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A Town full of Culture, and not so far off.

As I was interviewing I found myself imagining as if I was in that little town he was raised in.  Carlos, for me, brought the town alive.  At the age of nineteen, Carlos crossed the border illegally together with a few other individuals.  He found himself in Tuscon, and shortly after came up to Phoenix in search of work.  Carlos decided to start working in carpentry and felt like he found his place in life. Excluding a few siblings, his entire family currently resides in Mexico.  Prior to his trip to Mexico last year, it had been 10 years since he returned to his native land of birth.  In the interview I was particularly interested in the conditions that surrounded the town of Juxthlauca.              

Carlos began to enlighten me on the culture and business antics surrounding his home own.  I have always been intrigued about ‘comfort zones’ and how they differ from culture to culture.   Latin cultures for the most part, are extremely comfortable talking very closely. 

Next Carlos really began to elaborate on the culture in Juxthlauca.  This small town located in the southern part of Mexico is very rich in Indian Culture.  As you refer to the actual interview you will see that he was very descriptive in how the different people dress according to their town and line of work.   He also talked about how religion played a strong role in everyday life. 

To me, it seemed like Carlos lived a very comfortable like there in Juxthlauca, and so I asked him why he left.  Carlos told me that there was really nothing left there for him.  Since he was young, he had a yearning to come to the United States.  When he decided that he was actually going to leave, him family was of course sad, but they were also in hopes of a better life.  When family members come to the United States and ‘make it’, a great deal of money is sent home. In the book labeled Migration Under Fox , is states that there are two key reasons migration is good for Mexico;

1.      It acts as a safety valve; “Allows unhappy Mexicans an opportunity to change their lives.

2.      It provides an important source of income to Mexico in form of cash remittances ($14.5 billion in 2003)

Carlos and his entire family have earned their Permanent U.S. Residency, thanks to our common employer.   Our company participated in a sponsorship program, and helped 29 individuals gain their Permanent residency, and start on their way to Citizenship.