Interview with Raul Gonzalez
Introduction:
People migrate for various reasons, whether it be for education, jobs, economic opportunities or to seek refuge, every immigrant has their own story. In Raul Gonzalez’s case, his family was one of the main driving forces that led him to immigrate to the U.S. from Mexico. Raul immigrated to the U.S. from Guadalajara, Mexico in 1987, at the age of twenty-four years old.
Methods:
I know Raul personally through his daughter, Alondra Gonzalez, who has been my best friend for the past ten years. I grew up going to their house for family dinners, enjoying Raul’s amazing home-cooked, traditional Mexican dishes – which in many ways has served as a great connection between his life in the U.S. and his life back in Mexico. Interviewing Raul felt very comfortable and more like a conversation than an interview. We conducted the interview on November 23, 2020. The interview took place in person, in the family room of his home in Springfield, Virginia, right down the street from my own home. I showed him the questionnaire I had constructed beforehand to give him a better understanding of what the interview might entail. His daughter, Alondra, also sat in on the interview to offer translations in English or Spanish when needed. I began the interview by asking when he immigrated to the U.S. and Raul took it from there, going into detail about his initial experience trying to cross the border between Mexico and the U.S.
Migration:
“I came to U.S. on this day, it’s going to be thirty-three years ago.” Raul explained one of the events that became the catalyst for him immigrating to the U.S. – when his father, who was a taxicab driver, was attacked and his cab was stolen. Raul’s family never got the taxicab back, for that reason, among others, he decided to go to America in the hopes of making money to support his family. The forces that prompted Raul to immigrate, otherwise known as push factors were further emphasized by the aspirations of economic opportunities in America (the pull factors). One of Raul’s goals was to find work and send back money to his family in Mexico, which he continues to do presently. As highlighted in class, the household of an immigrant may be the acting facilitator for why one might immigrate. It can give them the opportunity to maximize resources for the household and income starts to come from multiple sources with the benefit of consistent earnings.
Ties to family or friends also act as a facilitator in migration. In Raul’s case, he already had an aunt living in the U.S. and his younger brother working in Santa Ana, California, who helped in the process of immigrating and when he first arrived. Raul explained in the interview that he initially tried to cross the border with two guys but was sent back by Border Patrol to Mexico. It was at this time he called his young brother to ask for help in crossing the border. On his second attempt, he went from Guadalajara to Tijuana where, with the help of ‘el coyotes,’ he was able to cross the border. Raul stated, “I cross the border when it was Thanksgiving.” When he made it to the U.S. he arrived in Baja, California where he worked in a restaurant only making $3.25 an hour. As we’ve learned in class, and outlined by Piore, many jobs that immigrants take do not tend to offer security, are unskilled, and are generally but not always low paying.
During this time of adjustment, Raul says Ronald Reagan was the president and was giving amnesty to illegal immigrants to have the right to apply for legal permanent residency. He and his buddy at the time heard on the radio they the first 100 people into the immigration offices were going to receive a green card. Raul says, “we were sleeping there all night long,” but the next day they were able to file their paperwork and eventually receive their green cards. This was good because it gave him the opportunity to migrate to Virginia. He had overheard from a guy in California that in Virginia, “you can work in construction, make more money. And if you do like a labor, you can start to make like $6 an hour.” This came as a shock to him because at the time he was only making $3.25 an hour. Through the connections he had made in California, he was able to live with other immigrants from Mexico in Virginia where he found a job in construction. Raul’s experience in making connections with people in the states is outlined in Massey’s theory of the network effect.
Integration:
Even with the connections he made, adjusting to life in America was not easy as Raul states, “nobody wants to do something for you, because they don’t care, it’s not easy.” Integrating into American society was not easy, to say the least, and getting a job or maintaining one was a big struggle for Raul. His experience with reception was not welcoming in the beginning. He made unions with the other immigrants he befriended along the way, but he said it was still lonely, “sometimes really sad. Because sometimes you’re feeling like alone. With no communication, no English, sometimes no job.” The language barrier became an obstacle for him while trying to assimilate into U.S. society. As outlined by Milton Gordon’s seven sequential st
ages of assimilation (1964), the first step of acculturation involves immigrants having to adopt the language of the receiving country. Transitioning into an English-speaking country, Raul tried to go learn English, but he said the instructors themselves were not native English speakers which made it really hard to learn initially.
Things started to look up for Raul though when one construction foreman named Fred, who funnily enough, Raul said, looked like Jesus, took a chance on him and his buddy and decided to teach him the ropes. Before this, he was constantly getting laid off or ripped off by jobs, so this was Raul’s first encounter with someone who truly wanted to help him. When Raul began to talk about Fred, I saw the light sort of come back to his eyes, I could tell how grateful he was to this man, in his own words he states, “he really, really was a good guy.” Fred gave him the opportunity to learn when no one else would, Raul said, “and that’s when we started, I mean, our lives started to change a little bit a little bit. You know?”
It was also around this time that he met his wife, Leticia, who he met through her brother while they were working in construction together. He also helped his wife get her own green card. By this time his wife had been waiting for her green card for almost two years when someone told him if he were to submit his application for citizenship, it could speed up the process for both of them. So that’s what they did, together, Raul was given citizenship and Leticia got her green card months later.
Membership:
When asked if he still keeps in touch with his family in Mexico, Raul states that yes, he still continues to call and send them money, whatever they need. He helps out his parents a lot because they are the primary caretakers for his handicapped older brother who needs around the clock care and it has become harder for them as they’ve grown older. Alondra emphasized that they have sent a type of level machine to help lift his brother and also new wheelchairs when he needs them. Raul also explained “we try to at least visit every year,” although due to the pandemic the last time they visited was two years ago. It was clear to me even before I interviewed Raul that he has such a strong connection to his family and home country that I wasn’t surprised he has spent his life providing for them.
I asked him if he considers the U.S. to be his home or Mexico, Raul responded, “I am half and half. My heart is half here, half there.” He says he wishes someday in the future, when he is not too old or sick, to live in Mexico, preferably on the same street he grew up on. Although it’s hard he says, because he’s spent more than half his life in America. Even though he has spent the last thirty-three years in the U.S. he is still missing everything that Mexico has to offer. “I miss it, I miss my people, I miss my friends, I miss my family, music, [chuckle] food, everything.” Whether it’s the little things like calling his mom when he needs help preparing a dish or listening to Spanish music in the house. Or the big things like visiting home with the whole family, Raul has constantly maintained his roots and traditions, keeping him connected to his home country.
When asked if he had any departing thoughts, Raul responded happily with, “And now I can say I’m feeling good, I’m feeling happy with the family and what I have right now because we have six kids, my wife my wife is still alive.” Like many immigrants who come to a new country, most of them work tirelessly for their families, and Raul is no exception. The interview showcased not only his love and compassion for his family and others but his resilience in the face of hardship and adversity in creating a life for himself in a whole new country. Raul stated, “I tried to be honest, try to be, try to respect to everybody. And doesn’t matter, what color, where you came from.” Even though his experience as an immigrant in the U.S. has was not welcomed with the kindness and grace he deserved, he still extends acceptance to everyone he meets. I couldn’t help but tell him how amazing the life he has built and the family he has surrounded himself with. To that, he said, “it’s not easy but it’s not impossible.”
Not only did the interview give me an insight into Raul’s journey as an immigrant in America, but it has also provided me with the joys of hearing about his beloved celebrations back home in Mexico. By the end of the interview, he reminisced about the Christmas parties they would throw on the street, by blocking off both ends of the road for all the neighbors to celebrate together. The celebrations would go on for days, with piñatas, food, drinks (ponché). He says this is what the U.S. is missing. The interview exposed the differences in cultural norms between Mexico and the U.S. Raul explained that here in America, no one knows their neighbors, or at least not many. But to this day when Raul goes back to visit Mexico, the elderly neighbors he knew as a child all greet him, along with his childhood friends that all lived on the same block. What he misses here in America is the sense of community he appreciates so much in Mexico. Furthermore, this drastic change in social norms specifically concerning the attitude within neighborhoods can be linked to the structural stage of assimilation according to Milton Gordon.
I believe that Raul’s story, yet unique in so many ways, is relatable to many people, especially to those who have immigrated to a new country. His story is one of strife, resilience, and love for his native country. Raul has created an abundant life for him and his family in America, one to be proud of.
Emma Kliewer 0:02
Okay, this is Emma Kliewer interviewing Raul Gonzalez about his story, immigrating to the United States. So when did you migrate to the U.S.?
Raul Gonzalez 0:14
I came to U.S. on this day, it’s going to be thirty-three years ago. I just do as soon as I, was like Thanksgiving, so I cross the border when it was Thanksgiving. That’s where the Border Patrol have less, less people watching them. And I came with two, guys, but no, they’re not my friends. So that’s what I follow from Guadalajara to Tijuana, to Baja California. And I call to my brother, he came one year before I came. So he was working on Santa Ana, California and I asking if he can get me help to cross the border. That’s what he put the money on. And one of the reason why I came is because my dad was, he had his own taxi cab, but one of those days, three guys stole [it] and attacked my dad. So he was in the hospital for a month. I was in school, in the University and just stop to continue with my classes. And I decided to came and work like this for one year, and help my dad, my family because we never get back the taxi cab. And that’s why we, I decided to came. But on the first time when I tried to cross the border, so immigration kept me, and they send me back to Mexico and use asking one of my banker, he is working for U.S. is like lawyer in U.S. government U.S. but he lives in Tijuana. And he, I work like a week in his house and he gave me like a the coyotes, that’s a person who helped and cross all the illegal people and that was when I cross the boarder so as soon as I get I was on my family with the family home and started to work on the restaurant. So I didn’t like to work on restaurant because from that time on 1987 I make like $3.25 by the hour and that is not much as I would like to work so. I was working there in California, Santa Ana and was the President Ronald Reagan and that’s when he, he gave us like the opportunity to get like the residency, was like a, how would you call? Like the amnesty. For all the, all the people who work on the, on the farms and all those kind, so I just save some money and I have my dad he can be sent to me some money to complete all the paperwork that they need. And after that, I started to file all the paper to get my green card first. And I know the guy from California and he was talking- to speak about like ‘Oh in Virginia, you can work in construction, make more money. And if you do like a labor, you can start to make like $6 an hour.’ I say wow. That’s all right and I say hey, can I go? Okay, yeah, we get the green card so we can go there and there is a lot of work, construction work and so we we’ve been on Stockton California to get our our green card and it’s a little bit funny because on that time so we’ve been in with another family who’s living in Stockton California. They live in a like a trailer but with no money zero money in our pocket and we work like a two weeks so waiting for. And one day they put on the radio, like good news, they say so we’re gonna celebrate on, on immigration offices. I don’t remember what they, they celebrate there. And they say the first hundred people who came on the same day, they, they’re going to get the green card. And I said really? So we have all the paper work already with another guy who and we’ve been on the offices, the immigration offices, it’s unbelievable because we were sleeping there all night long. But as soon we get to the morning when they open the offices they have like a mariachi, Mexican food, they only what they asking it was really, is if we can we speak English and the only word we have to say is no. And they and they say like oh, DMV, sign here go and take the picture and wait for,
Emma Kliewer 6:58
Wow.
Raul Gonzalez 6:59
The same day we get like a green card.
Emma Kliewer 7:02
Oh my gosh.
Raul Gonzalez 7:04
Yeah, was like a lack of data. And that’s why I am in Virginia and I started to work on construction. But that is not easy because when I was living with people who I didn’t know and was just like only men in Falls Church, one old house but every day every day they have like a pool table in the basement but every day they drink, drugs, drink every day. I said wow, this is not what I,
Emma Kliewer 7:52
It’s not what you pictured.
Raul Gonzalez 7:53
No. And as soon we started to because nobody wants to help us to get a job because nobody know us so we was, as soon as we started to get some small jobs, so they fire you, like they gave us like a laid off because we no, we don’t have tools, we don’t have anything and no people who know us. So one day somebody get a job for us. And we get some tools, they they give us like a come se dice? Prestamo, un loan. Loan tools.
Alondra Gonzalez 8:41
They let them borrow tools since they didn’t have their own.
Raul Gonzalez 8:44
Yeah, we started to work on DC and the same they stole all of our boss tools.
Alondra Gonzalez 8:51
Someone came and stole the tools that they had barrowed from him.
Raul Gonzalez 8:54
Because we don’t have any money and or so and we did the same thing. So my friend, he saw another guy with another screwgun, he stole it, he said somebody has to pay the price but not us, obviously.
Emma Kliewer 9:14
You couldn’t afford to pay the price.
Raul Gonzalez 9:19
I think what the foreman was really mad and he was like crazy looking for his tools, I said well, somebody has to pay for the tools but not us because we don’t have any money so that’s what we had to do. So we had to give it back the tools to the guy who had loaned it. Some times, some times, we stole like some food from 711 because we haven’t had any money. So we buy like a just a bread and ham the packets as packets of ham. So we put it as our meal and we have to eat something. Yeah, some times we stole something but not like a not like como malvidos no no era lo hicimos por necesitan
Alondra Gonzalez 10:17
Yeah, like he did it for necessity, it wasn’t for like fun or anything.
Emma Kliewer 10:22
Because when you first got to Virginia, it was really hard to make money even though they kind of promised you that it would be a little bit better. And then California.
Raul Gonzalez 10:34
That’s what we expect. Well, that’s why we came. I mean, all was totally different because nobody want to help. Nobody wants to do something for you, because they don’t care, it’s not easy.
Emma Kliewer 10:52
So people weren’t very welcoming. When you first came. Was it hard when you were trying to work and do all these jobs, but you’re still kind of learning English, too.
Raul Gonzalez 11:05
I was in California a little bit, a little bit of time in school in California. And I tried to be in Falls Church to learn English on nighttime. But the people who was running it was really bad. I mean, people who doesn’t know how to write, por jente que no sabe ni escribir.
Alondra Gonzalez 11:33
So he would take night classes at Falls Church for like people who didn’t know English. But the teachers themselves weren’t English speakers either. So it was hard for him to learn because they also didn’t know how to write.
Raul Gonzalez 11:48
Because it’s hard to continue like that, because nobody can no puedues-
Alondra Gonzalez 11:55
Yeah. He, it was hard because he couldn’t he could never advance like his skills.
Raul Gonzalez 12:00
And that’s when I stop to go to school.
Emma Kliewer 12:16
Oh sorry, go on. I know like, so you got to Virginia. Were you with any family yet? Or were you just with people you were trying to work with
Raul Gonzalez 12:27
I just came from California to Virginia, with con un amigo que el era esposo de mi prima.
Alondra Gonzalez 12:38
He came with a friend who was the husband of one of his cousins from back in.
Raul Gonzalez 12:46
California
Alondra Gonzalez 12:48
But he met him in California. They came together.
Raul Gonzalez 12:54
Y, y el me decía que el conocía a gente acá que nos iba ayudar, y cuando llegamos todos le cerraron la puerta. Nadie lo quería ayudar porque nadie lo quería a él.
Alondra Gonzalez 13:01
The, the husband that he came with, had promised him that he he told my dad that he knew people in Virginia that would be able to help them. And so he convinced my dad to come with them. But when they came, no one wanted to help him and everyone hated him. And so it was like, they came looking for people, but no one was willing to like help. So none of the people that were supposed to help him helpped him.
Raul Gonzalez 13:36
Encontramos dos personas que eran hermanos, y ellos nos, nos ah, nos dijeron que ellos nos enseñaban a trabajar pero les teníamos que dar el 10 por ciento de nuestro cheque y mas el ride. Y yo era el único que tenía carro.
Alondra Gonzalez 13:55
So, and then once, at one of his construction jobs, they him, they met these two brothers who offered to help teach them like the basics of construction. But they said they would only help them if they gave them 10% of their checks of like what they had been receiving. Plus the car rides and my dad didn’t have a car.
Raul Gonzalez 14:23
I mean we accept, we accept that because we need to somebody.
Alondra Gonzalez 14:29
To teach.
Raul Gonzalez 14:31
The problem was when most of the most of the weekend like a Monday, so as soon as I pick him up on Alexandria, those guys I mean some sometimes they was really really drunk, still drunk, drinking, drunk so and some jobs they nos [unclear]
Alondra Gonzalez 14:59
They would fire them from the jobs.
Raul Gonzalez 15:03
And one time, so we decided to stop continuing with both guys and my partner and by myself, we started to work in, work in construction. But so we did a lot of mistakes and also they give us a lay off because we didn’t know exactly how do the right job and the, I remember one company, the nameless Tri-State we find, one foreman, if he’s still alive, I don’t know.But really, really good and nice guy. So white guy looks like Jesus with blue eyes, long hair, tall, beard probably. But his name was is Fred. He, he really really was a good guy. I mean, because probably he look at us and he give us like a opportunity to learn. And it’s unbelieveable, [?] all the time. So when we started to do something wrong he said ‘No, no, no.’ And we was like, nervous, like [?] You want to learn? Soo let me teach you and you going to do it like that way, I’m going to teach. And that’s when we started, I mean, our lives started to change a little bit a little bit. You know? Yeah
Emma Kliewer 16:42
So he was like the first person that was helping you learn instead of just firing you when you made a mistake? That’s really good. Was it? Was it hard to adjust with, like, living in America, these new laws that you weren’t used to? In Mexico and like, I guess having employers that treated you differently and things like that?
Raul Gonzalez 17:13
Como es?
Alondra Gonzalez 17:14
Si, habia diferencias en leyes o como los empleyados de trataban en el trabajo.
Raul Gonzalez 17:32
This is totally different. In U.S., in the United States, I mean, you can, you meet a lot of different cultures, people, different people, and you never know how they are. Mexico, I mean, I was in school. So I had my life, being not perfect, but was fine with friends. But here I mean, do this. It’s hard to get friends and it’s hard to speak with different people. And it’s hard when somebody tried to como se dice? Tratan de tomar ventajas sobre ti por que tu no sabes.
Alondra Gonzalez 18:23
People try to take advantage of you because you’re not like used to the environment or you don’t know as much.
Raul Gonzalez 18:32
Because like, sometimes with the because we did some construction work, but they didn’t pay us. Some people en una ves en una casa no amenazaron que si nos despues de terminar la casa nos sacaron nos amensaso un blanco que si no nos saliamos ya vamos la policia.
Alondra Gonzalez 19:00
He said, he remembers this one time he was working on a house for construction. And after they like finished, he didn’t want to pay my dad or like the workers and he threatened to call the police on them.
Emma Kliewer 19:19
After you had done all the work. That’s really hard. But it was good that you finally found that one, Fred, that helped. Um, I guess another question would be I know that you had some connections when you came to Virginia, but did your other family ever come? Or were they here before?
Raul Gonzalez 19:49
No, the only other who came but after that came to Virginia was my brother- who was living in California.
Emma Kliewer 20:02
And then how I guess I know you got the green card so you could finally come to Virginia. Did you, when did you get citizenship or was the process like how was the process of getting that?
Raul Gonzalez 20:19
To get the citizenship? So the process was because when you have like a green card so you have to renew every 10 years so on it was on- [?] That’s when I mean I started to I started to meet my wife because I was working with her brother, my wife’s brother and one day he invite us to take a breakfast at his house because my brother in law, his ex wife was Katalina, white girl, and so that day that’s when I met my wife now and after so I’ve been she was my girlfriend for like a three years almost like three years and so we started to como se dice hanging out.
Alondra Gonzalez 21:54
Yeah started dating, going out [chuckles].
Raul Gonzalez 21:58
And we decide to live together and the one time so I told my wife so because she doesn’t have any resident- green card too. So we submit all the paperwork for her because she doesn’t want to but I decided to submit all the paperwork because I told her so with the green card you [unclear] you will be safe. So and you can get more opportunities so better jobs and she accept that so we get married after that so we submit all the paperwork for her and we was waiting for like almost like two years something like that waiting for any answer from U.S. department in immigration and that’s when I decide somebody told me so if you if you submit your form for U.S. citizen so it’s going to be faster your wife so that why I decide to be a U.S. citizen and as soon, as soon as I get my certificate, so in six months we get already for a green card for my wife. So all the process was fast.
Emma Kliewer 23:34
Okay.
Raul Gonzalez 23:37
[unclear]
Emma Kliewer 23:42
So it helped that you guys got married and then finally her process could speed up.Um, what year did you get your citizenship?
Raul Gonzalez 23:56
I think it was um 19- [unclear as Gonzalez goes to look for the certificate]
Emma Kliewer 24:12
But It was like, years later then your wife finally got citizenship.
Alondra Gonzalez 24:19
Because they told him if he if he had gotten citizenship ship first, then the green card for my mom would come in faster.
Emma Kliewer 24:28
Okay.
Alondra Gonzalez 24:28
So he got his citizenship and then he got married and then her green card came in like months after.
Emma Kliewer 24:35
Okay.
Alondra Gonzalez 24:36
As opposed to the two years that had already been waiting.
Emma Kliewer 24:40
I never knew that. Like, I guess getting married would like help.
Raul Gonzalez 24:45
I think it was in 2009
Alondra Gonzalez 25:05
2009
Emma Kliewer 25:06
2009 [unclear while Gonzalez zips up his bag]
Alondra Gonzalez 25:17
He says he doesn’t really remember, he remembers it was like 2002.
Emma Kliewer 25:25
[chuckles] That’s almost like 20 years ago, so it was a long time ago. But I know earlier you said that part of why you came was so that you could help support your family back in Mexico and then do but you still do that now to? You still keep in touch?
Raul Gonzalez 25:44
Yeah I send them some money, to help my parents and also help them with the paperwork for my mom.
Alondra Gonzalez 25:59
So she could come [unclear] and she had it but it like passed, her residency.
Raul Gonzalez 26:09
Because she, she I mean, the processes is when she had she had like the green card but because she [unclear] and she can stay to like six months here six months there because I had my dad and my brother, he’s handicapped so [unclear] what they have to do for my older brother. And that’s why she decided to and also my brother older brother he started to get sick like como se dice? Sea puede algo- [unclear]
Alondra Gonzalez 26:55
He’s gotten older and he’s gotten a little weaker so.
Raul Gonzalez 27:00
That’s why mom decide to doesn’t come anymore. I mean she want to but I feel like her green card lo creo que lo perdio.
Alondra Gonzalez 27:12
I think she lost her green card.
Emma Kliewer 27:15
And she’s, you, her and your dad are still taking care of your brother and family.
Raul Gonzalez 27:22
Also we don’t have like a we told our mom maybe she can give it back the green card to U.S. immigration and get just like a regular visa like tourist visa and come and she doesn’t have to stay like six months here and come back because it’s hard I mean it’s a lot of work just for my my dad
Emma Kliewer 27:47
Yeah. I know um I know family is so important to guys and I know it’s really hard now to try to go back to visit but do you still go back like ever since you left you still go back to vist them?
Raul Gonzalez 28:07
Yeah I mean on this time it’s a little bit hard por la pandemia but we try to at least visit every year, every single year but we haven’t gone in like two years but I’m still helpping whatever they need or my older brother needs, we send like a some cosas para el.
Alondra Gonzalez 28:36
Like recently, like we’ll send him like new like a new chair, like his wheelchair or like this sort of lever machine since my grandparents are older. Um, they, you know, like, to bathe him and stuff obviously they can’t carry him so it like lifts him up, and like, makes the job easier. So getting him like those things.
Emma Kliewer 29:02
So you’re still helping provide for them? Um, I guess since you have such a strong connection to like your family in Mexico, do you still consider like the US your home home or Mexico like your home?
Raul Gonzalez 29:21
I am half and half. [laugh] My heart is half here, half there.
Emma Kliewer 29:29
Because all your kids grew up here too.
Raul Gonzalez 29:33
It’s hard to come back, I don’t think we’re gonna come back. Because we spend like more than my half of life in U.S.
Emma Kliewer 29:44
Mhm, because you did come so young.
Raul Gonzalez 29:51
I came when I was like twenty-four years old.
Emma Kliewer 30:00
Now how long has it been then? Like 30 years?
Raul Gonzalez 30:05
What?
Emma Kliewer 30:06
Staying here.
Raul Gonzalez 30:07
Thirty three.
Emma Kliewer 30:08
Thirty three years.
Alondra Gonzalez 30:09
Is it or the anniversary is coming up, that’s what he said.
Raul Gonzalez 30:14
Yeah. I think Thanksgiving is going to be thirty three years.
Emma Kliewer 30:19
When did you finally I guess since now you consider it half and half. Was there a time that you finally felt settled here? Because I know in the beginning I was just trying to get work and working a lot. But I guess maybe when he got married was it different?
Raul Gonzalez 30:40
I mean, the life change before I mean, was like, sometimes really sad. Because sometimes you’re feeling like alone. With no communication, no English, sometimes no job. But also, I get married. So the life change because you have more vision. More things to do and not for you, just for your wife and kids and that’s why you try to do different life.
Emma Kliewer 31:23
I guess. Um, did your attitude change of the US? Like, as time went on? I guess like the US society? Like, do you still feel like it’s more alienating towards immigrants? Or-
Alondra Gonzalez 31:46
Si, a pasado, o sea tanto tiempo que has estado aqui si todavia sientes que hay como diferencias en los imigrantes y los que viven aqui, o sea si todavia sientes que hay como una separacion
Raul Gonzalez 32:09
Yeah.
Emma Kliewer 32:11
It’s the same?
Raul Gonzalez 32:13
It’s the same. I mean I am obviously feeling like [unclear] Like I’m living here here but there is not like my own life something like that. I don’t feeling like, I mean, I expect to come back. One day. The future I I hope not too old and not sick to go back to my country.
Emma Kliewer 32:43
Mhm, and you want to stay there?
Raul Gonzalez 32:46
To stay there.
Emma Kliewer 32:48
Do you feel-
Raul Gonzalez 32:50
I como se dice? I miss it , I miss my people, I miss my friends, I miss my family, music, [chuckle] food, everything.
Emma Kliewer 33:06
Are there things that you do here that makes you feel like close to your family? Like, I guess keeping connections like calling or? I know like making food is kind of brings like, family and tradition back into your life and stuff like that.
Raul Gonzalez 33:26
Como es? [chuckles]
Alondra Gonzalez 33:30
Si hay cosas que haces ahora que todavia sientes que te conecta [o todo lo que algo] Puede ser cuando haces de comer or cuando llamas.
Raul Gonzalez 33:43
Yeah. Oh. It’s like all the food, what we cook, I mean-
Alondra Gonzalez 33:55
Traditional
Raul Gonzalez 33:56
Traditional or I make a phone call to my family, my brother, my parents.
Alondra Gonzalez 34:04
Principio que no, caundo estabas aprendiendo a cocinar llamaba a mi abuelita.
Raul Gonzalez 34:12
Yeah. When I started cook because in Mexico I mean, I mean, I never cook in Mexico.
Alondra Gonzalez 34:24
His mom, my grandma basically cooked.
Raul Gonzalez 34:26
As soon I came to this country, so I’m started to remember some dishes and I say, what am I gonna do, I call to my Mom, and start to asking, Hey, what can I do with this? I mean what can I put in those? And that’s when I started to learn. And sometimes when I remember some dishes and I didn’t know so, I’m still call to my, my, my mom. Hey, how can I cook this? [chuckles] Okay, or my dad, hey I find this taquila. [chuckles] ah this is good. [chuckles]
Emma Kliewer 35:10
Wow. So you didn’t even cook in Mexico but now like cooking is such a big thing and you’re so talented [chuckles]. I think that’s it. If there’s anything else you want to add?
Raul Gonzalez 35:29
No, I and now I mean- and now I can say I’m feeling good, I’m feeling happy with the family and what I have right now because we have six kids, my wife my wife is still alive. So we are still with I think we’ll- health, healthy, and we’re still breathing [chuckles] and all together.
Emma Kliewer 36:04
Yeah.
Raul Gonzalez 36:05
That is very important to me. So pay attention to the other problems outside of my home and I tried to be honest try to be try to respect to everybody. And doesn’t matter, what color, where you came from. But that’s what I try to teach my kids how they, how like, how they have to live and how they have to work. That’s it.
Emma Kliewer 36:45
I think it’s amazing that I mean you built such a like a life to be proud of like a family to be proud of and you didn’t come here with anything so that’s amazing.
Raul Gonzalez 37:02
And it’s, it’s not easy but it’s not impossible. And we always still try to do what we can.
Emma Kliewer 37:14
Well said, [chuckles] thank you.
Raul Gonzalez 37:17
Your welcome.
Emma Kliewer 37:20
That’s perfect [chuckles].
Raul Gonzalez 37:25
Girlfriend, I lose her. I lose some friends, some friends so it’s or a pass away and some neighborhood old people who who know you from when I was a kid. And they was a good people who take care of us and I see that difference in this country is totally different because if you see like on this neighborhood we have like 16 years living on this neighborhood, but we didn’t know all the neighbors.
Alondra Gonzalez 38:06
We maybe know like two.
Emma Kliewer 38:07
Yeah.
Raul Gonzalez 38:07
No I mean I don’t know who’s leaving like I didn’t know if I if I cross the people on the street on the- I didn’t know who they are. And it’s totally different from that neighborhood where I, where I, where my parents still live in because they buy the house in 1971 that house and we was when I came when I when we moved to that neighborhood. I was like I feel like six years so all my friends I mean we was [unclear] we played soccer on the street with bicycle everyday all day long. So as soon we came up to the street somebody and then everbody start to and all the neighbors the parents sometimes they give us food, drinks so like on Christmas for Christmas they make like the posadas [mhm] we, they they put like one car and close the street.
Alondra Gonzalez 38:16
They basically block both ends of the street.
Raul Gonzalez 39:27
They block off the street but nobody can came and decide to do las pinatas brought the pinatas food, drinks, parties.
Alondra Gonzalez 39:46
But like the whole street, so like the posadas on the whole neighborhood.
Raul Gonzalez 39:50
And all the neighbors, all the neighbors, bring like some food to for everybody. [mhm] It is nice when we start to this for nine days before Christmas [shocked oh] [chuckles] It lasts until December 24 [wow] yeah food, drinks, the ponche [chuckles] Yeah, and for adults I mean they put in like alcohol in the ponche, conversations, all those all the things I mean we miss it. On Christmas right here on December 24, December 25 all this alone, everybody disappear I mean, I mean it’s a nice country, but they need that feeling like [mhm] yeah,
Raul Gonzalez
I mean it’s nice country, but they need that feeling like [mhm] yeah
Emma Kliewer
The sense of like community that you guys have.
Alondra Gonzalez
Because that’s what I told my kids and my wife so the reason for a human that’s what they call like our sociality right because you need to go to speak with somebody to touch somebody to meet somebody but in this country I mean everybody I don’t [unclear] where we live, how we live like that is I feel it sometimes [unclear] if I do something on my backyard, nobody comes-
Alondra Gonzalez
He said just the squirles look at him.
Emma Kliewer
So, so I guess you have like many memories of knowing your neighbors and now it’s completely different
Alondra Gonzalez
Even now when we when we go back, caundo vamos de regresso, la gente te conoce.
Raul Gonzalez
Some some people. Some old people still know me.
Alondra Gonzalez
When we go back [people say hello! How are you?] people still know you like friends that still live in the neighborhood from when he was a kid.
Raul Gonzalez
Just call us and we can hang out Hey, let’s go let’s go drink something but like before I came so cuando eramos when we were like teenagers, I mean not teenagers. Como tus edades.
Alondra Gonzalez
Like our age.
Raul Gonzalez
Po r ejemplo, explicare que, por ejemplo, todos los días va uno con la novia. Los hombres con las novias por otros barrios y luego ya cuando regresábamos o porque era todos los días, el horario era de 8 a 10 de la noche. Era la hora de ver a la novia, después de que regresamos de ver a la novia nos juntábamos en el barrio, y todos, íbamos a los taquitos íbamos acá y, y en el barrio, a platicar, a fumar cigar-cigarros normales, fumar, algunos por allí una bebida, una cerveza, y nadie nunca nos decía nada. Y todos los vecinos, como nos conocen, ya hasta que los papas se cansaban por, eran las 12 de la noche, pero nosotros haciendo ruido en la calle. Y ya nos chiflaban “¡Aye ya es hora!” Pero porque había que ir a la escuela, había que trabajar había los que-
Alondra Gonzalez
He says that like when he was our age like the neighborhood. He said there was a time where, like, when he was our age like, everyone, like had girlfriends, like all the guys and stuff. And between the hours of eight and 10 was when you would go to see your girlfriend to go and then everyone would be hanging out and then they would come back to where they live like the neighborhood. And they’d be like, okay, so what are we doing like grabbing tacos from the corner? Like they’d figure something out and like, go together and they’d always be hanging out like on the street he says like, I mean, there they were our age so I mean, some people like the guys would be like smoking cigarettes or whatever. But like all the parents knew, and like because everyone knew like the crew basically because they’re their kids, it was their own kids and they knew they were outside. And it would go on for like hours and then-
Raul Gonzalez
Y las muchachas, también las del barrio también llegaban sus novios y ya que se iban los novios allí todos nos juntábamos éramos como unos, éramos como unos 16-
Alondra Gonzalez
You said it was like 16 of them who would just hang out because also like the the the girls that like lived in the neighborhood like their boyfriends would come and visit.
Raul Gonzalez
Yeah, that is what we do, just to make a joke. I’m joking.
Alondra Gonzalez
When it was time because it was usually like they have to go to school the next day. The parents would like whistle like hey, [chuckles] you guys can come in now.
Raul Gonzalez
My dad started to [makes whistle sound] [chuckles]. And I said oh we gotta go.
Alondra Gonzalez
He know it was the signal to go in.
Emma Kliewer
Yeah, kind of sounds like a movie [chuckles].
Raul Gonzalez
Yeah I still have some good friends. One passed away last year [unclear] from cancer. But I still have some good friends.
Emma Kliewer
So you still keep in touch with like the hometown friends?
Raul Gonzalez
When we go to Mexico that’s when I see them[?].
Alondra Gonzalez
He usually, he’ll like go and visit because there is this one friend who like, has lived, he lived like on the other side of the street. And like his parents have known, like their families for like ever because they’ve been friends. So every time like they go, my dad goes to visit him or like vice versa. And- There’s like neighbors in the front, I live in front of my grandparents to who like, used to have a really big Great Dane. But I mean, it passed, but they’re really old now. And like they still when we come and visit, they’re like, oh, like ‘if you guys ever need anything-‘
Emma Kliewer
That’s probably cool because you get to bring your own kids back to like, where you were growing up. And I know you love like, you love it, it’s very homey.
Alondra Gonzalez
I like the house, la casa de mis abuelos
Raul Gonzalez
We were gonna buy a house there. We have a house but it’s not the same.
Alondra Gonzalez
It’s like in a private area, but we don’t they don’t like it anymore. So they want to get one like my grandparents, like almost close to them. Because those are, like, nice too. And it’s close to like the city like el centro too like a lot of a lot of places around.
Raul Gonzalez
It’s like from here to downtown Alexandria, yeah-
Emma Kliewer
That would be great to be able to live on the same street or in the same area as your family [chuckles].
Raul Gonzalez
We will see, we will see, they put it on sale one half of the other street but it is close to, exactly close to my parents, but we will see. I mean how much money that they want.
Emma Kliewer
Is it is it less expensive than here to buy? Because it’s still like close to the city. Right?
Alondra Gonzalez
¿Ah, cuesta menos?
Raul Gonzalez
¿Que?
Alondra Gonzalez
La, las casas allá que aquí, ¿o?
Raul Gonzalez
Mmmmh, por ejemplo adonde están tus abuelitos, no.
Alondra Gonzalez
¿No?
Raul Gonzalez
Están caras.
Alondra Gonzalez
He says, like the one where my grandparents live I guess, ¿porque esta cerca de… la verdad? ¿Cerca de todo?
Raul Gonzalez
Si porque, si vale como 3 milliones de pesos y eso son como, como unos dos cientos mil dollares de acá. Con pesos de- the one, like my parents house like three million pe- three million pesos, In U.S. I think it has to be like $150,000 to $170,000 I mean that is not cheap and it’s like, like one fourth of this length, small and there is like townhomes. I mean, all the houses. Yeah.
Alondra Gonzalez
So yeah
Emma Kliewer
They’re right next to each other?
Alondra Gonzalez
Yeah.
Raul Gonzalez
I mean, they don’t have like this kind.
Alondra Gonzalez
Yeah they don’t have like a we don’t even really have a yard like in Mexico. It’s like the back. They have like the rooftop. And then they have like a little like, patio.
Raul Gonzalez
The laundry. [huh?] the laundry.
Alondra Gonzalez
Yeah, like instead of like having like a garden I guess that you would see here like you It’s like the laundry room and it’s like open. So like you wash your clothes in the back by hand.
Emma Kliewer
I’ve seen that before [yeah].
Alondra Gonzalez
Yeah, or like on the top on the roof.
Emma Kliewer
So that is expensive [chuckles].
Raul Gonzalez
Yeah it is not cheap.
Alondra Gonzalez
I mean it’s even more expensive for people who actually live in Mexico.
Emma Kliewer
Because the currency yeah yeah.
Raul Gonzalez
But the [unclear] is cheap.
Alondra Gonzalez
The food is cheaper
Emma Kliewer
Oh, and the food’s good [chuckles]. It’s fresh.
Alondra Gonzalez
Snd it’s everything’s close. You don’t really need a car unless you’re going like far.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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