Ana Murga: Fears are meant to be defeated

Some women don’t need blueprints to build something extraordinary. They do it with the intuition of the soul, the strength of the heart, and the memory of sacrifice. Ana Murga is one of them. 

She emigrated with only the essentials: her three children, a suitcase, her work creams… and unshakable faith. She didn’t bring material wealth, but she carried something much greater: love for her family, fierce determination, and a conviction that cannot be negotiated — dreams can be built, even from scratch. 

Born in Peru into a humble family marked by her father’s abandonment, Ana was raised by her mother, Norma — a woman who, though alone, was unstoppable. With unwavering sacrifice, she taught her daughters that education is a tool of freedom and that neither fear nor scarcity should ever silence the fire within. 

te y levantar un negocio. Y lo hizo. Ana dreamed of becoming an architect. Her mind was drawn to design, beauty, and function. But sometimes, urgency overrules vocation. Her older sister Alis was the first to work to support the household, and thanks to her, Ana was able to study secretarial work. It wasn’t her passion, but it was a solid step toward independence. 

The secretarial world didn’t fulfill her, so she joined her sister in working as a currency exchanger on the streets of downtown Lima. It was there that she met John — the man who would become her life partner, her home… and her biggest dream. Together, they built a strong family, woven with love, vision, and dedication. 

While raising their children, Ana discovered a new passion: beauty and skincare. With John's full support, she studied, became certified, opened her own salon, and eventually became a training director for a well-known brand in Peru. She had found her place, her gift, her voice. 

But when John had to migrate to the U.S. for work, life tested her strength once again. Ana held down the business and the household for years. Then, she made one of the hardest and bravest decisions of her life: she left everything behind and moved to the U.S. with her three children — Aiko, Akari, and Kiyoshi. She knew what it was like to grow up without a father, and she wasn’t willing to let her children go through that. Her compass was clear: family comes first. 

They arrived with very little, but with everything that truly matters. Ana had no documents, no English, no guarantees — but she had purpose. She began by cleaning barbershops and salons, assisting technicians, and learning the business from the ground up. Far from being ashamed of those beginnings, she honors them: “Sometimes you have to earn your place,” she says. It was during those early days that she began to understand how business worked in this new country — and what could be done better. 

While working long hours, Ana also studied. She pursued her U.S. certifications, overcoming challenges like the language barrier and navigating a new system. But she never stopped. And more importantly, she never let her immigration status define her worth or limit her growth. She learned that with an ITIN, she could get licensed, open a business, and build legally. And she did. 

Then came a life-changing moment. Watching TV with her husband one night, she heard a phrase from Steve Jobs that struck her to the core: “You can work on your own dreams, or you can work to make someone else’s dreams come true.” That night, something shifted. The show ended — and so did a chapter in her life. Ana decided to go all in on her dreams. 

She opened her first post-op massage center in her basement. It wasn’t fancy, but it was built on expertise, integrity, and passion. Word of mouth worked its magic. Clients came, then referrals from clinics followed. Her growth was natural, organic… and well-earned. 

What started in a basement is now a thriving business: Aikana Esthetic Center. A family-run enterprise where excellence, innovation, and heart are part of every service. Inspired by their mother, her daughters first studied massage and aesthetics, then nursing — determined to keep growing in the beauty and wellness field. Her son Kiyoshi runs the tech department. As a team, they bought their own building — a space that not only reflects outer beauty but the power of family unity. 

Ana knows one truth: dreams don’t come true on their own. They require effort, faith, and teamwork. Today, Ana not only leads her aesthetic center — she’s developing her own body care line and a brand of post-op compression garments. And she keeps dreaming bigger. 

“If you stop dreaming, you've already grown old. Dreaming and working toward it — that's being alive,” Ana says. 

With time and stability, she now creates freely and uses her talent to uplift other women who, like her, seek to feel good from the inside out. 

“Fears are made to be defeated,” she affirms — and her story proves it. Every fear she’s faced has become an open door, a new opportunity, a personal triumph. 

Today, Ana proudly calls herself the architect of her own life. Her story may mirror that of many immigrant women — but there’s one thing that sets her apart: she didn’t wait for perfect conditions to build something meaningful. She did it with what she had, with who she was, and with the vision of what she could become. 

A woman who conquered fear… and never lost her essence.