On Immigration

Even though I'm so far away from the border of Arizona and Mexico, the debate over this stretch of land and the people that pass through it is still on my mind. With the new law implemented in my home state, I can't help but return to contemplate this issue. I understand that this "issue" is so politically infused, one cannot even mention the words "illegal immigration" without stiring up trouble. And I do not want to do that here. To preface, I am speaking in generalities, I do not wish to accuse or praise any political party, and I realize that this debate goes much deeper than policies. 

What I do find most interesting are the parallels in the US and my new adoptive country. Did you know that Chile also deals with consequences of having thousands of illegal immigrants? Although here, they are mostly from the neighboring countries of Peru and Bolivia. And they have the exact same double-sided debate as the US does concerning the actions that should be taken (or not be taken) against the non-Chileans. They also share the same prejudices and skepticism against the "outsiders;" just as it is becoming difficult to distinguish between racism and patriotism in the US, it is difficult to live as a legal Peruvian immigrant in Chile without people assuming he/she is an undocumented immigrant. For me this notion of dislike towards Peruvians and Bolivians seems silly, because why in the world would I personally have prior bias against these people? But to a Chilean, the same is true for North American sentiments against Mexicans (Note: I'm not saying all United States citizens hate all Mexican citizens, but because of the struggles with illegal immigration from Mexico, as a whole I believe the US' opinions about Mexicans as a whole are tainted).

What it really comes down to, is that it is sad that anyone should feel the only option for a better life for themselves and their family is to risk their life and break the law to work difficult jobs far away from their home. Chile is the wealthiest, most developed country in South America while Peru and Bolivia have much higher poverty rates. So, just as someone from Mexico can work a minumum wage job in the US and still earn more money than working another job in Mexico, someone from Bolivia can work a minimum wage job in Chile and often earn more than working in Bolivia. The core issue is the countries from which the people are moving are so desperate that their own people must flee to survive. And this breaks my heart, this is the real tragedy.

100% Stereotype, 100% Silly

Big moustaches + Tex Mex burritos =  (obvi) 100% Mexican

(An advertisement from a Chilean woman's magazine. Oh the cultural implications of this ad...)

Chilenismos vs. Mexicanismos: A Quiz

I don't know what my deal is with little games on this thing lately, but here is another activity for you: a quiz! My apologies to non-Spanish speakers! I get made fun of (lovingly) for my vocabulario mexicano, so I'm slowly but surely converting my dialect. Gotta love it when I speak in Spanish and people look at me like I'm speaking another language. Now your turn to figure it out!

Match the Chilean words/phrases with the Mexican equivalents:

Answers

1. n

2. j

3. d

4. a

5. l

6. h

7. k

8. e

9. b

10. f

11. c

12. i

13. g

14. m

15. o

Who wins?  

Mexi en el Otoño

I made two trips to Tijuana, México this fall to visit my beautiful babies at the orphange Cuidad de Angeles. Every time I go down I never want to leave. The kids bless my heart so much, so much more than I could ever bless them. Each child is literally a miracle; their stories are crazy yet they are alive and well. 

The young girls are soon entering their tween years which is apparent from their sassy selves. I lent Liliana my camera the past two visits and was shocked at how grown-up they pose in their photos. It's great with the juxtoposition of the things they take pictures of in their lives-- teddy bears, trash cans, backpacks, bed sheets. The pictures are a unique look at their world from their own perspective, not mine as a relative outsider, an older girl, an American, a visitor. They maintain their childhood while shooting Myspace-esque photos of themselves in the mirrors. I was intruiged when I got my camera back. I wonder, where did they learn the vanity of mirror self portraits? How did they learn to pose with sexy lips with the camera above their heads? These girls do not have abundant access to the internet; I don't even know if they are computer literate. Is it from TV, which they can and do freely watch? I was slightly disturbed that they are already learning to make suggestive faces and pouty lips at their age. It's too much a Lolita complex with their underlying naivite beneath the model posing. I don't want to ruin their childhood more by over analyzing their photos, but they had to have learned the sensual performance of picture posing from somewhere, it cannot possibly be innate. What could be innate is the desire to be beautiful-- both a cultural and universal construction. It seems like young girls are being taught earlier and earlier how to be desirable to the opposite sex, and the social networking sites seemed to have fed this in recent history. But these girls seem to be affected by the styles and inner culture of these sites by diffusion, not even having a Myspace or Facebook at all. I didn't start caring as much about my own personal appeal in photographs until about 13, and then even more at 15 when I opened my Myspace account. These girls are barely double digits.

Are they just having fun taking pictures of themselves or do they know what they are implying? Are they trying to be older? Are they trying to be sexy?