Rosa story seems to interrelate with many immigrant stories.  There was many personal

stories she described to  me, but did not what me to include in the interview.  Struggles of self

preservation and religious doubt that haunted her during the days in Mexico and at night in

the lonesome desert.

        In the book, Voyages: From Tongan Villages to American Suburbs, talks strongly about

Tongans wanting to keep their traditions and not losing them to American culture.   This I

believe rings quite truly in Rosa life. She just celebrated her daughters quincenera.  A

celebration of  young girl into womanhood.   

    When I conducted the interview it was at Rosa  home on Cinco De Mayo.  Rosa says she

holds a annual fiesta for this important holiday.  I still vividly remember her son Jesus

grumbling to me he would rather be out on the town.  But he knew the trouble his mom would

give him would not be worth a few beers or a nice conversation with a girl.

           New Pioneers in the Heartland: Hmong Life in Wisconsin, explained some of the

struggles Rosa faced once she came to America.  Prejudice rang high in the small town where

she lived for awhile.  She was constantly called names when going into town, such as the

Ranchers' whore and other typical ethnic racial slurs.  She believes this made her stronger in

your own skin and  ethnic culture. 

            Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America, was a collection of

stories from migrants all around the world.  A story that read in the book that reminded me of

Rosa was the story about the young Vietnamese woman who got impregnated by an American

soldier and then had to deal with the family repercussions.  Rosa dealt with a lot of criticism

from her own family.  Her Aunts almost disowned her from the family.  But what was different

between the two was that Rosa family's anger was not driven from racial prejudices but, driven

more from religious bases.