Vanesa Amaro has over 5.5 million followers in her TikTok account in English and 5.8 million in her Spanish one. Photo: Noticias Telemundo
Vanesa Amaro has become a social media sensation — and made big bucks — thanks to her cleaning tips and frank talks about what it is like to be a Latina domestic worker, she told Noticias Telemundo.
The big picture: Over 61% of people who work cleaning houses in the U.S. are Hispanic, according to an analysis of census data from the Economic Policy Institute think tank.
- Domestic workers are three times more likely than others to live in poverty, according to data from the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
Details: Amaro has worked cleaning houses for over eight years in the Austin, Texas, area. She began sharing cleaning tips on TikTok when the pandemic hit and many domestic workers were left jobless.
- The self-proclaimed "cleaning queen" has since amassed 5.8 million followers in her Spanish-language account and 5.5 million in her English-language one.
- Her videos include everything from best practices for cleaning grout to discussions about being mistreated on the job.
- Amaro has landed a sponsorship with Clorox and her own line of cleaning sponges, which are sold in Mexico and the U.S.
- She’s been able to buy a house with the proceeds, she said.
What they’re saying: “Us Latinas in the U.S. still get looked down upon,” Amaro told Noticias Telemundo, adding that it used to make her feel like her work was shameful.
- “Our worth comes from who we are inside, not what we do.”