Otra Vida, Otro Ensueño, Una Lucha Más

PART THREE OF THE INTERVIEW WITH ROSARIO CEPEDA

--y cuando llegó a Houston, qué hizo?

--cómo que qué hize?

--I mean, what happened, did your husband have a place for you?

--oh yes, yes, he had an apartment, it was small, but it was just my husband, myself and Andres.

--and are you there today?

--no, not today, we moved, obviously because we could not stay in such a small place for too long. That and my husband was making good money so we could buy a house.

--what does your husband do?

--He's a welder. He spends many hours every single day working overtime to provide for all of us.

--mmm, do you work?

--sí, I sure do. When I first got here, my husband knew someone quien "arreglabla" papers. And so we paid about three hundred dollars and got me a social security number and I started to work.

--what kind of job did you have here in the US?

--I was working at a factory. It was a factory that made pico de gallo and put it into small plastic containers. Like the sort of stuff that you would buy at Wal-Mart or Fiesta Mart or something like that. My job was just to put the lid on the containers and let it keep going down the line so that it could be wrapped and sealed.

--did that job pay well?

--not incredibly well, but it was easier and less stressful than when I worked in México,a lot better than México.

--were the wages a lot better, too?

--well, yeah, I was making like five or seven dollars a day at some of the maquiladoras, and here, I was making about six dollars an hour, it's a lot better if you think about it that way, but really it is not too different.

--what do you mean?

--Things here cost a lot more. Everything is so expensive here. From gasoline to clothes and food, rent, utilities. In México, I don't know, life seemed slower and less worrisome. (pause) I don't know. It's hard to explain.

--Do you prefer to live here, then?

--(pause) well, yeah, I prefer to live here. Here in the US there are things that people have and can afford that are undremable in México. Like cell phones, nicer cars, better houses. Better everything really. I remember in México every day was a struggle just to have enough to eat. Now, I have more or less what I need, but (pause) I don't know, I guess I'm just not as happy here for other things.

--mmm, would you mind telling me what are some things that make you unhappy?

--(pause) I don't know. I guess...one thing is the feeling of competition with other Mexicans. It feels like everyone is so competitive to prove that they are better off than the other.

--oh. I think I know what you mean, but...would you mind explaining some more?

--you know that expression, something about how people are like crabs in a bucket, when one tries to crawl out, the rest pull him back? I think that's how Mexicans are here in the United States, they are not like that so much in México.

--Why do you th--

--I think it's because people come here believing in the American dream and in the illusion of prosperity, and sometimes a Mexican might feel that if they have been here longer than someone else who just came, then they ought to be better off than the newcomer. But who knows? maybe the new guy knows someone who pays well, or gets lucky with a bet, or something happens that make others jealous.

--oh

--and, a lot of times when people have good fortune, they make as if they are so smart and that they earned every bit of it, when sometimes it just depended on who offered him a job off the street the week before. There's just too much envy among Mexicans and for no reason. I wish--I wish we could get along. I know México is dangerous sometimes, but people are so much nicer, kinder talkative and friendly, here I just don't get that vibe.

--I think I know what you're talking about. To be honest, I feel i too here in college. Anytime I say something Spanish to a random hispanic person I've never met or I kinda say 'hi' they get an attitude like,"I don't hang out with your kind" I dunno. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I always get the feeling that hispanic college students want to pretend they don't know anything about being hispanic or Mexican or latino-whatever- or just don't want to socialize with other hispanics.

--really?

--Maybe it's just me (laugh) I think I'm just paranoid.

--(laugh)

--y'know there's a a conference on Tamaulipas culture and history in a few days. It's just outside of Houston.

--do you know what time?

--I'll have to look it up, you should go, though, it's been at least ten years since you've lived there. There's supposed to be a talk about NAFTA and about poverty and also about coaliton-building, maybe you should check it out at least to see paisanos.

--yeah, maybe.

END OF PART THREE