Growing Up Guatemalan in the United States Essay

In Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz’s book, Labor and Legality: An Ethnography of a Mexican Immigrant Network, she allows us to enter the everyday lives of ten undocumented Mexican workers all living in the Chicago area. Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz refers to Chuy, Alejandro, Leonardo, Luis, Manuel, Omar, Rene, Roberto, Lalo, and Albert the ten undocumented Mexicans as the “Lions”. This book shares the Lions many stories from, their daily struggle of living as an undocumented immigrant in America, to some of them telling their stories about crossing the border and the effects of living in a different country than their family, and many other struggles and experiences they have encountered. Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz’s book delves into

In the article “15 Years on the Bottom Rung” written by Anthony DePalma compares the story of a Greek and a Mexican immigrant, seeking better opportunities here in the United States. However, one succeeds and one doesn’t. One commonality is that they both resided in New York. Mr. Zannikos is the Greek immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1953 with 100 dollars to his name. Mr. Zannikos 19, left with no intent to go back to Greece. Once Mr. Zannikos arrived in New York he immediately started working and learning English. While working in a coffee shop the shop was raided by the cops and he was deported. Mr.zannikos snuck back in the United States and married a Puerto Rican from the Bronx, because of this he was able to gain citizenship giving him the opportunity to own his own restaurant “3 Guys”. 3 Guys became very successful in the South Bronx. In contrast, Mr. Peralta is a Mexican immigrant who came to the United States in 1990, whose father sent him because he was the first born and never able to have that opportunity for himself. Mr. Peralta 19, was out of a job for weeks waiting for job openings when he first arrived in New York. Once Mr. Peralta found a job opening he made enough money to pay back his father back, so he went back to Mexico to take care of his family and winds up getting married to Matilda while there. Mr. Peralta returns to New York with his new wife illegally. Living in poverty Mr. Peralta could only accept cheap labor jobs because he was not a documented citizen and didn’t know much English. DePalma explains in his writing why Mr. Peralta was not able to triumph in New York because of ethnicity, marriage, and language.

Guatemala is a small country in central America, bordered by Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, and Mexico. Guatemala is best known for their indigenous Mayan culture and excavated ruins of the Mayan empire, nature, and their world class coffee. If you visit Guatemala, you’ll see that it is unique in many ways.

     Guatemala’s culture is a unique product of Native American ways and a strong Spanish colonial heritage. About half of Guatemala’s population is mestizo (known in Guatemala as ladino), people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. Ladino culture is dominant in urban areas, and is heavily influenced by European and North American trends. Unlike many Latin American countries, Guatemala still has a large indigenous population, the Maya, which has retained a distinct identity. Deeply rooted in the rural highlands of Guatemala, many indigenous people speak a Mayan language, follow traditional religious and village customs, and continue a rich tradition in textiles and other crafts. The two cultures

People in Central America especially, long to have their basic necessities met. Visiting Guatemala and Mexico at the age of ten was a hard site to see. Kids walking on the street barefoot not because they wanted to, but they had no money to buy shoes. Making their dirty feet ache at night. Wearing the same clothes full of filth because they could not afford to buy clothes and soap. Parents struggling to provide for their family. They would often sent their child to school without lunch, making it hard for the student to concentrate at school. Any little money counts and they would make it last. Yet they were so welcoming and loving to guest. They had nothing to offer but the little they had they would offer. Family’s full of frustration and no hope turn to the journey of going to “el Norte”. Hoping to have a better life and help their family improve their social status.

Lou Ann, a woman in the process of divorcing from her husband, invites Estevan and Esperanza to her house. They begin to talk and Lou Ann defends Estevan from the harsh comments of Edna, an older woman at Lou Ann’s house, revealing a large factor in why Estevan and Esperanza left Guatemala. “This man you are looking at is an English teacher. He did not come here so he could wash egg foo yung off plates and take orders from a five-year-old”. (Kingsolver, ch. 7) Lou Ann recalls that Estevan “did not come here so he could wash egg foo yung off plates” revealing Estevan's hopes to find a strong job in America. This corresponds with the story of a Syrian family that has been resettled in New Jersey. The father of the family explains how his children have been given a chance to build their futures in America. “ Of course when I see my kids going to...build their futures, I am going to be the happiest.”(PBS) This is one example of a common situation. A family of immigrants fleeing their homes to find a future for their kids and for themselves. The bigger picture of this idea is reflected by America’s opinion on immigrants. If America doesn't allow immigrants to enter and find jobs, than immigrants are closed off in their homes with violence often surrounding

Each year, thousands of Central American immigrants embark on a dangerous journey from Mexico to the United States. Many of these migrants include young children searching for their mothers who abandoned them. In Enrique’s Journey, former Los Angeles Times reporter, Sonia Nazario, recounts the compelling story of Enrique, a young Honduran boy desperate to reunite with his mother. Thanks to her thorough reporting, Nazario gives readers a vivid and detailed account of the hardships faced by these migrant children.

Jose’s father had always mainly worked construction jobs with other undocumented immigrants and Jose joined his father’s line of work because there were not many jobs available to him and he felt obligated to contribute to the family, “A second feature of the Hispanic American family is the emphasis on cooperativeness and on placing the needs of the family ahead of individual concerns” (Manning & Baruth, 2009, p.170). Jose dreamed of going to college and pursuing art or graphic design but even these simple goals were out of reach for him because of his undocumented status.

A spiral of events lead Mr. Jose Vargas to unrightfully apologize to former bosses and employers regarding his immigration status. Many undocumented citizens, Vargas states approximately, “11 million undocumented immigrants” have endured a battle to gain their citizenship. Obtaining proper documents, Green Cards, social security numbers and drivers licenses is undesirably long and difficult. Mr. Vargas, a college graduate and acclaimed author for major newspapers was denied of jobs, opportunities and scholarships despite the numerous accomplishments he gained.

The human experience is peculiar, as we experience both a conscious and subconscious reality. Often, the most impactful emotions and thoughts are experienced in our subconscious thinking, molding us into a unique self. Victoria Hernandez is a strong, powerful Hispanic woman who has worked as a paralegal for Kids in Need of Defense for the last three years. While a large number of attorneys are directly involved with the organization, Vicky’s contributions to KIND are vital to the success and continuance of the cause. Vicky holds many roles, including that of a paralegal for a law firm, an activist for a non-profit organization, a mentor to many interns and an older sister to many clients. The undocumented children who come to the KIND office

The author Sonia Nazario goes on this journey to get the feel of what immigrants do in the real world. She wrote this story that way us readers understand the struggles immigrants go through daily. United States citizens do not realize there is a growing number of immigrants daily. Enrique’s mother Lourdes left him at such a young age with a lot of responsibilities, that children should not have to worry about. Lourdes wanted nothing but the best for her children, therefore she traveled all the way to the United States, that way she could make a lot of money to support her children. As a mother she did not want her kids to have the life she did. Throughout Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, the author includes emotional and logical appeals, accurately supported by statistics and personal accounts that give perspectives on the same issue of immigration and Enrique living without his

In The Book of Unknown Americans the Author, Cristina Henriquez, gives us a real life insight on a family’s story about coming to America and adjusting to the American way of life. Henriquez put the words “It’s not paradise, but at least here I can be at peace” (Henriquez 47) in the mouth of Benny Quinto, an immigrant from Nicaragua. Benny, like many others in the story, came to America to find an “escape” from their native countries. America is sought after by many immigrants for better living conditions, a better life for their families, and like we see in this book, medical treatment. America is seen by immigrants as a place of freedom, promises and opportunities but, that isn’t necessarily true.

When reading through the different perspectives in Cristina Henriquez’s The Book of Unknown Americans, each perspective provides a different sense of emotion as each individual travels to the United States in search of the American dream. In Alma, Arturo, and Maribel’s case, the family travels in search of more adequate health care and better school systems to suit Maribel’s needs after her accident. By taking in their perspectives, it is nearly impossible not to root for their characters. Although immigration is such a pressing and more challenging topic to debate in the United States, the book raises the question of, “Wouldn’t you do the same for your family?” There are a numerous amount of influences in making this decision that tell what we should and should not believe when addressing this issue including family, friends, the media, politics, etc. With these influences, it is difficult to make an unbiased decision.

The one thing that stood out to me in this article was when Javier stated, “He worn a walkie-talkie then in his role as a manager, and it was his job to call everyone back to the line at the end of each break. He had never felt more a part of America than he did in these moments, hearing his own voice over the factory loudspeakers, issuing orders in English.” The reason why this statement stood out to me is because for Javier it seems like his past life was that, and for once, he tasted his piece of the American pie. However, the one thing that made Javier dream false was his status in the United States. Therefore, some of the pros and cons of immigration reform in the U.S... In the case of Javier,

Diane Guerrero was a colombian girl born and raised in Boston with her undocumented family, but one day her whole life changed. Being undocumented in the United States is a difficult life to live in, Diane’s book, “In The Country We Love,” has showed her side of the story. Immigrants live a life where they want the best for their families, they may not have the same rights as American citizens though. in her book she described how her Latino family have been deported back to their home country during the start of her teen years. plenty of Latinos in the United States fear that the same thing will happen to them.