I Don't Cry, But I Remember: A Mexican Immigrant's Story of Endurance

Acknowledgments

ix Acknowledgments Many friends and colleagues contributed support and advice toward the completion of this book. I owe a special debt of thanks to two women: Maria Lopez and Dollie Zamora. Maria, Professor of Spanish and former Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado, recognized the importance of Viviana’s story, urged me to put it in book form, and spent many hours helping transcribe the tapes. Dollie, Parent Educator with the Department of Human Services in Weld County and the daughter of immigrants herself, gave unstintingly of her time, bilingual talents, and friendship. Her insights were invaluable, and the book is richer because of them. I also wish to thank Lucía Gonzales, Lidia Rios, Ines Florez, Cynthia Florez, Patricia Escobar, and Angeles Navarro for their help with translation. Thanks to Sharon Wilson, Chair, and the University of Northern Colorado Faculty Research and Publication Board, who awarded me a grant to carry out my research and purchase the necessary microphones and transcribing machine. In addition, I appreciate the Catholic Community Services of Greeley and their Hispanic Elderly Outreach Program, through which I met Viviana and Jorge Salguero. I am fortunate to know some fine professional writing consultants , among them my dear friend Barbara Warren-Sams. She read the manuscript through many versions, always offering constructive suggestions and emotional support while refusing adequate remuneration . Her insistence on avoiding assumptions in my interpretation of Viviana’s words kept the book honest. Another good friend, Linda Gray, not only sent me relevant books but also tolerated my reading parts of this work aloud to her and followed up with suggestions for major improvements. x acknowledgments While writing the final drafts of the book, I joined a writers group, and I wish to thank Gloria Geiser, Cecilie Scott, Mary Richardson, and Barbara Young for their insights and willingness to read at least twice as many pages each session as their previously established limit. Thanks also to Robert Sanford for relentlessly rearranging my paragraphs so that I had to write new transitions. That and his suggestions for tightening the prose helped immensely. I am grateful to Alfonso Rodriguez for rechecking the accuracy of the Spanish passages and to Mike Corley for generously giving me Spanish lessons. Without the technical skill of Alicia Katz Pollock, the computer and I would never have formatted this work correctly for publication. Reference librarians are my personal heroes. Colleen Stewart at the University of Northern Colorado’s Michener Library and Peggy Ford Waldo of the City of Greeley Museums were especially helpful. I don’t know the names of the many others who have helped me; I therefore thank all who help others seek out information as their life’s work. I have found them cheerful and curious, willing to pursue each question not as part of a job but as an intriguing puzzle to be solved. Without them, the world of information would be much more difficult to travel. Viviana and her family are the heart of this work. Her story has been a gift—a journey through the life of another—that turned our relationship from a friendship to a friendship with a purpose. We both enjoyed following a series of reminiscences that would put together her story, not knowing exactly how, when, or if we would reach a finished product, but realizing more fully month by month how important the process was to each of us. Her children and grandchildren were helpful as well, and I cannot thank them enough for welcoming me into their homes, sharing their parents’ birthday celebrations, and cooking their wonderful food for me. No one makes enchiladas like Mercedes. Roberto and Beatrice gave me formal interviews, adding fascinating details to their mother’s story and answering questions about their parents. Baseball fans Roberto and his wife Leticia took my husband and me to a Denver Rockies game and continue to offer their home as our home. Diego shared his own stories of the Salguero boys growing up, and Memo showed me several photo albums. Granddaughter Pilar has been post and beam in the construction process. Her help with translation, her knowledge Acknowledgments xi of family history, and her genealogical project all contributed beyond measure. I count myself fortunate to know her as a friend. My own family and friends have been amazing. My sisters Elaine and Helen have never ceased to...