Lupita Manana is written by Patricia Beatty. It is a fictional story about a young girl, Lupita, and her brother, Salvador, who must cross from Mexico to America. Their journey begins when the get the news about the death of their father, the main financial provider. Their mothers tells them that they must go to America and earn money for their family's survival. Their aunt, Consuelo, is their mother's sister. Years ago, Consuelo crossed the boarder and moved to Indio, California. Lupita's mother told the children they must go live with Aunt Consuelo, work in Indio, and send money back to the family. Salvador and Lupita don't know how to get to Indio let alone cross the boarder. Mom simply tells them they must go and get there. These two children (pre-teen Lupita and mid-teen Salvador) set out on their way to Indio, California.
Although this text is fictional, I am confident that the story-line matches the life journey of many Mexican immigrants who have had to cross the boarder for survival. Although I have read other fictional text of a similar nature (i.e. The Crossing by Gary Paulsen), Lupita Manana introduces the reader to the multiple layers of fear a child, teen, or adult has when they cross the boarder into America illegally. Lupita, a pre-teen who is innocent in thought and action, tends to look at life as if the glass is half-full unlike her brother who sees the glass half-empty. It was interesting to me that the layers of fear were more than just the immigration police. They learned to fear other Mexicans as they were traveling to Tijuana. Once in Tijuana, they learned to fear the coyote who would exploit their dream for financial gain. They also learned to fear the "gringo" who robbed and shot at them as they attempted to cross the boarder. Once across the boarder, Lupita and Salvador, learned to fear the police as well as the imigration police (la migra) who pick up those in America illegally and deport them.
All of these different levels of fear made me think about many of the possible reasons why the parents of the students I serve may be reluctant to provide the school with personal information or complete forms that require personal information (i.e. phone numbers, work status, social security numbers, etc...). Until I can build the needed trust with the parents of the student's we serve, I am sure that many of them have multiple levels of fear. This fictional book gave me a better understanding of what many of my constituents may have gone through or someone close to them may have gone through.
Could I? Would I attempt a similar journey like Lupita and Salvador? What a journey.
Although this text is fictional, I am confident that the story-line matches the life journey of many Mexican immigrants who have had to cross the boarder for survival. Although I have read other fictional text of a similar nature (i.e. The Crossing by Gary Paulsen), Lupita Manana introduces the reader to the multiple layers of fear a child, teen, or adult has when they cross the boarder into America illegally. Lupita, a pre-teen who is innocent in thought and action, tends to look at life as if the glass is half-full unlike her brother who sees the glass half-empty. It was interesting to me that the layers of fear were more than just the immigration police. They learned to fear other Mexicans as they were traveling to Tijuana. Once in Tijuana, they learned to fear the coyote who would exploit their dream for financial gain. They also learned to fear the "gringo" who robbed and shot at them as they attempted to cross the boarder. Once across the boarder, Lupita and Salvador, learned to fear the police as well as the imigration police (la migra) who pick up those in America illegally and deport them.
All of these different levels of fear made me think about many of the possible reasons why the parents of the students I serve may be reluctant to provide the school with personal information or complete forms that require personal information (i.e. phone numbers, work status, social security numbers, etc...). Until I can build the needed trust with the parents of the student's we serve, I am sure that many of them have multiple levels of fear. This fictional book gave me a better understanding of what many of my constituents may have gone through or someone close to them may have gone through.
Could I? Would I attempt a similar journey like Lupita and Salvador? What a journey.
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