Castles: 
Victoria Mendez  

by Anne I. Naughton

CASTLE: Shared bedroom in Centro Maria, a boarding house for young women run by Sisters of the “Religious of Mary Immaculate:” 54th St. between 10th and 11th Ave. in Manhattan.

WHO: Victoria Mendez, of Monterrey, Mexico, Graduate Student in Applied Anthropology and babysitter and her roommate, a fashion student at Parsons.

COMMUTE: 1/9 train to Columbus Circle then walk or take the bus to its final stop right outside Centro Maria. The hallways are institution-green, the dining room is about 108 degrees, and the dishes and cups are the same plastic-blue green as the walls. The halls are lined with empty reading chairs, Virgin Mary statuettes and pictures of cats; we just passed an unplugged video game and an abandoned gift shop display case. Nothing looks like it has been used in a long time.

Centro Maria looks like an armory from the street, but inside it’s like a nursing home-youth hostel hybrid. What’s the story? (Victoria) Well, it was once a hospital. Now there are more than 70 people living here. Most are girls from 16 to 25 years old; most are from Spanish-speaking countries, but some are from the Midwest. There are about 10 nuns, most are from Mexico. I found out about this place from a City College housing guide.
Since no visitors are allowed upstairs, you’ll have to describe your room to us. (Victoria) Three windows. It could fit eight people standing. But you have to turn sideways to walk between the beds. To use the sink means my bed is going to get wet.

What about bathrooms? And phones? 

(Victoria) There are two bathrooms on each floor, and we only have two phone lines.

Meals are included in the weekly rent: that must be nice. 

(Victoria) It sucks. Breakfast is cornflakes, coffee, milk and bread, and the bread is really old. We had Easter sweet breads a week past Easter. The nuns cook. Friday is the worst: mystery salad.

I’m enjoying this conversation in the lounge; “Friends” is on the TV and there’s this wall-sized map of the world, with yellow flags marking all the Centro Maria houses. They have a lot in Africa. 

(Victoria) Not really. Somebody moved the flags out of Spain and into Africa. Also someone put an earring on a portrait of the founder.

This portrait of the founder as a 12-year-old with her quote: “We must conform ourselves to the will of God” is pretty severe. I hope she didn’t write that when she was 12. 

(Victoria) The nuns are really nice, but they’re scared because they just don’t go out. Once we found a really nice sofa on the street and (the nuns) said, “No, take it out, it might have AIDS.”

You’ve been served an eviction notice. This made me a little nervous: my Catholic school days were generally bucolic, but did include being punched on the chin by Sister Eusibio in second-grade. The sister at the door seemed extremely pleasant, although she did warn us to stay on the ground floor; what put you on the outs? 

(Victoria) It's not so much the rules; the main thing is that I have a group (of friends) and we talk and we hang out. They always kick groups out. Some of the nuns are really nice, but there’s one who’s really strict.

What would ideal Centro Maria “girls” be like? 

(Victoria) Nice and quiet girls who don’t go out. They enjoy the parties that they make here without alcohol and boys. There was a celebration for the new vending machine: a nun broke a bottle of wine on the machine. I couldn’t believe it.
What are the other tenants like? 

(Victoria) The other girls are really nice; a lot of artists. Lots of dancers, too.

How long do people usually stay? 

(Victoria) Most of the people stay one month, then go. Some stay longer, but they’re strange. One woman is in her 80s and I heard she’s been here 20 years.

With all of these new movies about St. Joan of Arc there could be a boom of young women wanting to lead a more spiritual life. What advice would you give the nuns to cash in and hold onto their tenants? 

(Victoria) The order does great things in places like Mexico City. Small-town girls come to the city and get taken advantage of. We speak English and men can’t take advantage of us so easily.