Mexicanos in Oregon: Their Stories, Their Lives

Testimonio by Mario Maga

133 THEIR STORIES, THEIR LIVES Testimonio by Mario Magaña Mario Magaña was interviewed by Gonzales-Berry in 2005 for this testimonio at Oregon State University, where he is a Professor in the OSU Extension Program. Excerpts were taken from that Spanish-language interview and transcribed, translated, and arranged by the authors. One reason why I came was when I got together with my friends, when I was fourteen, fifteen, eighteen years old and they would say, “Let’s go eat” or “Let’s have a refreshment,” I didn’t have money to pay for my drink or my supper. So many times I preferred to go home, to hide, because I didn’t have money for myself or for a friend. I would just go home. And another reason was when I began to have girlfriends, sometimes one would have a birthday and I didn’t have money to buy her a little gift or the like. This is when I began to think that my situation in Mexico was very difficult. I began to think that I was going to have a family tomorrow or the day after and, how was I going to feed my family? How were we going to live? My father gave us a small piece of land, and my children and my brother’s children, for we were many, were not going to live off that little piece of land. And when we planted we were not able to recover our investment at harvest time because seed was very expensive and the harvest was expensive. When we went to sell our harvest, it was worth nothing. All the work that we invested was free because at best we got our expenses but we got nothing for our labor. This is when I began to think that I had to do something about my life. And also I would see those who returned well dressed with new trucks. They still may have owed on them, but they had their new trucks, and I became convinced. A friend told me, “Let’s go over. I’ll take you to Washington, where I work.” So I left. This was in 1983. They got us at the Tijuana border and threw us back. We returned and they threw us back. We kept doing this until we were finally able to cross. When I arrived here in Washington, I lived with, I believe, we were seven or eight cousins, in a three-bedroom trailer. We slept two or three in one bedroom, others in the living room and like that. There was no problem sleeping. The problem was cooking on only one stove. There were several of us, but there was one or two persons who knew how to cook and the rest of us didn’t. Then we did other chores and they cooked. I think that since we are all in reality, we have to assume reality. But some of us don’t like to do this 134 Mexicanos in Oregon Testimonio: Mario Magaña kind of work. Unfortunately that is part of what we bring from our culture. I wish that in my home they had taught me to iron, to wash, to cook, and things like that. But they never taught us. Then, when we arrived here, I don’t know, perhaps it’s cultural. I don’t say it’s machismo or laziness, but that it is part of our culture. That is how they taught us, and you want to do things that way for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, there are times that you can’t continue like that and we have to make changes in our lives. I was picking apples and I heard on the radio that you could get a GED in Spanish at Washington State University. I climbed down from the ladder, ran to my car, and turned on the radio. I took a pencil and wrote down the phone number of the office in Greenville where I lived. After work I went to the office. It was just about closing time. The woman in charge told me I would have to return on Friday to fill out the forms. On Friday morning I returned instead of going to work. They told me I would have to take a preliminary exam. It took me about two hours. Then they sent it by FAX, and I waited until three or four when they told me I...