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Tribute
Valerie JaimesI’m at a point in my life where deep reflection dawns on a desire and overwhelming pressure to revitalize and continue my family’s stories.- AlanaI stand on the shoulders of two people that worked with the circumstances they were given to provide opportunities for their children.
- RuthAlthough she had nice legs, her knees were bent together in an odd position at the center. She always preferred to keep them covered
- María T. AviñaI started meeting more mothers at school, that’s how I found out that someone needed help with taking care of their children so they could go to work, and I offered. I told them, “I am at home with my husband and my three sons who work. I can...
- María RubioIf I work it is out of necessity, not because I don’t need to work, that’s why we’re working.
- Juan Francisco Aviña LopezAfter that I started doing more extreme things, and then what I was doing back then became a habit.
- Sorángel Cardona TinajeroWhat is grand is to be able to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow. Remember yes, you can.
- Arthur CamargoGiving up is not an option. Only when all people are recognized and respected and treated with dignity will the fight end. Only when we decide that we belong to the same tribe – the human race!
- Sandra ReynosoI have been through difficult times in my life, but along with my husband and son, we have been able to overcome everything thanks to the great love there is between us.
- Ramona MaderaWe came hoping to be better off financially, between the two of us working, we would be able to have a better life for our two daughters.
- Paula PlacenciaI have had many trainings on pesticides and field conditions, and despite all the information that is in the media, I feel there is a great need to provide more.
- María S. AguileraI have managed to overcome many obstacles in life and I have been an example for my children to not give up, they can be whatever they want to be and work where they choose to work.
- Ma. Luisa SalazarShe gave me a room, bed and everything; with a blanket and everything. And then she got us a job in the strawberry fields. It was very hard. We had never worked in the fields, my husband and me. But we never chickened out. We worked.
- KurusaI enjoy sharing one of my passions, which is cooking; every weekend, we prepare a meal to go feed the less fortunate; we deliver hot food so they know that no matter the situation they are in, there is always someone who thinks and cares about them.
- María Elena Villagómez...when I was in school, they could not buy me a physical education uniform...
- María C.Well, today I want to tell about my life. I am the second oldest of nine siblings. We are five women and four men. We were a family with my dad and my mom. I always remember how we used to play when we were little; I used to...
- Margarita ContrerasWhat I say to my children is that they be good parents to their children. We suffered a lot because we didn’t have much food; there wasn’t plenty, so we never wasted any.
- Livier PérezI was born in Los Angeles, CA. My mom was an undocumented immigrant. When I was one year old, she took me to Jalisco, Mexico. I grew up there.
- GuerreroI left my little ones in Mexico when I came. I used to cry a lot for leaving my children...
- Joceline RomeroI would go to school, come back and do my homework and go outside and play with my friends. It felt so good! I loved my life at that moment. It was like if a big weight was off my shoulders.
- Jannet CardonaSo Rosie had her services in Mexico and also in Greenfield. God helped and blessed us to have her in life for 23 years....
- EvaThe other girls thought I was from Mexico, and they used to say “go back to your Mexico, where you should be.”
- Cynthia ArciniegaIt turns out that the people in the office looked at the report the doctor sent from the hospital and they realized she got hurt. They asked what had happened.
- Catalina GonzálezI only went to the hospital and back to the house. A week later and I’m making his lunches, doing everything I can.
- Carla HernándezWorking in the fields will always be one of the best experiences and lessons of my life, as I was always someone who thought (and said) that I would never work doing this.
- Blanca FlórezSince then I have participated in trainings, many educational meetings, and they have also taught me about our rights and to know how worthy we are as women.
- Belén ChávezI came to this country because I lived a life of domestic violence with my husband. I crossed the mountains along with my 1-year-old daughter and I survived.
- ChelincitoWhen electric lighting reached the community, and there was clean drinking water and TV, all the families began to grow apart and isolated.
- Verónica PérezI cannot stand when people talk about skin color as if that makes them different, and much less in this country where we all come from different nations, which is what makes this country so beautiful – diversity.
- Yesenia MartínezHaving to be father and mother to my two children, it was not easy. I cried many times, but I also laughed a lot with them
- María...I am a fighter, a woman who likes to help other women, especially farmworker women who need to know about their rights, and become a bridge that helps enforce their social, economic, political and human rights.
- Celia ÁlvarezLife is hard and difficult to live, but there are times when all the suffering we have gone through is rewarded.
- Chartise Juanita ClarkWe were in the country where her parents were born, but she was not welcome to own her identity by calling herself Hondureña.
- SandraHe responded, “A history degree won’t pay the bills, why not become a nurse? They get paid well.” I told him I was not passionate about nursing and the thought of blood made me sick. Besides, I wanted to teach not work in a hospital.
- Fernanda MartínezIt was a big change for me to leave my family, my sisters, my mom, it was the hardest thing for me, but for that reason I do not give up.
- Crystal SerranoAlthough I was aware of racial inequality, I wasn’t critical of it. My introduction to consciousness was through feminism. My experiences as a female were easier to articulate than those around race.
- Alyssa ScharfToo Mexican for the White kids, too White for the Mexican kids.
- Daniel David RevelesI know and believe in the long game, the years long struggle to fix what was purposefully broken. I can be angry and humble. I can be frustrated and introspective. My hate and sadness burn together, they fuel my drive to give back, to demand equality, equity, diversity, and...
- Melissa SerranoI stand on the shoulders of a very strong willed and loving matriarchal grandmother who raised me and was the unofficial leader of her newly immigrated family to this country from Mexico.
- Melissa Grasso...my work is not “them,” “me,” it’s “us” together in solidarity.
- Anselma...with dedication and patience, anything is possible. I learned this from my parents, and I want to prove to everyone, and to myself, that it is true.
- Lizbeth QuirozI want him to be proud of me. I want him to be happy to call me his daughter.
- AlfredoTo talk about my history, it’s easy to assume that it starts with me. However, I didn’t make myself so my history starts with my parents.
- Adilenne LeónIt has been hard to achieve “The American Dream,” but soon I will be the first in my family to graduate with a BA and go into the teaching field.
- Karla GarcíaI have to remember to be critical, and evaluate the main narrative of history and show my students what it means to question accepted stories.
- MarielaI am the daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico. I grew up in an area known for its agricultural industry.
- Delia ZamudioHave you ever felt like you’re alone in a boat at sea? Have you ever wondered if it’s really worth continuing to fight for your dreams, in spite of all the obstacles?
- Cecilia I. Villanueva SánchezBy then, I had already left school. In my life, there was nothing else except for my home, my work and my children...
- Claudia Linares RamírezMy sister said, “You were chosen for a reason. Believe in yourself.”
- Anny VázquezShe was strong, often silent, cold to caresses. Our home interaction with her was about working at the house, and on Sundays she rewarded me and my 8 brothers with handmade tortillas and salsa from the molcajete. What a joy it was when she was home!
- AC...you are my inspiration to keep pursuing this dream…this American dream.
- Marcelina DelgadilloMy dream of an education had come true. It took so many years as I was in my 30’s by the time graduation came. Later, I was able to get my M.S. at SF State University – the 1st in my family to graduate from College.
- Lulú MatuteI, was the connection to mother and daughter separated by borders, laws, documents and time.
- Rosalinda HernándezI’ve picked up the pen to once again let my words float to where they can see them.
- Fieldworker/Trabajadora del campoTo be able to help my children not be without, I used to leave the jobs where I was being harassed and I used to move on to other jobs where I thought I would not receive harassment. But, it seemed that all of them agreed to do the...
- CieloHe used to tell me “I want to share a little bit of my life with you. I’ve suffered a lot, I saw my mother suffer.” I said, “You’re repeating what I told you about my life or something like that.”
- CieloIf someone were to ask me, “How it is that the fruit is grown, so beautifully, that are strawberries?” What it is to pick out the seedling, clean it up, and choose good seedlings. How it is to plant seedlings and how to take care of the plant so...
- Silvia Austerlic...what I have learned and want to share, is that the immigrant life journey offers us an opportunity to choose a bigger story, and claim the potential for learning-healing-transformation that we all have, because of our own history and life experience. This is inner work we have to do,...
- KurusaThank you God for allowing me to be who I am and how I am. Letting me swim and giving me the strength to learn, even against the flow, and to share my madness with more crazy women like me, who know how to go everywhere, but more importantly...
- Marla Tomasa VargasMy mom’s house was three blocks away. I went outside and I could see two children running in the middle of the street barefoot. They didn’t stop until they got to the house. They embraced me crying and saying, “Mom, mommy, you came back! We missed you so much,...
- Maricela Figueroa ZamilpaShe, my mother, knew that mothers cannot do it on their own; that they need to form armies of shared parenting; that love has to be shared between the children of the earth; and that love we share is involved in the care of every human being.
- Paloma Citlali MartínezWrapped up like a little tamale, we go to my dear friend Mariana’s house. Four months later we have the court date to make Paloma legally mine.
- María GarcíaI supported them, modestly, but I did make sure they had a good education in life and I feel proud of that, because I was, as people say, a single mother twice.
- Lili SA few years ago, I didn’t know whether to identify as a Chicana or a Latina or even American. Having learned about the history behind these identifiers helped me learn about Me.
- C. RoblesMy gift to the family of this earth is being an advocate for others.
- María Elena D.I know it is really important to speak both languages to be able to be able to be understood in the two cultures; one because it is my culture and the other one because I am in the United States of America and I need to communicate.
- Marla Tomasa VargasWe were told to divide into two groups. In each group there were twenty-five of us and we were to walk just a day and a night. So I chose to do it again and we left. We would stop for five minutes and continue. Everything was going well,...
- Mily Trevino-SaucedaI was born in Washington State. I relate to people when I share with them who I am and where I come from. I come from a family of migrant workers.
- MarthaI told her, “Miss, I don’t have any money to go there. It takes a lot of money to leave the country.”
- MarthaUnbeknown to my father, I went to register for school. I went to register for school when I was ten years old, keeping it secret from my father.
- María JimenezI remember my grandmother was strong. It was difficult for her to show her feelings since she had participated in the revolution. She had fifteen kids. Of those, most died of hunger and she was left with four.
- Pedro Reyes“My Zapotec Goddess”: the woman who gave me life. Thanks to her effort, her struggles and sacrifices I am who I am.
- Milagros RamírezYou must not think of us—human beings fleeing violence—as a nuisance.
- Dinorah Barton Antonio... we are forty percent of the population. Why aren’t we at the table?
- Milagros RamírezThere is something special in our women, we don’t lose our joy, don’t lose our hope. Whatever we do, we do with joy...We do this so...other people see the effort we have in wanting to survive.
- Elida LealI started with a job that I never in my life imagined I’d be working. Because I had only worked in offices, right? They were good jobs and well here I clean houses. Very different from what I used to do....
- María Isabel BartonWe arrived in 1983 with four children and six suitcases. We came legally with papers and everything but despite this, life was completely different. We had left friends, jobs, homes. I left my elderly mother. All this created enormous nostalgia for our community.
- Martha A. NoyolaI have four daughters. My fears now are based on national statistics; one in four women will be assaulted. This is very scary to me. I have four daughters....
- Sandra Martínez HernándezThis ends with not the ending but the beginning, the beginning of my healing... My education and work in this field saved me. It helped me learn to begin to heal and allowed me to work towards...ending violence against women.
- SonoraI hear the pens around me in this workshop scribble away their most intimate memories. I think to myself, how vulnerable we can be, but yet so empowered by our written word. I feel very honored to have a space to share my story, and acknowledged for how unique...
- Mónica Segura-SchurtzI work with people, with immigrants, with people struggling in poverty with not a lot of education, and I ask myself, why? Why do I care, and sometimes, I ask, do I care?
- Mayuli BalesYour dust papa is covering my silence, my voice reveals to be silence. Why to reveal to the sacred silence?
- Gloria MoralesSo Guatemala called my mom. Guatemala happened. So they call her saying your dad is dying
- Gloria FuentezI wanted to see my daughter and she wanted to see me, it had been years since we’d seen each other. Seeing the mountains frightened me and I’d say it made me think about all the remains, the bones of all who had died, and I’d get a little...
- Daniela... my family lived in El Salvador and survived the war in the 1980s. She tells me many stories of the violence she saw and about everyone who did not survive... No, I cannot—I cannot imagine being in that position at 15 or 16 years old.
- VioletaIt basically erased my identity. Now I think how do I get it back?
- Rachel (Raquel) McAlpinThey both made sure that all seven of us and my mother had a place to live, food, clothing and a high school education.
- Albertina Zarazúa PadillaIn the winter of 2002 they made plans to cross the border. With only a long-sleeved shirt, cans of food on her back and a gallon-jug of water in her hands, she began the three-day trek into the U.S.
- Marla Tomasa VargasAbout six in the afternoon we started to walk. I only carried a gallon of water....
- Diana Franco MadridI listen for grandma’s voice to echo in my ear. I hope to live long enough to tell my grandchildren about their great-great-grandmother and of all her teachings. And to let my youngest granddaughter know that her name “Echo” comes in honor of my grandmother and our ancestors, who...
- Elena Díaz BjorkquistThat sunny May Day afternoon all of the classes in third grade were assigned to dance the Mexican Hat Dance in the elementary school festival. It was one of the few ways that our culture was honored in school. Every May Day there would be one class that performed...
- Blanca HernandezAt suppertime, someone unexpected would show up hoping that they would be able to share some of the delicious meal. At times, some of the women who had earlier contributed monetarily to the meal would give a cry of disapproval as to why someone who did not contribute was...
- Mónica Enríquez-EnríquezLast night I had a dream that my mother wanted to run away and travel the world. Why wouldn’t she?
- AndreaThe day I walked in to my high school biology class for the first time, I never imagined it would be the moment I met the most influential woman in my life....
- Jill ContrerasMi abuelita thrives in my heart despite her transformation to a spiritual ancestor. Her details of how to make the masa made a bold call for spirituality in my cooking.
- NatalieThe woman who has made the most impact on my life is the woman with whom I spent the first weeks of my life. She is not my mother.
- AzucenaMy grandmother, whom we called “Mami,” was an incredibly strong woman and greatly influenced my life...We used to go to the senior center on weekdays, and at home we used to read together and help each other learn English.