Things We Carried
February 13th, 2009 | Published in Blog, New American Voices | 1 Comment
A few weeks ago, Latino USA began a new series of pieces called “New American Voices.” It’s our chance to dig deep into the issues of immigration. We’re especially interested in the ways newcomers are changed by being in America, and how American neighborhoods are changed by new immigrants.
You can find the first stories in the series here. And we’re interested in following up on one in particular. The story we called “Things We Carried” talked, in part, about the small things an immigrant might bring with her to this country: the tiny thing that reminds her of home. And we asked you to tell us what your family brought along with them for the trip to America, or what you yourself carried with you.
Thanks for sharing your story!
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February 24th, 2009 at 7:04 am (#)
I immigrated to the US in 1982 from Guatemala; my family’s response to the wave of “desaparecidos” of the early 80’s.
My madrina, a very devout catholic, had a tradition of praying on her knees at midnight of the new year, while peeling a mandarin. She then gave the mandarin skin to the men in the family for them to place in their wallets. “It will bring you good fortune” she said. I was 17 when I moved to the US, and that was the first time that she included me in the recipients of her “prayed-upon mandarin skin”. The fruity fragrance in my wallet (which lasted the life of this wallet) always reminded me of my Godmother. But I also know that she and her prayers had a lot to do with where I am now.
J. Rolando Flores