Work and Migration

ROWELL: Is the work over there more difficult than the work here in Coyolillo?

ARMANDO: The work here is in the field, cutting sugar cane, planting corn, cleaning. I was building houses there, roofing as they call it. It is more dangerous because one is on the top of the house. But I can't say it's too difficult.

ROWELL: Why is it that when you left here, you worked in roofing? Is there not any other type of work?

ARMANDO: Where I was in the United States, there were two kinds of work. One was factory work and the other was work in a chicken plant, packaging chicken products. And there are a lot of people from here working in the United States. Construction and work in the chicken plant—that is the work most available there.

ROWELL: Talk about the economy here in Coyolillo.

ARMANDO: It's been about five years since there were a lot of us here in the field. Approximately four years ago, everyone migrated. Thank God, the village has changed more. As I said before, you can make ends meet with the money you earn in the United States for home repair. There you live better than here in Mexico.

ROWELL: Do you know other Americans that visit Coyolillo?

ARMANDO: I know of one who would come to teach dance. His name is Yeke. I think he's from Chicago. The one who really knows him is Octavio. He really doesn't come anymore, but he used to come to teach us. He played [instruments]. But it has been a year since I've seen him.

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JONES: Many people in Coyolillo go to the United States to work. Why?

ZACARÍAS: Life is very hard here. We are able to earn very little here—hardly enough to eat. In the United States, we earn a lot more than we do here—two or three times more. We have to look out for our well-being so that our families can live without suffering. That's why we go to other places looking for work. We have to take care of our families.

JONES: When most of the men leave Coyolillo to go to find work in the United States, do they leave the wife and children behind? What is it like for the families when the men leave them to go far away to work for long periods?

ZACARÍAS: They are very sad and sometimes they cry. But that's the fate we have here in Mexico when we have to go to the United States. We go there because we are looking for something better for our families.

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JONES: How many children do you have?

MIGUEL: My wife and I have seven children. Our three sons are all married. We have four daughters. Three of them still live with us.

JONES: When your children grew up, did they stay here in Coyolillo or did they go to Xalapa or Veracruz? Or did they go to the United States?

MIGUEL: Everyone is here in Coyolillo. One went to the United States, but he returned here to Coyolillo.

JONES: Do you and your family and friends ever visit Xalapa?

MIGUEL: Sometimes we go there to buy things, to see friends. We have some good friends there.

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JONES: There are a lot of males who go to the United States to work, but they leave their families here. Is this a problem for the families when they are left here?

BENITA: Yes. Quite a problem. How could it not be? On the one hand, it's good for them because their going away brings more income into the families. But they aren't going to live their whole lives there. If they don't have a degree, nothing is certain. They go there for a bit and come back. They spend what they made and everything stays the same. And if they had been studying, it's something that they'll...