Buildings towered over the city. People crowded the bustling streets, rushing in and out of their cars. As he stood outside the San Jose airport, H.G. watched, enthralled with America’s construction, ready for a life much different from Mexico.
Before immigrating from Mexico to the United States, H.G. worked in the Tecnológico de Monterrey campus in Guadalajara. At this time, his ex-wife’s family owned a house in Barra de Navidad and upon his visit, he fell in love with this small charming town by the ocean. With dreams of opening a bar, he sold his house in Guadalajara to buy a small house in Barra de Navidad.
It soon became a diverse community of cultures. People from all over the world visited his bar. For seven years, he continued to develop his menu, eventually increasing his business to a second location. To raise more money in running the bar, he did consultation jobs, driving people to immigration offices, medical specialists and airports. Despite being busy, he loved spending time with his son and watching him grow.
But, drug dealers soon invaded his business and blackmailed H.G. They knew where his son went to school, where his wife shopped, and where he lived, so he was forced to comply with their demands for money. As the situation escalated, he took his son and wife out of Barra de Navidad to hide in Guadalajara. He left his business by immigrating to the United States and was forced to hide there.
It seemed like the end. He could not pay his debts to the banks and broke his back doing construction. Unfortunately, he was not capable of getting access to medical care. Even though he earned a degree in sociology, he couldn’t work in any other field without proof of the papers. So he endured two years in an endless cycle of injury and labor.
Finally, he received good medical treatment. Living in a tiny home, he started his rehabilitation process for a year and a half. He continued to work hard to support his family back in Mexico. Even though he and his wife divorced, he still communicated with his ex-wife for his son’s well-being.
He came to the U.S. on a 10-year tourist visa, flying on Alaska Airlines from Guadalajara to the United States. “Terrible burritos,” H.G. said. However, he was not prepared for the completely different culture in the US. In Mexico, everyone knew each other. In the United States, life moved faster with people focusing on themselves. It demanded hard work and resilience.
Learning English was a challenge, but with the help of his friend at his bar and the Beatles, he practiced talking. With each unknown word in the song or conversation, he would look it up in the dictionary. But as much as he adapted, H.G. didn’t embrace the idea of the American Dream. To him, it was a promise of success that overlooked the development of your ethics and character as a person.
“Money isn’t what makes you happy,” H.G. said.”Going back to Mexico and seeing my kid grow — that’s happiness to me.”
H.G. remained connected to his heritage in Mexico. Even though he never went to many Mexican celebrations, he found comfort in authentic Mexican food.
Seven years of pain, learning and humility have passed since H.G. arrived in the U.S. He became skilled in painting, fencing and other construction jobs. Yet, he longed to return to Mexico, to rebuild his life there and be with his family. He hoped to raise enough money to send painter’s tools back home, a small step toward reactivating his old business.
His advice to other immigrants is to focus on your family and job. “Avoid drugs and alcohol because people, who have the money, will try to entice you to do bad things for it,” said H.G. “It destroys the family connection and the dealers will try to trap you to participate in their business.”
H.G. believes that the US should allow immigrants to work legally and give them more work opportunities. Many immigrants have the knowledge and are willing to help the community, but sometimes they are not allowed to do so.
“When you come to the United States, you must have the mentality to work,” H.G. said.
By Zachary
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