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Crystal Recio Brian Benington Dance 1010-007 Life History Interview: Carlos Carlos is a man Ive known for 7 years. I was only 12 when he first came into my life as my moms boyfriend and he has been a part of my family ever since. Ten years ago, in 2003 Carlos was a young man of 24 years who left his home in Toluca, Mexico and came to the United States for the first time. He is now 34 years old and still with my mom, and he has not had the chance to go back home since he first stepped foot in the U.S. Carlos was born in Toluca, Mexico in 1979 in a small pueblo and is the oldest of 5 children. He grew up in a small house made out of cement and cement floors and with a big property of land for their ranch. His parents took him out of school when he was only 7 to help out on the ranch and take care of the sheep. As he grew older he started taking more responsibility on the ranch. He helped plant and grow corn, lettuce, peas, and such. He also helped watch over and take care of their sheep, cows, chickens, and horses. He said that he really enjoyed working with the animals especially the horses, because it was fun and yet challenging at times. He and his family grew up dancing and listening to nortea, cumbia, and ranchera music. He said that nortea and cumbia are both fast and ranchera is a steady pace, but not slow. Carlos said that his family and other families are really close in his pueblo because that is all they have everyone there is pretty poor. Because of their poorness his family didnt really celebrate any holidays no birthdays, no Christmas, or anything that required much money. Some of the

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holidays that his family did celebrate were Dia del Grito (Mexican Independence Day, September 16), Dia de las Madres (May 10), Dia de los Muertos (November 1, 2); this is when people celebrate their dead family members and believe that their dead come back to earth to visit them; and Dia de los Nios (April 30), which is a celebration and honoring of children in Mexico. He and his family are catholic and believe in saints and in the Virgin de Guadalupe. And an interesting custom of theirs, I thought, is that they keep a family members dead body in the house on a special table for 2 days for a nice vigil. As time went on things started getting a little harder for his family. That is why Carlos decided to come to America and get a job here to help his family financially. And thats exactly what he did. However, his journey here was not easy at all. In his pueblo he joined a group of other men who were planning to come to the U.S. as well. So, from his pueblo they took a bus to the state of Mexico, and from there they took a small plane to Agua Prieta; which is a small town near the U.S.-Mexico border. From there he had to walk through the desert until he got to Phoenix, Arizona and then they took a car to Ogden, Utah. To get onto this car Carlos said that you had to leave all your possessions behind, including your food. This whole journey took him 15 days and cost him a total of $2,000. His story coming here was really interesting, but my favorite part was when he talked about his journey through the desert. Carlos said that having to walk through the desert was very hard and tiring. He said that their walks were always very long and they hardly got any sleep ever because they walked at nights too. Just like any other desert, he said that the days were very hot and the nights got very cold. I asked Carlos if they got really hungry, of course I expected him to say yes, but he said no.

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The thing that you crave the most is water he and his group were always very dehydrated. When they ran out of water they resorted to drinking whatever water they could fine, even if that meant drinking from the same water that other animals drank from. I also asked Carlos if he ever felt scared and he told me no because he was in a big group. I dont know if he was telling me the truth or just trying to be a man, but Carlos is a pretty honest man so I believe him. He said the only scary parts of his journey were the dangerous animals (e.g. snakes, scorpions, spiders, coyotes) and hiding and running away from la migra (U.S. immigration police/officials). However, the scariest part, Carlos said, was when people started hallucinating and losing their memory. He said that he was grateful that this didnt happen to him. Throughout his 15 day journey he said that the feelings he most often felt were tired, frustrated, anxious and desperate to get to the U.S., and he missed his home and family. Now that Carlos has been here for 10 years he has learned and experienced things that are new to him. However, he likes that he got to learn new things. The houses, the roads, the languages, the atmosphere, and the people were all new to him. It was definitely a culture shock for him. He got to meet new friends, my mom, my family, hear languages hes never heard before, and he got to experience a new climate and see snow for the first time. Carlos also learned to drive on asphalt roads here and on freeways, and he got to learn how to do a new job, landscaping, that hes never done before. Being here he gets to help his family with money and he also gets to live in a better home, because like I said earlier he used to live in a small house made fully of cement and others were made of wood and dirt. Carlos said that our apartment is bigger than his house. Carlos also got to learn some things about the American culture and culture from El Salvador from my mom. He learned some the language, customs, beliefs, and also taste some of

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the food of El Salvador. He got to hear American music and watch American TV and see how wealthy Americans live as he mows their lawns. Here he got to use eating utensils to eat his food, because in his small pueblo he used tortillas as his utensils to eat his food. He eats tortillas with everything even with his spaghetti; he always makes weird combinations like that. Carlos has also gotten to try from other cultures. He does not like Italian food, but he really likes Chinese food. He likes that he got to have these nice new experiences. However, not everything has been nice and easy for him. Learning the English language has been really hard for Carlos. Even though hes been in the U.S. for a while he only knows 3 to 6 words in English, so basically Carlos doesnt know English. And surprisingly, Carlos also has a hard time with Spanish, since he got taken out of school early Carlos never got to learn how to read or write in Spanish, he can only speak it. He says he has a hard time sometimes because people cant understand him or he cant explain himself. He always has to find a translator and my mom always helps him with everything. This does frustrate him sometimes. And since Carlos is illegal I do not like that word at all he does not get what he deserves and some people take advantage of him. He does not get paid what hes supposed to at work, he is not allowed to voice his concerns or opinions at work, and he is allowed no sick days or else he gets fired. He does not get health insurance or any benefits at all. He has encountered racist people and people who stereotype him. Some people look at him differently or treat him differently at some places where he goes because they see him as lesser. I asked Carlos if any of this hurts him, he told me he doesnt care.

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It hurts me to see a man that I now consider as a stepfather to always get looked down upon. Carlos always works hard in everything he does even though he knows he will get no reward for it. Hes such a great man he is always willing to help and do what people ask him to do. This is supposed to be the land of the free, but Carlos has never gotten to experience that. He follows all the laws, he never even goes over the speed limit because hes too afraid, and he does get nervous sometimes around cops. Carlos has never seen the ocean before and my family and I really want to take him to a beach in California, but hes too afraid to even leave the state in the fear of getting deported. Carlos is a quiet, humble, and respectful man, he never complains about all his limitations in this country. Carlos is the kind of man who makes the best of what he has. Hearing all the hardships that hes been through made me realize how easy my life has been. Carlos still works hard every day to help support my family and his. I hope that one day people can see what kind of man Carlos really is and other people like him and just judge him because of the way he looks. I know that there are other illegals that do bad stuff here, but Carlos is definitely not one of them. Carlos should not be treated differently or like a criminal, he is such a great man.