July 8th, 2011
by Denise Peralta
My mother’s dream was to change the circumstances of her life, which was informed by poverty. When she was thirteen years old, she heard about a woman named Amanda who was offering to bring her older sister, my aunt to the United States. Without hesitating my mom asked her mother if she could go, too. But her dream was denied.
On Mother’s day, my mom found her mother crying. She said that her brother, who had been in the United States for seven years, had not bothered to call her. My mother comforted her by saying that one day, when she is in the U.S., she would always remember Mother’s day. She even promised to build her a house, but her mother was unimpressed. She said to my mother mockingly: “Yes, you do that. Why don’t you whistle at me when you have it finished.”
As my mom related this story to me, she sat looking wistfully, her eyes wandering around the room, with no humor in her face. When looking her into her eyes, I could see them tear up, as she confronted this painful memory. Finally, when she turned 15, she told me that she got the opportunity to come North.
What surprised me is that she crossed the border on her own. She told me she was very scared and upset that she didn’t have any support from family members. Her spirits were lifted when she met an elderly man on the journey that looked after her. He told her he didn’t expect anything in return, all he wanted her to do was continue being the strong and independent young woman she already was to him. She was able to find a family to stay with initially, until she was able to find her brother. But she still struggled. He was not kind to her, and took advantage, demanding part of her paycheck.
I asked my mother what kept her going from such a young age until now with all her challenges. She told me “what kept me going was the thought of being poor.” She was never tired of working because her dream was always to escape this crushing poverty. But she did manage to fulfill her dream of building a house for my grandmother, and bring all her brothers to the States as well. Yet none of them ever thanked her.
She told me “every time that I speak about this, I feel a great sadness, which is why I was trying to prevent your interviewing me….every time I talk about this it makes me cry.” Then she burst into tears. I didn’t know what to do as I was writing this, so I leaned over and gave her a big hug.
El sueno de mi madre siempre a sido de cabiar las circunstancias de su vida que era de salir de la pobresa. Cuando mi mama tenia trece anos se entero que una senora de nombre Amanda le offrecio a la Hermana mayor de mi madre, la oportunidad de venir a los Estados Unidos. Sin dejar que mi tia diera un suspiro, mi madre le pregunto a mi abuela si la dejaba
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