Editor’s Note:  The following interview was done by Marjorie Stoneman on behalf of Whitewater Unites Lives (WUL).

Most Americans have parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents who were immigrants, and Cesar Mendoza is no different. He is a second-generation immigrant.  His mother came to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico before he was born and later became a United States Citizen under the Amnesty program.

Born in the U.S., Cesar has always been a United States citizen and grew up in Whitewater, where he attended every school except Lakeview.  He remembers great experiences growing up and appreciates Whitewater’s diversity.   Cesar opened a thriving business in 2015 called Underground Cutz that provides barbershop haircuts.

Cutting hair is his passion and his avocation.  He went to UW-Whitewater for a while, but ended up cutting hair for so many students that he decided to open his own business after attending barber school.  After cutting hair out of the basement of his step-dad’s furniture store, Leon Furniture, for three years, he finally had so many customers that he was able to open his shop right next to his step-dad’s shop.   The landlord of his building offered to renovate and let him pay it back in installments.

Cesar has always liked Whitewater, and though he wanted to remain living here, he found his perfect home in Milton where he and his wife live with their four children.

Most of his barbershop clients come from outside of Whitewater or are university students.  He said, “Getting people from Whitewater to support businesses in Whitewater is tough.”

In fact, he says he has a few Hispanic clients but most are not.  He thinks it is because of his branding – the name of his business is in English.  While some people assume he speaks Spanish because he looks Hispanic, others assume that, because the name of his business is in English, he does not speak Spanish.

In fact, he does speak both English and Spanish fluently.  His mother, who learned English at work once she moved here, would tell her children she could not understand them (even though she could) if they spoke English because she wanted them to learn to speak Spanish fluently.

He takes his family to Guanajuato, Mexico regularly so that his children, ages 9, 4, 2 and 11 months, can understand more about his family’s culture.  He says that the culture in Mexico is very different than in America.  People in his mother’s hometown are very family-oriented and friendly to everyone.

Even though he regularly visits Mexico, the U.S. is his home.  He loves the United States for its diversity.  “The U.S. is everyone’s country – that’s what makes it so different from other countries.”

He feels strongly that Immigrants add value to the community and economy.  He says, “Whitewater would be nothing without immigrants because everyone in Whitewater probably has an immigrant background.”

Undergrown Cutz, on 153 W. Main Street, Suite A, is open for walk-ins Thursday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.