Maria Ibarra and her family, originally from Colombia, made a few attempts at making Canada their new home. But it took them some time and one Energy City to develop a great love for the country and people here.
Ibarra's family first came to Canada in 1999 and settled in Ontario. They later went back to Colombia for several years, but Ibarra said she knew they would come back.
They returned in 2016 and that time they decided to try out Vancouver. Ibarra was getting into the filmmaking industry when her husband found a job in Estevan.
"When he told me, I was really sad because I was supposed to go to the university to study art and filming," Ibarra recalled.
But the decision was made and the family started moving. First Ibarra's husband moved to the Energy City, and three months later she followed with their kids. When she arrived in Estevan, Ibarra at first was pretty upset.
"When we first came I didn't like it. It felt like a really small town and I was focused on my art," said Ibarra. "I was mad and sad because I didn't know what I was going to do there and it wasn't the first time to start life over. Even though we were in the same country, it was a different province, different people."
She was used to living in big cities and didn't know what she would do in a smaller community. But pretty soon her attitude completely changed.
"The first week in Estevan was hard, and at the same time I did a big mistake – I was comparing Vancouver to Estevan," Ibarra said.
But in a matter of a few days, she met some people from Colombia, and the wheels started spinning with Estevan turning around and opening up, showing its hospitality and friendliness to a newcomer.
"I met some people and I felt really welcome," recalled Ibarra.
Even though she started feeling better in the community, her schedule still wasn't very busy. One day she went to the Estevan Leisure Centre looking for something to do. She checked out the Visitor Information Centre, and when the staff there learned that she was an artist they sent Ibarra to Wilma Mantei of the Estevan Arts Council.
Ibarra later taught some art classes at the pottery room at the leisure centre and met many more great people through her involvement with the Estevan Arts Council. It turned out that it was just the beginning of her life-changing, year-long Estevan adventure.
"At that time I realized that it's not the place, it's the people. So I started feeling that this is my place. People here were really, really, really nice," said Ibarra.
She was used to living in big metropolises and was originally from Cartagena in Colombia. The friendliness of people in Estevan resembled home for her.
Soon Ibarra joined efforts with three other women from Colombia, Mexico and Peru – Andrea Acostea, Azucena Barragan and Veronica Armas – and opened Sweet Corner Bakery and Pastry, which still spoils Estevan residents with delightful treats. It started as a friendly afternoon chat, but shortly after women were meeting every day, putting their thoughts, skills and recipes together to come up with something nice for Estevan.
"It was really fun," said Ibarra.
And while Ibarra fell in love with Estevan and its people, her life made another turn and the family ended up moving to Guelph, Ont. However, she took appreciation for the energy capital of Saskatchewan with her.
"It was just a year, but I can say that that time there it really marked my heart," Ibarra said.
"When I say Estevan here (in Guelph) they don't have any idea where Estevan is, but that small place… Every time I have an opportunity, I say, 'You have to go because the people there are the nicest.'"
Since her husband works as a grain buyer, Ibarra also had a chance to get to know the agricultural sector and she had a lot of good things to say about local farmers, their hard work and pride in what they do.
Ibarra is currently involved with the film industry and is writing a proposal for the theatre, developing an art project about different generations of immigrants telling their stories in various artistic ways. It is planned to include visual arts, theatre and documentary elements. Ibarra said she hopes it will be artistic, interesting and also therapeutical, as all Canadians except for First Nations peoples were immigrants at some point, and immigration is often a very tough experience to go through.
Ibarra's family still owns a house in Estevan, and she hopes to soon come over to do some art classes and visit with the community.
Ibarra reached out to the Mercury to tell her story to share her feelings about Estevan and to tell people of Estevan that "they are amazing and great."
"I think the way (people of Estevan) were with me, they are with everyone that is there," Ibarra finished the story. "And I felt really, really welcome."
