Mexico Trip - Part I
On July 18th, 2005 we traveled to Leon, Guanajuato Mexico. The purpose of the trip was to gather a perspective on immigration from the Mexican public. We hope the many hours of footage we gathered in Mexico, will better illustrate the Hispanic struggle for the American dream in South Carolina. These recordings will be featured in the documentary “Nuestro Futuro” (Our Future).
Located in central Mexico, Guanajuato is a place of deep rooted cultural tradition. Guanajujato, like other states in central Mexico, is rich in traditions and customs that date back to the early 1500’s.
4:00 AM in the Morning, what was I thinking; we need to quit getting these early flights. After several layovers we arrive in Leon’s International Airport. After a brief stint with customs we have arrived. The plan was to rent a small car, something along the lines of a Ford Focus, well to my surprise, we where delivered a Ford, Grand Marquis. I don’t know if something was lost in translation, or the dollar to peso exchange shifted. Needles to say, not a very low profile vehicle to be driving in rural, remote Mexico, but at least we traveled in style.
Due to the narrow streets and lack of parking in the center of town, we stayed in a hotel, located on the outskirts of Guanajuato. My parents where able to meet us, even though it was a short visit, we had a lovely dinner and shared a quick breakfast. After a quick goodbye, we embarked on our quest to find the members of a family that now reside in South Carolina.
After a two hour drive through curvy roads, we arrived at our destination, a small town, comprised of adobe and cinder block homes and several dirt roads. We where greeted by a group of children that appeared to be expecting us, or perhaps, where intrigued by our large Grand Marquis. We where informed by the neighbor, who was very gracious, that several family members would be joining us soon. Unbeknownst to us, our host was pregnant, apparently, after our evening conversation previous to our arrival; she was driven to the nearest hospital because she had gone in to labor. The three of us where supposed to spend the night in the remote community outside of Guanajuato. I felt very awkward to inconvenience a family that has just had baby in such an unexpected manner. Also at this point my camera-man was suffering of a very acute case of the Montezuma’s revenge; this only increased my concern of spending the night in a remote area.
Meeting the mother of our subject was a bit odd. I felt we where imposing, but at the same time they where very happy to have us in their home. Part of the plan for this trip was to show the family a short video of their family back in South Carolina. We decide to just go on and show the DVD. At first I was a little surprised that there was very little emotion being emoted, I thought, if I had not seen a family member in eight years, I would have been overeager to watch any footage somebody would have brought to me. As the video presentation evolved, I realized that this was very painful for the family, sure, they where happy to see how the grandchildren had grown and how well they where adapting in their new surroundings. But it was also a reaffirmation of the distance between the two families, the fact that they may never see their family members in the US, they understand why they left to pursue the American dream, but it’s also a realization that they may never be back.
After had a brief tour of the town, we had the opportunity to meet the new born baby. Following a delicious meal, we seriously considered the option of spending the night in this small town. After much deliberation we opted to leave, simply because, one of the team members was not doing well, and I have to say, if I was in that situation, I would have liked so privacy as well.
The next day, we took the shuttle bus to the heart of Guanajuato. We decide that we would like to shoot some video of pre-colonial Mexico, along with some man-on-the-street interviews. We hoped we could collect some opinions on how people felt about Mexican citizens emigrating to the USA.
We had the opportunity to interview several college students and some professors. One of the last interviews struck me. He was a young art student. He felt that many of the people who leave Mexico and travel to the US in search of a better life, have no concept of the richness and diversity of Mexican culture. I have to agree that Mexico has a very diverse and rich culture, but when you have several children and the only job you where able to obtain, no longer is capable of sustaining your family, suddenly, life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, doesn’t seam like such a bad idea.