Life of An Immigrant: The Journey to America of C-Ray Stanziola

By C-Ray Stanziola and Cedric D. Fisher

A story of how one man, born of humble means migrated to the United States of America during the Noriega regime. Born with a physical handicap, illegal and undocumented for 21 years, was determined to enter mainstream American society and corporate America and overcame insurmountable odds to achieve unimaginable heights. His journey had a s

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cedric D. Fisher & Company, Publishing
• Release date: Mar 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781087870823

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Life of an Immigrant, The Journey to America of C-Ray Stanziola

Copyright © 2020 C-Ray Stanziola

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright law, no part of this publication may be produced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

ISBN: 978-1-7324195-3-7

Library of Congress Control # 2019917768

Copy Editor – Alayne Merenstein

Interior Design – Sandra Sch • www.SSWDesign.com

C-Ray Stanziola, Author

Cedric D. Fisher, Writer

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my parents, Carlos E. Menendez Mastrolinardi and Litza Giovanna Stanziola Regis for being the best parents anyone could ever have. My heart’s desire is to care for them and keep them from wanting anything, until the day the good Lord calls them home.

Acknowledgment

I am humbled at this opportunity to bless my parents, serve the Lord, and support people everywhere and in my community. As doors open for me, I, in turn, open doors for others.

There are many people I wish to thank. First, my savior, Jesus Christ, for coming into my life and saving me. Thank you, Dad, for taking a leap of faith by coming to America. Dad, you are a warrior, always looking out for your family. You have allowed our family to continue to live a good life. Thank you, Mom, for your unconditional love. Mom, you are always supportive. You took care of us as children like a grizzly mama bear takes care of her cubs. Thank you both for looking out for my welfare, as you did from the beginning and continue to do. I believe that the same spirit that you possess is in me and that is the spirit of the warrior who never quits and always believes God knows best. Analis, Jackie, Carlos David, and Victoria, thank you, my dear children. Without you, it would be hard to find reasons to keep going. Finally, to all the people who believed in me and prayed for me all these years, you have been bright lights along my path.

Dedication & Acknowledgments - C-Ray Stanziola

Introduction - Cedric D. Fisher

Foreword - George Duncan, Esq.

Introduction

By Cedric D. Fisher

Every now and then we cross paths with people who light up a room when they enter, people to whom the spotlight seems to naturally defer. But among those who luminesce, some people outshine all the others, leaving the rest in the shadows. C-Ray (Carlos Ramon) Stanziola is one of them. His light shines brighter. Sometimes I think he doesn’t realize the electrifying effect he has on others, nor why people feel compelled to gather around him.

This book chronicles C-Ray Stanziola’s journey in America. To put a finger on C-Ray, one would have to say his life has been a perfect storm of events… a life whose circumstances not only make for a compelling autobiography but begs to be told. Was it his choices or circumstances, nature, or nurture that made him who he is and was way back when? Knowing C-Ray, I’d be safe in saying it’s both. This is not the usual immigrant story. His life did not follow a straightforward, uncomplicated trajectory. His is not a narrative that most of us can relate to. C-Ray’s journey has been peppered with personal and financial struggles, a long, twisted road traveled to gain acceptance and hard-earned assimilation and success.

In many ways, that path resembles what many Americans – both native and naturalized – have lived for: attaining the American Dream. Not to belittle the struggles of all other American immigrants in search of their version of the American Dream, C-Ray’s story has some uncommon and complicated layers. C-Ray’s story is about breaking free of nearly impenetrable borders, familial strife, temptation, and dark paths. It is about the discovery of his true, authentic identity. 

Common to all of us who share this planet is an underlying desire to make dreams and hopes come true … to aspire beyond whatever barriers are imposed on us – physical or intangible. When our mind tells our feet to walk but our heart tells them to dance, which one should we listen to? If our mouths compel us to sing rather than speak, should we suppress that song? C-Ray listened to his heart. Maybe that didn’t always lead him down the best path, but it was a journey that may have been necessary for him to experience joy, accomplishment, and inner peace.

C-Ray often confronted opposition like a cliff diver. He jumped fearlessly. His lot in life was cast, beginning in childhood and continuing into manhood. Because of his undocumented immigrant status, he was forced to watch his steps carefully, keep many things hidden, take actions that were risky, and make tough decisions. At times he felt invisible, silenced. He was a victim of the unspoken for, unaccounted for, the forgotten, and the ignored. Was it something in his DNA, something innate in his cell structure, or was it God’s words that were like a scream in C-Ray’s head, shouting out that life could be better than this? Whatever propelled him and his fierce spirit, it was righteous and persistent. It was an inner sense that each of us as human beings feels in our core that we deserve to earn a good life, an affirmation that life is more than mere basic existence. C-Ray walks, talks, and breathes with an air of certainty … a certainty that belongs to one who engages in life fully, despite adversity.  C-Ray oozes charisma. Being in his company, one senses they are in the presence of someone remarkable, someone blessed. He’s a one-in-a-million individual who can make his presence felt without ever opening his mouth.

C-Ray left home at a young age. While young and bold, unfortunately, he stumbled into a situation that threatened his ability to become an honest member of this nation; he became an undocumented immigrant. This was a challenge not only for himself but also for his family to whom he was responsible and dedicated. C-Ray showed courage and determination throughout his struggles to seek an honest and successful life, bearing the weight of being illegal in the country he loved dearly. He pays his passion forward by helping to lift others who struggle with similar circumstances. Call him an alpha male with a heart.

C-Ray is an overachiever who went on to work for several Fortune 500 companies, earning top sales awards without ever obtaining a college degree. He is also an accomplished athlete, musician (his true calling), and servant of God. Despite those impressive accomplishments, he says being a father is his proudest achievement.

After surviving 21 undocumented years in this country, C-Ray eventually became a legal resident. Then it was full speed ahead. His life flourished. C-Ray re-established his childhood spiritual devotion after his first marriage. Most often, it is the parents who are role models for their children. In C-Ray’s family, it was the reverse during the early stages of his spiritual walk. The first in the family to encounter a spiritual awakening, C-Ray encouraged that same awakening in his parents. He would share with them what he learned in his spiritual searches.

C-Ray gently steered his parents’ religious path. They began to follow his lead. C-Ray recalls how his parents moved to a new church, following their son and his instincts that a particular house of devotion didn’t feel right.

It wasn’t until his parents got the calling to be ministers that they began to walk their own spiritual path, mainly because of their hunger for more, explains C-Ray. I supported them along the way by playing music and leading youth groups. But there was always a certain distance between my parents and me concerning spirituality. They took their devotion so seriously. It became more difficult for them to see things my way as they began to earn a high level of respect as pastors. C-Ray recalls the bumpy road he and his parents traveled as a family, a family growing more and more immersed in a religious life. As C-Ray saw it, he was the older son, the one with more experience. How could he be wrong and his parents right? C-Ray recognized in his parents a passion for Christ – a passion he felt was leaning toward the extreme.

With his biological and adopted children and their mothers, C-Ray is a God-fearing man with a big heart. He’s the father of two sons and four daughters. He is always looking for ways to help others and willing to give second chances. He is an example to his family and friends that God’s spirit is within him. He and his second wife Janette currently make their home in Lake Tahoe, California.

What follows is the story of C-Ray Stanziola’s life journey. It’s a story about what happened during the 21 years he spent undocumented, a US resident, his legal residency, and on up to his achievement of personal and occupational success.

C-Ray is the distinguished founder and spearhead of the I Am Latino movement. He is also the owner of Power Up Media Group, publishers of I Am Latino Magazine. His