Summary The border: A glare of truth

Pat Mora describes how she felt when she had to move from her hometown El Paso, Texas, to
Ohio. At first, she was so happy, because she was finally, going to the center of The United
States, and leave El Paso, which shares Mexican traditions like food, culture and language.

She definitely felt like she was ready to miss the sound of Spanish and knew she would miss
the pleasure of moving back and forth between two languages. When she heard a phrase in
Spanish, she silently wished she was part of that conversation, just to feel the Spanish in her
mouth.

When she was a young girl and her father selected a Mexican station on the radio, she would
had mixed feelings, because she wanted so to be an American, which in her mind, meant and
means shunning anything from Mexico.

On her first return visit to Texas, she stopped to hear a group of mariachis, and she was
sorprised when her eyes filled with tears not only at the music, but at the sight of wonderful
Mexican faces.

The culture of the border illustrates this truth daily. She saw children that stare at stores filled
with toys they’ll never touch, with books they’ll never read, and she missed that clear view of
the difference between her comfortable life and the lives of so many who also speak Spanish,
value family, music, celebration. What she miss about the sights and sounds of the border is
its stern honesty. The fierce light of that grand, wide Southwest sky not only filled her with
energy, it revealed the glare of truth.