Scripps Howard News Service

Bertha H. Berlanga recites the Pledge of Allegiance after taking the oath of citizenship at naturalization ceremonies conducted by Judge Hayden Head Jr. Friday at Del Mar College.

   Bertha H. Berlanga has campaigned for family, including her late husband, Nueces County Commissioner David Berlanga Sr.; son-in-law, former councilman Arnold Gonzales Sr.; and daughter-in-law Mary Helen Berlanga, a member of the State Board of Education.
   No matter the race, the office, or the year, Berlanga has been there, win or lose, to offer them love and support.
   But the one thing she could never give them was her vote.
   Although Berlanga has been a U.S. resident since 1939, the year she married Robstown native David Berlanga Sr., she never became a citizen.
   All that changed Friday, when the 83-year-old took her oath of citizenship at a swearing-in of 132 new citizens at Del Mar College's Richardson Auditorium.

CORRECTION: Bertha H. Berlanga's granddaughter, Miriam Gonzales, 36, is an educational consultant in Alexandria, Va.

   "I've dreamed of this day for so long, of finally having the right to vote," Berlanga said in Spanish.
   Since moving here from her native Parás, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Berlanga has dreamed of having full access to the American dream. But the homemaker always put her family's needs ahead of her own and delayed in applying for citizenship because she was uncomfortable with her command of English.
   After raising four children, Berlanga looked after grandchildren and helped her husband with his campaigns. As another generation of family members began entering the political realm, she once again kept busy furthering their pursuits. Not until 1999 did she fill out and mail her application for citizenship. Two years went by without hearing word about it. When family members contacted Immigration and Naturalization Service officials, they learned her application never had been received. The matter was resolved, and in May Berlanga passed her citizenship test.
   "My mother had studied faithfully for this since she first applied," recalled her daughter, Mary Alice Gonzales. "Every time she came over to our house or we came to visit her, she'd have her list of 100 questions and have us quiz her."
   To help her study, Berlanga's children filled a binder with pages of citizenship questions and answers written in English and Spanish, in large type so that their mother could see. They also made a tape of questions to help her study.
   "My grandmother has been so many things in her life, and now it's like she's putting the exclamation point to all her life's endeavors," said local attorney Arnold Gonzales Jr, Berlanga's eldest grandson who lost a bid for the state Legislature in the 1990s.
   "This has been such an emotional experience for my grandmother and family; the jewel in the family crown."
   Berlanga has always preached determination and perseverance to her progeny, said granddaughter Miriam Gonzales, 36, an educational consultant in Alexandria, Va.
   "So it's not surprising that she's done this, despite being age 83," her granddaughter said. "It's in keeping with her character, and I know my grandfather is just as proud as we are. I'm sure he's got a smile on his face, from ear to ear."
   Another of Berlanga's grandsons, David Berlanga III, a recent University of Texas political science graduate who is now applying to law school, said his grandmother always ends their conversations by dispensing the same advice: Work hard toward your goals and make the best of life.
   Now he'll have her example as well as her advice.
   "That mental picture of her studying so hard at all hours of the day will come to me every time I need it," he said. "She worked so hard to get what she wanted, so I'll work just as hard to become an attorney."
  
  

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