty, according to data from the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
The details: Amaro has worked cleaning homes for over eight years in the Austin, Texas area. She started sharing cleaning tips on TikTok when the pandemic hit and many domestic workers lost their jobs.
- Since then, the self-proclaimed “queen of cleaning” has amassed 5.8 million followers on her Spanish-language account and 5.5 million on her English-language account.
- Her videos include everything from grout cleaning best practices to discussions about mistreatment at work.
- Amaro has secured a sponsorship with Clorox and its line of cleaning sponges, which are sold in Mexico and the US
- She has been able to buy a house with the proceeds, she said.
What they say: “We Latinos in the US are still looked down upon,” Amaro told Noticias Telemundo, adding that it made her feel like her work was shameful.
- “Our worth comes from who we are inside, not what we do.”
