Nicole Padron
Fall 2022
“We are all equal but just with different faces. We are all equal but with different colors of skin and different looks. That’s it. Everything else is the same.”
“If you decide to move here then you also make the choice to not go back.” After 24 years of living in the United States, Rosario reflects on her journey. It starts with why she decided to migrate.
“I decided to move because they motivated me to, people told me it was good here. That you could get money from trees, [laughter] I’m joking. They told me that you could work here and that they would pay you really well here.”
Rosario was born in a town named Cuilco in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango. However, at the age of 19 she left her family to look for work in Mexico. Although she was in a different country, she was still able to secretly cross the border to visit her family.
After a couple of years living in Mexico she heard of a place that had many more opportunities, a place that paid much more for hard work. At the age of 26, Rosario made the decision to migrate to the United States.
Her journey to the United States was a difficult one, she had no friends, family, or support in America.
“Once you get here you need to rest and then find a job, it took me about two months because I came alone. If you come with friends or have family here it will be easier. If you come alone, you won’t even know what doors to knock on. It’s harder.”
Moving to a country alone posed a challenge on its own, but finding a community seemed to be just as difficult. Rosario reflects on the differences between society in Guatemala and America.
“If you talked to someone over there, they wouldn’t judge you or look at you weird or ask themselves “what does this lady want?” They wouldn’t reject you, close doors on you. Over there, one could have good interactions, not like here. Even a greeting is very different.”
Rosario’s first jobs were in the food service industry that were owned by hispanic and chicano people. This community knew her struggles as an immigrant but instead of offering support, they took advantage of her situation.
“I was expected to work every minute of the day I was there. Even if there was nothing to do, or if we had no customers they expected me to clean walls or floors. They told me that if I didn’t work the head manager would get mad.”
“The jobs where I worked under American people were different. If there was nothing to do, they would let us take breaks and sit down. They weren’t watching my every move and they weren’t going to get mad if I took a minute to rest because they know that everyone works hard and no one complains.”
Even with not so great experiences, Rosario still believes that there are opportunities.
“There are opportunities in this country even if it’s just washing somebody’s dishes. You just have to work hard, anyone can have it.”
“But if you’re quick to learn the language, and have an education background from where you come from, there’s a chance you could work in a better job where you can move up. Even if you come with no education, you can find something if you bring your mind to it or maybe your children will achieve it.”
Rosario had many hopes for her children but at the same time she wishes for them to never forget a few things.
“It is important because they need to know where their parents came from. Culture is important to maintain and to not forget. I wanted to preserve our native tongue, which is spanish. I hope they dont forget how to speak spanish.”
Now that Rosario has lived in the United States for 24 years she reflects on her own identity.
“I think that I’m now a combination of both cultures. My identity has changed as my way of living has changed. When you move here everything changes.”
Even though Rosario has spent half her life in America and has evolved culturally because of it, she still does not feel welcomed because of her legal status.
“They aren’t welcoming… Some are racist, others hide behind the law and say we shouldn’t be here. Don’t get me wrong, there are good Americans, not everyone is the same. That’s why there’s a lot of problems. The majority says that we need to enter with papers, but they don’t even give us that.”
Rosario’s legal status has been an issue since she arrived in America and her journey has allowed her to meet different people along the way, this is why her final advice is this:
“We are all equal but just with different faces. We are all equal but with different colors of skin and different looks. That’s it. Everything else is the same.”