Oral History

I interviewed my mom, Maria De Jesus Lopez, she is the mother of four, who immigrated from Mexico to Chicago and is now a U.S. citizens who has not forgotten her roots. Maria has worked hard her whole life in order to give herself and her family a better life than the one she had in Mexico. She spent her 45th birthday last Monday, February 11, in Cancun and even though she is currently unemployed, due to the poor economy, Maria is enjoying her time off traveling with my father. This interview follows Studs Terkel’s method and was recorded through telephone because Maria is currently vacationing in Texas.

This interview has been translated from Spanish to English for the convenience of the reader.

How long have you been living in the U.S.?

I got here when I was 17 years old, so that means I have been here for 28 years (pause) Wow it is amazing how time flies, I can’t believe I’ve been here for more than half my life and still don’t speak English ha ha ha.

How was life with your family when you lived in Mexico?

I lived poor, real poor, in a small house with no windows where I lost my own mother and two of my brothers because we did not have enough money to help them. I was 8 when my mom passed away, I was young I can only remember how light her complexion was and how soft her skin felt when she hugged me. (Pause) I was 12 or 13 when I left my 7 brothers and sisters with your nino (grandfather) and went to work with my aunts in Guadalajara, Jalisco at a market. I would wake up at 4 am and go to work selling fruits in a cup till 11 pm every day. I got paid 200 pesos (around 20 dollars) a month, well that’s when my aunts remembered to pay me.
I worked there for a year but when I went back to the ranch nobody would talk to me. Not even my own father would accept the gifts I brought. They felt I had abandoned them for good, but they didn’t know the real reasons why I had left. There was no future for me in the ranch, there was no education, no money, no clothes and barely any food. I would have to wake up early before the sun came out to cook beans, while your aunts ran to the river, an hour away, to get the water for the day, and when they got back, we would help each other make the tortillas. The boys could go out and play all day but us, we got to be tormented by my nina (grandmother) Paulina. She would hit us every day for any mistake we made. She would make us stand in a corner while she hit us vigorously with a long thin tree branch. I remembered she would make us go cut a tree branch and take the leaves off of it and when we gave it back to her she would hit us with it. This is why I had left the ranch.

So, what did you do after you went back to the ranch?

I could not stay their for long. I had nowhere to sleep. Nobody would talk to me, so I went to live with one of my aunt in a small town where I started school. I was very behind in school and even though I was very dedicated, my aunt was not good to me. She would take my clothes and sell it to the neighbors and she always denied it. I would do all the chores, wash the clothes, dishes, and clean the whole house. She would never feed me, I had to cook for her and her three children, but I only ate when their were leftovers.

What did you do for food?

Sometimes I just wouldn’t eat, but when I met your dad, when I was 15, he would always take me out to eat. Your dad has been working ever since he could walk, and even though he was not wealthy he always found a way to take me out to eat. Ha ha ha I would feel so bad though, he was so skinny, he was a skeleton, but he would say he wasn’t hungry and I had to eat in front of him. I knew he was hungry too, so I would split the food and he would eat whatever the food was with no hesitation.

How has your life been ever since you immigrated from Mexico?

It took a whole life time of work but now I can look back at my life and be happy with what I have accomplished. It has not been easy, before I knew it we had 4 kids to support and we were working minimum wage. We never left you kids alone with a baby sitter. We had no one to trust so I would work days and your dad worked nights. We would hardly see each other, me and your father, and when we did, we were sleeping ha ha ha. We had no friends or family here then, but look at what we have now. We have two houses here, and another one in Mexico, numerous types of vehicles, educated happy children who love going on vacations to Mexico, lots of trustworthy friends, an adorable nephew and much much more. We have worked a life time to give you a decent life so you wouldn’t have to live in a house that you cannot call your own, without food, without health, or without safety, but than means I hope you have learned that I will not be happy till I know I you will give your children a better life than the one I gave you.