As a child growing up in New York City, Ed Minaya dreamt of a career in law enforcement. After moving to the Dominican Republic in elementary school, Ed’s dreams quickly shifted, but he hoped to one day return to the United States. In 1990, while driving through Santo Domingo, a radio ad caught his attention, announcing that American Airlines was hiring at Las Americas International Airport (SDQ). Ed knew that this job would not only give him the opportunity to serve others, but it would also offer him wings. That radio ad altered the course of his and his family’s story forever.
Ed soon joined American as a Customer Service Agent at SDQ, and his twin sister Hilda quickly followed suit. During his more than 30-year career with American, Ed has held a number of roles at the airline, most recently as a Customer Care Manager at Miami International Airport (MIA). At MIA, he works alongside Hilda and his wife Elizabeth Helver, both Premium Guest Service Representatives, as well as his brother-in-law Ariel Helver, a Facilities Maintenance Mechanic. For the Minayas, working at American is a familia affair.
The Minayas and the Helvers are as tight-knit as they are diverse: Ed and Hilda are of Dominican descent, while Elizabeth and Ariel are Argentine. While their work schedules don’t always coincide, they make sure to make time for family. Almost every Sunday the entire family gets together for a meal where their rich cultural backgrounds are put on display. The table includes a wide variety of dishes that best exemplify their own cuisines, from Argentine staples like choripan, milanesa and chimichurri, to Dominican cake, white rice and red beans.
“Being Hispanic is such a big part of our identities, but it’s something so hard to define because our cultures are so unique and varied — from the different foods we eat, our idioms, accents, music, even the teams that we root for. One key unifying thread is our conviction that our familia comes first,” Ed…