- First husband (Jorge); 6 children

- When she came with her kids she came in ‘78

- Got caught by immigration the first time
- My mom was the only U.S. citizen in their family but she still has to cross over
illegally
- Left her first husband behind because he did not support the move
- Irresponsible husband
- He did not try to sustain the family
- Worked two shifts
- Worked at lumberyard
- During all this, she also worked on constructing the house she built for her family
- Lumberyard closed down june 7, 1970
- Began to think about her life in Mexico; she had no job and 7 kids. She thought
life for her in Mexico was over, she needed to go where the money was being
made and where she would be able to support her family
- Harsh childhood : never sent to school
- Literacy was a major obstacle in her life, she was never taught how to read or
write
- On June 10, 1970 she left her country in search for better opportunities to help
her family. She left her kids with her sister and was off
- On June 10 1970, she took a 12 hour bus ride from Durango, Mexico to Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico which is one of Mexico’s border cities.
- She arrived at 10 pm
- On June 13th, 1970 My grandmother and 17 (2 women 15 men) other people
met the coyote at 11 am
- Midday: they were near the river that divided ciudad juarez from the
United States
- At 3pm they crossed the river and began to walk into a sewer drainage
pipe of the city of El Paso, Texas
- Walked through filth for hours
- At 7pm the coyote climbed up a ladder and lifted a drainage gate