by Lucía Moreno Nava

Estella has never been afraid to go after what she wants and has always considered herself a strong woman. Growing up in Cocula, México and moving to the US in her 20s, Estella has always felt an attachment to home that she keeps alive through her memories.

Unlike her older siblings, Estella had the opportunity to attend school. While she went to school, she held two jobs: babysitting for a neighbor and helping her father with the food and beverages in the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. She would help bring in the coffee and food for the “borrachitos” who attended the meetings. As a little girl, she was more attached to her father and her paternal grandfather, who lived with them, and was always helping them and tagging along wherever they went.

She studied in high school to assist accountants and got a job away from home in Guadalajara at a hardware store, Los Cuatro Hermanos Ortiz. Her family let her take the job and she lived with a sister, but always returned to Cocula for the weekends. She enjoyed learning new things in the job and worked there for five years, giving all the money she earned to her parents. Most of the money she and her siblings made went towards fixing the family home.

Estella’s siblings had gone to the US and her older brother convinced her to come over and babysit his children. Her first impressions of the US weren’t that great: “Ya cuando llegué aquí, no creas que se me hizo muy bonito.” After a while, she sought to find more work and was introduced to a janitorial position at a jewelry factory, Nancy B, in Los Angeles by her sister-in-law. Always wanting to learn, it wasn’t long until Estella moved up to working the welding machines.

Feeling she was developing too much independence, Estella’s brother, who was her financial support, sent her back to Cocula. Estella was not fazed and returned home, but with the intention of returning to the US shortly after. Her second trip from México to the US was difficult because she had to pay for the coyote herself and was caught a few times before successfully crossing. Looking back at the hectic process of crossing, Estella noted, “Era una cambiadera de carros, cuando es el coyote…no sabes ni quien te esta dirijiendo, no mas esta uno brincando y brincando.” She set herself up again at the same factory as a jewelry welder and moved up again to recordkeeping.

Of the various positions she held in the factory, her favorite position was recordkeeping and distributing metals to her co-workers. These positions challenged her to be detailed and meticulous in her work. She enjoyed the family atmosphere that the factory had, commenting, “Ay, aqui no parece fabrica, no parece que seamos trabajadores. Mira no más, aqui cocinamos.” Reflecting back on her career there at the jewelry factory, she noticed that she learned a lot and was able to learn different facets of the company.

Although she made friends with management, she was let go after the business experienced financial setbacks. Before being let go, she had met her husband there and had two kids with him.

Currently, her job is keeping house and helping her children in any way she can. It has been hard on the family for her to be out of work. While she has attempted to sell tamales, it proved to be too much work that didn’t make them enough money. However, she looks at all these experiences fondly and doesn’t let them deter her. She is continually looking to improve her skills, specifically her computer abilities.

The main thing that has kept her from feeling like she realized the American dream has been not having been able to learn English. Much of their future depends on the financial security of the family and the ability to have citizenship.