Anabel was born in Chicago to working class immigrant parents. Her father drove a taxicab and owned a small auto repair business in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, and her mother cleaned offices and worked at a factory. Both of Anabel’s parents immigrated from Mexico and often worked two jobs to provide for Anabel and her sister. As a child, Anabel remembers accompanying her dad on late night rides in his taxi when they couldn’t afford a babysitter.