Interview with Violeta Mendosa
Methods
On November 25, 2022 around 3:00 PM, I sat down with Violeta Mendosa to interview
her about her experience immigrating from Nicaragua to the US. The interview was done in-person in her family home located in Northern Virginia. Violeta, her daughter (who was there for translation purposes), and I sat in the family room for the interview. It was quiet and no one else was home, so there is very little background noise on the recording. However, the digital audio recorder I rented from the library seemed to have some problems; so there is a tapping noise during some parts of the recording, but I tried to reduce the noise during those parts. I apologize for any distractions that may cause.
I came prepared with a list of questions I wanted to ask Violeta. I had originally planned to ask her the questions in the order I had them written, so the interview would be semi-structured. Once I began asking questions, the natural flow of conversation took over, therefore, I ended up bouncing around the list asking questions that related to whatever we were discussing at that moment.
Violeta is the mother of a long time friend of mine, Erika Mendosa. Erika and I went to the same elementary, middle, and high school, and we both currently attend James Madison University. I had not been in contact with Erika since high school, but after she transferred to JMU this semester and joined an organization I am a part of (Delta Phi Epsilon Foreign Service), we reconnected. Originally, when being tasked with this assignment, I had no clue who I was going to interview. Earlier in the semester, I was in Carrier Library sitting at a table with several of my friends from DPE, including Erika. Erika and I began catching up and discussing what upcoming assignments and projects we had on our plates for the semester. I mentioned this interview project and how I was unsure of who I was going to interview. She told me her mother was an immigrant and that if I wanted, she could ask her if she would be okay with being interviewed. I did not know her mother was an immigrant and I did not know anything about Violeta’s story, so she seemed like the perfect interviewee. I jumped at the opportunity, Violeta agreed to be interviewed, and Erika put us in contact.
Life in Nicaragua
Violeta Mendosa was born in 1972 in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. That same year, Nicaragua experienced a devastating earthquake near its capital that caused widespread casualties and left thousands homeless. Because of this, Violeta’s family moved to Matagalpa, a town about 3 hours away from the capital city. Violeta grew up in Matagalpa alongside her parents and five siblings. When reflecting on her favorite things about growing up in Nicaragua, Violeta spoke kindly and nostalgically about her friends, family, and neighbors who lived there.
Violeta lived in Nicaragua from 1972 to 1998 and she was 26 years old when she decided to move to the United States. The political situation in Nicaragua at the time made it difficult to find work outside of the government. When reflecting on work opportunities in Nicaragua, Violeta said “if you follow Daniel Ortega or the party, the political party is F S L N, so you have a have opportunity, get job opportunity, get something from the government. But if you don’t follow, no opportunity for you.” Daniel Ortega was president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990. He ran again in 2007 and has been the president of Nicaragua ever since, slowly steering the country towards a dictatorship. The main thing that pushed Violeta to move from Nicaragua to the US was the complicated political situation that created a lack of opportunity outside government jobs. She knew that if she stayed there would not be much opportunity for her or her family. What pulled her to the US was hope and the idea that there are better opportunities there and the motivation she had to create a better life for herself.
Prior to immigrating to the US, Violeta’s older sister and her sister’s husband moved before Violeta. The husband moved to the US two years before her sister, her sister moved a year after him, and Violeta moved two years after her sister arrived in the US. Another one of her sisters moved to California in 1996. When she came to the US she already had established connections, her two sisters and brother in law. This shows that past migration encourages present migration, which can be seen in Violeta’s case. First, one of her sisters moved to California, then one to Virginia, then Violeta came and moved in with her sister in VA. Having established connections in a country you are migrating to is something that further encourages immigrants to move. At the time she decided to move, the US embassy in Nicaragua did a lottery system for obtaining visas to go to the US. When asked about the difficulty of beginning the process of moving to the US, Violeta described: “it’s difficult. Because you go to the embassy and sometimes it’s like a lottery. Sometimes you can get Visa sometimes, no. So I no get Visa, I come illegal.”
The Immigration Expedition
The journey coming to the US was incredibly dangerous and Violeta put her life on the line to get there. She traveled with a small group of 3-4 others who were also planning to illegally cross the border. They traveled through four countries in Central America including Honduras, Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico to get to the US. On the day of the move, she was very fearful: “Scared because you don’t know the people. And people sometimes are lying.” Violeta described the most dangerous parts of the trip as crossing the river and going through Mexico. When talking about the river they crossed, she said that “some people call it the Diablo River. Because the river is so big… so dangerous.” She could not swim and the water was up to her neck. When talking about how she felt, she said “So at the moment you don’t see all the danger. But after that, you know, after when you thinking this, oh my god, what I do?” She knew she could not give up at this moment and knew she had to keep going if she wanted a better life for herself. It was not until after she crossed the river did she realize how dangerous the voyage was because she was only focused on getting to the US. 
“So Mexico is the bad part. It’s dangerous”, says Violeta. “Mm, because that cartel, you know the mafia? So they take the people, and say, gimme $10,000, or, you know, gimme the $10,000. I will kill you or something.” Crossing through Mexico was the most dangerous and scary part of Violeta’s journey. The cartels there will take advantage of people trying to cross into the US and rob them or try to ransom them, and this trip is especially dangerous because she is a woman. When they were in Mexico City, she and the two men she was traveling with got into a taxi. The driver suddenly put his hand into her bra and demanded that she give him the money she was hiding in there. He said “the older Spanish woman put the money (motions to her chest) in there”. Violeta did not have any money in her bra and she told him to stop it. Violeta continued resisting and the man said “you better be quiet or I call immigration.” Her and the men she was traveling with convinced him they had nothing and he stopped harassing her.
Overall, Violeta’s journey to the US took about 2 months total and was filled with uncertainty and hardship. There were times on the trip where they got robbed, went hungry, and did not know what to do next. The Coyote (a person who smuggles immigrants across the Mexico–United States border) they had paid to take them across the border ran away from the group out of fear when they had an encounter with border patrol personnel. He had everyone’s money since they had paid him to take them to the US, so they were left scared and alone with nothing to provide for themselves. However, there were people along the way who helped them in the small ways they could:
“And sometime I eating, sometimes not. And one day I waiting in Guatemala. Between Guatemala and Mexico. We lost. So we waiting and we coming with two, two old men and I and other women. So we lost, not lost, like, uh, money. You know, people take our stuff. And we sit down and one, the one, uh, and the one is, is there, you know, we sit down and what do we do? It’s another country. We don’t have money because they come in and say, give me everything. So everything. So we not eating. But um, so we went to the place and I told the lady, we told the lady we help her and her business, do dishes and everything in the restaurant, and they can feeding us and the lady said ‘no we can get the food and you guys can do nothing for me.’”
Arriving to the US and Path to Citizenship
After arriving in the US, Violeta moved in with her older sister in Virginia. Originally she entered the country illegally and without a visa, but in October of 1998, a hurricane hit several Central American countries and the governments of those countries asked the US if they would issue work permits to those fleeing the aftermath of the hurricane. The US agreed and Violeta got her permit to work legally in the US after three months of being in the US. It would be another 16 years until Violeta got her green card to permanently work in the US. Her first job was for Consolidated Mailing Services (CMS) located in Sterling, VA. Eventually, she met Erika’s father and they moved in together. Violeta has stayed in VA ever since she came to the US in 1998. Time and place matter when considering the contexts of reception relating to immigration. In Violeta’s case, she migrated to the US at an opportune time when the US was actively providing work permits to Nicaraguan citizens in response to the hurricane disaster. If she had not moved in 1998 just before the hurricane hit Central America, it might have taken much longer for her to obtain a work permit or visa to be legally in the US. This could have left her at risk of being deported since she was undocumented and further shows that the time and place of immigration plays a large role in the experience.
Integrating/assimilating into the US presented many challenges to Violeta. She only knew basic English when coming to the US, so she struggled to adjust to the new language. She found a retired professor who was able to meet with her over the course of a few months to help her learn English. Additionally, she would study an English book every night, writing down answers to the questions and memorizing phrases. Other challenges she faced during the first few months assimilating into the US included figuring out public transportation systems, and adjusting to the weather and different culture.
When Erika was 5 years old, her and Violeta moved away from her father and Violeta got a job working at Nordstroms, where she met her husband, Brian. With the help of Brian, Violeta was able to obtain a green card in 2017, after around 19 years of being in the US. Four years later in 2021, Violeta got her US citizenship. She began studying for the citizenship test 6 months prior to when the USCIS would call her in for her appointment. She studied for countless hours; Erika recounts that Violeta would sit at the kitchen table every night and “she would write down every question and every answer….like her notebook was filled.” Violeta studied the list of the 100 questions USCIS could possibly ask. When the day came for her to take the test, she was asked only four questions, passed the test, and finally obtained US citizenship after being in the US for 23 years.
Life in the US and Ties to Home
When asked about her most memorable experiences while living in the states, Violeta reflected on two heartfelt memories. When Violeta first immigrated to the US, she left her eldest daughter, Fernanda, in Nicaragua with her parents. When she got her green card, she was able to bring Fernanda to the US to live with her. Violeta said “so when I get my paper, I bring her to here. So I, it is my, um, my happy moments to have my family together.” Fernanda is 26 years old and currently lives in Maryland, not far from where Violeta currently resides. The second memory Violeta described was the reunion between her and one of her sisters who immigrated to the US in 1996, two years before Violeta. Her sister lives in California, and last year Violeta flew out to Los Angeles to reunite with her after not seeing each other for 25 years. They had an emotional reunion after several years apart, telling stories and enjoying their time together.
Violeta has dual citizenship in the US and Nicaragua and visits her home country every summer; her parents (90 and 91) and two of her siblings still live there. When asked about her views on the political situation in Nicaragua, she said “I think we don’t have future because we, uh, now, uh, 2018, so a students and civil people. Civil people start fighting. Protests everywhere….. Nothing change. So a lot of, a lot young people in the jail and a lot of people are coming to United States or ask for help, you know, like repeat.” Violeta urged that in order for anything to improve in Nicaragua, there needs to be more democracy.
Conclusion
Violeta Mendosa’s immigration story is one of immense courage, bravery, and strength. After conducting the interview, I was in awe of how much she went through to be where she is today. Erika agreed with me and expressed that she was so happy she had the opportunity to sit with us during the interview because she did not know about a lot of what Violeta brought up. When coming to the end of our interview, Erika and I were expressing our admiration for everything Violeta has been through to be here. Erika said “I told her I’m so happy, like she was like, is my mom. Cause if like roles got reversed and I was there, I would’ve never crossed, I would’ve stayed there.” Lastly, the Mendosa family recently went on a trip to Europe and when reflecting on their time in Paris, Erika expressed “when we were in Paris with my mom, like we were at the Eiffel Tower and she was like never would ‘I’ve ever thought I would ever be in Europe. Like visiting, like as a tourist.’ So like I go to college here and like, yeah. So thank you. Because if you didn’t do that, I wouldn’t even exist.”
Interview transcript
[00:00:00]
Hannah: Okay. So I’m just gonna do a little intro for the audio recording. Um, hello everyone. My name is Hannah Taylor, and today I’m here with Violeta. We’re going to interview her about her life and her experiences immigrating to the United States. So first I’m just gonna have you state your name, where you’re from and when, when you were born.
Violeta: My name is Violeta Mendosa. And I was born in Nicaragua in 1972.
Hannah: Okay. Awesome. Um, how long did you live there before you moved to the United States?
Violeta: I, I lived in Nicaragua, um, June, 1998. June 19th, 1998. So 72 to 1990.
[00:01:00]
Hannah: Do some quick math for it.
Violeta: 26 years.
Hannah: 26 years old when you moved to the United States? Yes. Okay. Mm-hmm. Awesome. So, Did you have your family there then obviously?
Violeta: Yes.
Hannah: How many siblings do you have?
Violeta: Uh, five. Five siblings.
Hannah: Awesome. Are you guys close or We close. Very close, yeah. Okay, that’s good. Um, so what were your like favorite things about living in Nicaragua when you were there?
Violeta: So, um, my favorite, my friends, my neighborhood, my family. And so I think everything, everything.
Hannah: Did you live in the same place when you were living there, or did [00:02:00] you move around a lot within Nicaragua?
Violeta: So I’m born in Managua. Okay. But, uh, Nicaragua, uh, capital.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: So, um, I’m born in Managua. And so when the earthquake hit in Nicaragua. So my mom moved her city.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: So we grew up in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. And Yeah. Uh, so we grew up in Matagalpa city, so my mom family is there. So we have there, but uh, the part for when, uh, coming to US, is because it’s the political thing, because, okay. Yeah, because. The, it’s, um, president, you [00:03:00] knows, he is start, uh, running for president in 1979 and to this time, so he is the dictator.
Hannah: Yeah, that’s a long time.
Violeta: Yeah, long time. So he, so when we grow up, it’s just, it is nothing, you know, like free, you know, like mm-hmm. So everything is like, what did they. Yeah. Like they say, you need to go to this place. You know, so, um, so what, uh, no opportunity to work. So, we, we want different opportunities for a better future, you know? So it’s the part that, I move to United States.
Hannah: Okay. Yeah. Great. Yeah, so it definitely seems like the political aspects of Nicaragua made it challenging just to like, Make a living there, [00:04:00] um, and support, I guess all your family.
Violeta: Yeah. Yes.
Hannah: So when you decided to, um, move to the United States, did your whole family move or was that a decision you made independently?
Violeta: Uh, yes. My, um, older sister and I
Hannah: Okay, so you two moved together?
Violeta: Yeah. And my parents and my older siblings are still in Nicaragua
Hannah: Still in Nicaragua?
Violeta: Yes, still in Nicaragua.
Hannah: Okay. Very cool. Um, so did you have any established connections in the United States before you moved here? Or did you and your sister just kind of uproot and then move to the US?
Violeta: So my sister, she moved first because her husband moved first. Okay. My sister’s husband came one year before her. So [00:05:00] two years later, my sister, she bring me here.
Hannah: Okay. Mm-hmm. . And what was the process of actually leaving Nicaragua? Was it a difficult process or was it relatively easy for you to get out of the country and come to the US?
Violeta: So, um, it’s difficult. Because you go to the embassy and sometimes it’s like a lottery. Sometimes you can get Visa sometimes, no. So I no get Visa, I come illegal.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: Yeah. I cross the Hondu, Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.
Hannah: Wow.
Violeta: So Mexico is the bad part. It’s dangerous.
Hannah: Yeah. Very dangerous.
Violeta: Yeah. So they. They are hiding you, so put the immigrants in danger, you know?
Hannah: Yeah. So did you, when you crossed, did you travel over, like in a group of [00:06:00] people?
Violeta: I travel with a group people maybe like, yeah, like a three, three people or four people.
Hannah: Okay. So you weren’t alone when you were traveling?
Violeta: Yeah. Yes and. , um, more dangerous when cross the river.
Hannah: Yeah. Said they, they said to you, cross the river and I no swim.
Hannah: Yeah. And the water is like up to your neck. You don’t know what’s in there. Like No. That must have been scary.
Violeta: Yeah. So it is too hard. And especially, you know, the, uh, learning another language like English.
Hannah: Yeah. So when you came to the US did you know a lot of English or none? Not really at all.
Violeta: Uh, some basic English, yeah.
Hannah: Yeah, basic English, yeah. Okay. Did that ever cause like any complications for you once you moved into the United States? Like language barriers in anything? I’m sure it [00:07:00] did, but yeah.
Violeta: Yeah.
Hannah: What was your experience with kind of like acclimating to the US and the new language?
Violeta: So it’s hard. Especially when, you know, um, you need to work here. So no opportunity to go to school for learning English. So you need to, you need to learn English.
Hannah:Yeah. So did you, did you like go to school to learn English? Or did you just kind of pick up on it after being here for so many years?
Violeta: I honestly, I, I don’t go to a school, so I find that, that, um, one, um, professor that he, uh, retired. So he helped me, uh, for a couple months and I learned a little bit, but that he helped me a lot.
Hannah: That’s awesome.
Violeta: Oh, and I had the, also, I had, I find the [00:08:00] book, so, and I started to learn, um, you know, every, every night studied the book and the answered questions, so its the thing.
Hannah: That’s awesome. So when you did move to the US and you crossed the border, where did you move to within the US? Where was your first, where was the first place you lived in the United States?
Violeta: Um, here in Virginia. Here? Yeah, Virginia. So I never go the other. Okay. I never go to another state.
Hannah: Yeah. So you’ve been in Virginia ever since. How do you like Virginia?
Violeta: Yeah
Hannah: You like it? I mean, clearly you haven’t moved. So, um, so I know we just kind of like talked about your journey, like of crossing the border to the United States. What were like your feelings like about moving on the day that you moved? Like obviously you were probably scared or a little nervous, but can you kind of take me [00:09:00] back to like the day you moved and like what you were feeling?
Violeta: Uh, scared. Scared and, um, yeah. Scared because you don’t know the people. And people sometimes are lying. And sometime I eating, sometimes not. And one day I waiting in Guatemala. Between Guatemala and Mexico. We lost. So we waiting and we coming with two, two old men and I and other women. So we lost, not lost, like, uh, money. You know, people take our stuff. And we sit down and one, the one, uh, and the one is, is there, you know, we sit down and [00:10:00] what do we do? It’s another country. We don’t have money because they come in and say, give me everything. So everything. So we no eating. But um, so we went to the place and I told the lady, we told the lady we help her and her business, do dishes and everything in the restaurant, and they can feeding us and the lady said “no we can get the food and you guys can do nothing for me”.
Hannah: Okay. So yeah, that was nice.
Violeta: Nice people. Yeah. Yeah. So did experiences like that make you feel like welcomed in the United States? Like when people would selflessly kind of help you?
Violeta: Yes. Yeah.
Hannah: Yeah. I’m sure that was kind of reassuring to like have like people who, like a support system of people who you didn’t even know, but like were still willing to help in everything.
Violeta: Yeah.
Hannah: Yeah. So once you, [00:11:00] like first arrived, like where did you go to look for work? Cause I know you’re talking about the restaurant. So what was your first job that you had in the United States?
Violeta: Uh, my first job I have is, I still have a couple months ago. It’s, um, it’s a, it’s in Sterling (VA). It’s, um, it’s something the company A S C M. It’s consolidate, consolidated mailing service. It’s, um, it’s related with the, something like post office.
Hannah: Cool. How long, and so you’ve worked there ever since you’ve been here?
Violeta: Yes.
Hannah: Yes. Okay. Wow. Yeah. And do you like it there?
Violeta: Yeah, I like because it’s, um, it’s, uh, stuff like you send the sorting, you know, like all zip code and every mm.
Hannah: Um, so I know I talked about, or actually [00:12:00] when you first, like your first few months in the us, like what were your biggest like challenges, um, when you first moved here? Um, and how did you overcome those challenges?
*Speaking with her daughter, Erika*
Violeta: I say to you that English, you know. like the language. And different, you know , different culture, and the weather. And transportation. Its not easy.
Hannah: So at that time when you first came, you were living with your sister and her husband, correct?
Violeta: Yes.
Hannah: Okay. So when did you decide to, [00:13:00] um, like move out with, from, with them? Um, and where did you go? Who did you meet? Um, sorry, that wasn’t a very clear question, but, so when you moved out, who were, where did you move to? Did you move, um, into a place by yourself? Or
Violeta: no, I live with my sister and her house.
Hannah: You did? And you stayed there for a while?
Violeta: Yes.
Hannah: Okay. Mm-hmm. . Very cool.
*Speaking with her daughter, Erika*
Violeta Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I understand now. Okay. Yeah. Um, I am, yeah. I’m, I living with her and her husband, and then I, um, meet Erika’s father. [00:14:00] So, and I live with him. So, and later we had EriKa . A couple years later we had Erika and I’m still working.
Hannah: You’re good! Yeah. So, um, did you ever decide to go down the path of attaining citizenship or are you still undocumented?
Violeta: So, when I, um, when I came to this country in 1998, so I’m lucky because the government. Okay. No government okay. What happened was, um, 1998, October 17, something like that, 17 or 16, so Nicaragua, Honduras, Salvador, [00:15:00] they had the, uh, disaster from the hurricane. So the gov, uh, three governments asked United States if they will protect the people, you know, like permit work or something. So when I, here, when I was three months here in this country, I get my permit to work.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: So I, I work here legal.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: Yeah. And couple, uh, no couple years and it’s hard to get the green card.
Hannah: They make it very hard with all the like hoops you have to jump through, tests you have to take
Violeta: Waiting like a 10 year it depends.
Hannah: Exactly.
Violeta: So, when, uh, when Erika was five year old, um, the, uh, so I no living with her father because yeah. So he moved with the other family. So I, [00:16:00] um, changed my job. I go to work at Nordstrom.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: So I work in Nordstrom and I meet Brian. He’s my husband now. He married with me and so he, um, helped me get my paper.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: Yeah. So by long time, so like 15 years later, yeah. 15 or 16 years later I get my green card.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: So after I get my green card. So I waited for four more years to get my citizenship. Uh, was, uh, last, last year.
Hannah: Last year?
Violeta: Yeah. Last year.
Hannah: Wow..
Violeta: And I’ve been in America for 24 years.
Hannah: Yeah, for such a long time.
Violeta: Yeah. Long time. Yeah.
Hannah: So obviously that process is very lengthy and difficult. Um, do you like, [00:17:00] was, did you have people helping you out with that process as well? I know you said your husband helped you out. Kind of like getting you, did you have to like take the citizenship test and everything?
Violeta: Yes.
Hannah: Yes. How did you prepare for that?
Violeta: So a hundred questions.
Hannah: Yeah. And do you feel like those questions are fair or not really?
Violeta: Uh, I think some is fair, but it some not really because there’s a hundred question and some is about civic tests, you know? The other is, the other thing is when you go, when you go to the office, an take your test only asking four question.
Hannah: Really?
Violeta: Yes.
Hannah: Okay. So you have to study like so much and then they only ask you four.
Violeta: Four questions.
Hannah: I didn’t know that. Yeah, that’s crazy.
Erika: She would like be in the kitchen table and like she would write down every question and every answer.
Hannah: Yeah.
Erika: [00:18:00] Like her notebook was filled and, yeah, yeah.
Violeta: I started studying, um, like six months before. Six months before, but um, later I stopped. I studied and I forgot everything, but I received a letter and they say, we prepared you an interview, I, I study.
Hannah: You bring the book back out. Yeah. Wow. That is crazy. I didn’t know that. They only asked you four.
Violeta: Sometimes four, sometimes five, but no more than five.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: But you need to know, you need to study the 100 questions.
Hannah: Yeah. I guess that they only have you do four to like expedite the process, which is almost like kind of ironic because of how long the whole like process takes.
Erika: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
Hannah: That’s crazy. Yeah. . So once you like attained citizenship, I guess you had, you had been living here for so long already before you had your official citizenship, did [00:19:00] you, um, feel American or did you still feel like foreign? Like did you feel integrated into the US or did you face any kind of like discrimination from people?
Violeta: Uh, I feel this, I feel a little.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: Yeah. Some, you know, sometimes, um, people, you know, discriminate because Latino or we immigrant. But, um, I feel like an American.
Hannah: And, um, do you have dual citizenship in the US and in Nicaragua or just a US now?
Violeta: I have 2 in Nicaragua and USA.
Hannah: Okay. Mm-hmm. Very cool. Um, do you visit often back to your home country?
Violeta: Yes, I visit every summer.
Hannah: Every summer? Okay.
Violeta: Yes, because my parents
Hannah: Your parents are there?
Violeta Yeah. Yeah. [00:20:00] My mom is 90 year olds and my almost 90, and my father 91.
Hannah: Wow. And you still have, you said three siblings living down there?
Violeta: So we have, um, okay. Including me, six, one and, uh, four. Right. Oh, because I, I lost my older sister last year.
Hannah: Okay. I’m sorry about that.
Violeta: Yeah. So yeah, it’s, um, yeah, two in Nicaragua. One lives in California. And my older, my sister live in Virginia.
Hannah: Cool. So it is, it’s nice that you have like a network of like your family that’s like so close by 15 minutes down the road.
Violeta: And also I have my sister in California. And she come to [00:21:00] America in 1996 before mine, and I meet her this year.
Hannah: Really?
Erika: She hasn’t seen her since.
Hannah: That’s crazy
Violeta: Because I never traveled.
Hannah: And how, how was like that reunion and like meeting her again after so many years?
Violeta: We happy and we cried. Happy and yeah, so I went to Los Angeles, and later she invited me and we went to the Las Vegas. We get, we, um, stay in the hotel room and we have fun. So long time.
Hannah: Yeah. I’m sure you had lots of stories to tell, lots to catch up on and everything. That’s great. Um, is there anything that you think was like, um, trying to think of the right, like question for, for what I wanna say, um, but what do you think like your most like memorable experience in the United [00:22:00] States has been so far?
*Speaking with her daughter, Erika*
Hannah: Or your happiest moment in the United States?
Violeta: Yeah. Um, yeah, my happy moments. . Oh, I forget, said something to you. I have, um, my older daughter, Fernanda, she 26 year old. So when I move, she stayed with my mom.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: Yeah. So when I get my paper, I bring her to here. So I, it is my, um, my happy moments to have my family together.
Hannah: All back together. Mm-hmm. . And does she still live in the area?
Violeta: Yes.
Hannah: Okay, Virginia?
Violeta: No, she lived in Virginia but now [00:23:00] in Maryland.
Hannah: Okay. Very cool. So still close by, which is nice. Is there anything that you miss about Nicaragua in your home country other than like your family? Anything, um, like any good memories you have there that you miss or you hold onto from your time there?
Violeta: Yeah. I miss my friends, my family, Uh, the food. And it’s different there because it’s no stress. Yeah. Here is, uh, work, working. Working. You know, it’s more fast, everything but my country, it’s, um, it’s good, but uh, you can’t work in there because everything is around government. So if you, um, [00:24:00] in the, what I say to you, if you follow, if you follow Daniel Ortega or the party, political party is F S L N, so you have a have opportunity, get job opportunity, get something from the government. But if you don’t follow, no opportunity for you.
Hannah: Okay. So, it’s like all government then like if you work for the government, you’re fine, but if you don’t, then there’s not a lot for you.
Violeta: No
Hannah: Okay, I see. Um, did you have any like jobs in Nicaragua that, did you work for the government at all or did you just hold other jobs?
Violeta: No, no, no. We never work there because no opportunity to work. So yeah. What we do is, um, people have their own business, you know, like a small [00:25:00] something. Is the, the people.
Hannah: Yeah. Um, so what are your current views on like the political state in Nicaragua and like what would you want to change if you.
Violeta: Democrat. Yeah, because you can say nothing about them because if you say something and you, if you start a fight with the political party, you can easily go to jail.
Hannah: Okay. So they have a lot of like censorship. They don’t want you to like push back on the government and what they’re doing.
Violeta: Mm-hmm. . . Yeah.
Hannah: And that seems, because that guy’s been in power for like, how long? Like 30, 40 years.
Violeta: Yeah, 1979 to today.
Hannah: Wow.
Violeta: Yeah. Okay. I say, uh, [00:26:00] 1972 to today because they changed a little bit like for a couple years. Violeta Chamorro was the president was a woman, woman. But they can they no like her be a president. So everything, what did they say, she do.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: It’s a different party, political party, but they manipulate everything.
Hannah: Yeah.
Violeta: Yeah. So after Violeta Chamorro, so, um, all the presidents, but they can too, because they, they want to have power. So it’s only 3 presidents, different parties. But then only four years…… *unintelligible* Violeta Chamorro… I cannot remember the other names…. And, and that’s it. [00:27:00] And uh, then Daniel Ortgea come back again.
Hannah: Okay. . Um, do you think that the political situation, like what do you think would make it better? Like, do you think it will ever get better in the near future?
Violeta: I think, I think we don’t have future because we, uh, now, uh, 2018, so a students and civil people. Civil people start fighting. Protests everywhere. So, but they
Hannah: But they still don’t change?
Violeta: Yeah.
Hannah: Okay.
Violeta: Nothing change. So a lot of, a lot young people in the jail and a lot of people are coming to United States or ask for help, you know, like repeat.
Hannah: Yeah.[00:28:00] Is there anything else that you would want, like people to know about, like the journey of immigration? Um, anything you would wanna share with people about your experience? Anything just like else before we close up?
*Speaking with her daughter, Erika*
Erika: Como, advice?
Hannah: Yeah.
*Speaking with her daughter, Erika*
Violeta: Yeah, I can, if [00:29:00] somebody asking me like a how is, is, uh, any, you know, anywhere. Sorry.
Hannah: You’re good!
Violeta: So yeah, I can give my advice. Sometimes when people asking me about moving to United State sometime each of the people, I stay there because it’s danger. But, uh, we understand the situation. I understand, uh, a lot of people want to better future, they no have future in my country. Yeah, that’s a good answer?
Hannah: So you would say to some people to just like stay because the journey is so dangerous and, um, because the process of attaining citizenship is long [00:30:00] and difficult.
Violeta: Yeah, it’s long and difficult, but the, the, uh, the more danger part, it’s, um, it’s in Mexico. Mm, because that cartel, you know the mafia? So they take the people, and say, gimme $10,000, or, you know, gimme the $10,000. I will kill you or something. So they, they do always. And the border, or Mexico. So it’s my part for people. You know, I say don’t move or be careful because…
Hannah: It takes a lot of guts. You have to be tough to do that and I really admire you for going through all of that. That’s crazy. I don’t know if I’m cut out to do what you have done.
Erika: I told her I’m so happy. Like she was like, is my mom. Cause if like roles got reversed and I was there, I would’ve never crossed, I would’ve stayed there. [00:31:00]
Violeta: So I told Erica, um, when I, to Guatemala. We need to move in the big river. In the, on the, you know, like motor, you know, like…..
*Speaking with her daughter, Erika*
Erika: A raft.
Violeta: Uhhuh . So, and Big River it is called at the, the river. Some people call it the Diablo River. Because the river is so big it. Uh, Guatemala, the border, Guatemala in Mexico. It’s so danger that we pass a danger part. So, but, uh, when I, um, in the United States, oh my God, I still alive because…
Hannah: Yeah. And you felt so much relief.
Violeta: Yeah. And the. You, you want to come here? So at the moment you don’t see all the danger. [00:32:00] But after that, you know, after when you thinking this, oh my god, what I do? what did they do to us? Yeah. So one time we coming with the one person, this, he know all the trip, you know? And the person disappear. We lost. When the immigration, Mexico immigration coming, so he ruining so we stay like there. So I don’t know what it would do. I told you so everybody and I, when I cry, because when I by myself and I say what I do, everybody, I don’t know what I, at the middle night in, in the side, in the, the room. It’s when two guys coming, is they coming in my group and they say, oh my God, we coming and get you because this is dangerous. [00:33:00] And Mexico, the, it’s a lot of corruption. They, they don’t care.
Erika: I feel like it’s more dangerous too, cuz you’re a woman.
Hannah: Yeah. Especially.
Violeta: Yeah. So when I, um, Mexico City, we take the taxi, and the taxi is the driver and the passenger seat, they no have the seat that’s only in the back. So what is the name? The, the Fiat car. The small one? Yeah. So the two old guys and me. We driving in the back, the car. So the, the taxi, the driver, he put the hand in here (in her bra) and say, gimme your money, because you know the, some people hiding money. So he put the, the hand in here and my, in my [00:34:00] private part here and I say, stop it.
Hannah: Yeah.
Violeta: And he say, if you better be quiet or I call immigration. So, so the guys said, we don’t have money. No, the older Spanish woman put the money (motions to her chest) put money. So it’s just bad.
Hannah: Very scary. Yeah. How, how long, um, total did it take you to get from Nicaragua to the United States and cross through all those countries?
Violeta: In my case, I like a two months.
Hannah: Two months? Okay.
Violeta: Because, um, we lost the people that help us. So when we start, we start on our own with the other people.
Hannah: And then you kind of met new people along the way after you lost some and then crossed over together?[00:35:00]
*Speaking with her daughter, Erika*
Violeta: Yeah, I had, I had, I was with the Coyo, the coyote. So it’s the, the people you know that bring across all people, but you need to pay. So he disappeared because he is scared when the immigration came. So, and he had the money because we get the money to that, so we don’t have money. So, uh, I don’t know. So we, we no eating sometime I told you. So it’s so, so bad.
Hannah: Yeah. Wow. I, like I said before, I really admire like the strength and the like motivation that you had to come to the US to like build a better life because I don’t think Erika or I are cut out for that journey. Yeah. That is so crazy. Um, but thank you so much for sitting down and like taking the time to share about your experience. I [00:36:00] really, really appreciate it.
Violeta: Um, and you’re welcome.
Hannah: Awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Violeta: You welcome.
Hannah: Yeah, no, that’s all. But you have an incredible story. I didn’t even…
Erika: I didn’t even know most of that. I’m so happy I was able to sit down with you because I did not know a lot of this.
Hannah: No, because like you, there are those stories of like immigration where it’s very intense and crossing the border, and honestly, that’s not what I was expecting to hear, but it’s so admirable and just like crazy to hear that that was your experience. And I am very proud that you’re here now and you have your whole family here and things are good. Yeah.
Violeta: My friend, when I talk to my friend, she say, oh, I never, if I start talking to you, I never, I never knew that say, oh, you, you need to write a book. Because I relate to everything, you know, like what my experience
Erika: When we [00:37:00] were in Paris with mom, like we were at the Eiffel Tower and she was like never would I’ve ever thought I would ever be in Europe. Like visiting, like as a tourist. So like I go to college here and like, yeah. So thank you. Because if you didn’t do that, I would Wouldn’t even exist.
Hannah: Yeah. Aw, and that would be sad where Erika doesn’t exist because I love her.
Erika: My mom actually has a picture with Daniel Ortega. I told her to try to find it.
Hannah: Oh my gosh. Really?
Erika: Yeah. It’s cuz they were all, like she said, all the teenagers were forced to like be a part of like the little communist party, like club . And like, he would just go to every city and like,
Violeta: oh no. What happened with the picture that I explain to her. So with the, uh, high school graduation, uh, that had,[00:38:00] we from the same school, right? But the one group no like him, and the other group like, or not like, but the, so we, um, I can explain to you. So we happy that we graduate for high school, right? And they make the big party. And Daniel coming.
Erika: He funded it all. Only for the people that liked him.
Violeta: But in that time, so my friend, all my friend, go and follow him. So I I, I, I love my friends. And I want, I wanted graduate with my friend because it’s the one graduation, but the May two graduation because one Daniel Ortega, he give everything. Like, uh, choose, uh, everything for you. No, we did, we used different.
Erika: [00:39:00] Oh, you just joined?
VIoleta: No, like, uh, like, like I said, um, okay, so I can explain to you the experience. It’s a long time ago, but it’s only one graduation, but the people fight. Political party. So one group going separate and the other group say, I go in here. So, and he make the big party in the hotel and we went, because I followed my friends. And everybody take the picture and he take the picture with me and my other friend.
Hannah: You pretend like you like him for a minute or two.
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