Dateline,
Mexico’s Leading Ladies
Transcript
There's a long, dark shadow cast over this Mexican town. It’s not from
living beneath a dormant volcano. Heartache is a permanent resident in most
homes in San Francisco Tetlanohcan. Take Rosa, and her mother. Cooking feels
empty because their absent sons can't share in the meal.
ROSA (Translation): 12 years. It's been 12 years since I've seen them.
Rosa's two sons left when they were just 18 and 16. She's asked me not
to name them because they are undocumented migrants.
ROSA (Translation): This was one of their birthdays.
They went to find work in the US before they were even men and they
haven't returned - not even for a holiday. Crossing the fortified US border
again without papers is illegal, and far too dangerous.
ROSA (Translation): Well, the crossing with all the bullets flying
around is very risky. There’s a lot of border police. And I wouldn’t let them
cross the desert.
Rosa would love to visit her sons, but getting a visa for the US is
almost impossible for ordinary Mexicans.
ROSA (Translation): Here.
So she hangs on to memories instead. She's left the room her boys grew
up in almost as it was the day they left.
ROSA (Translation): Yes, most of this is theirs. There are even some
clothes from when they were little. I feel like crying. That’s why I don’t come
here often because… when I see them it breaks my heart.
More than 12 million Mexicans currently live in the US. Half of them are
undocumented. Thousands of Mexican villages like this one have seen an exodus
of men, leaving their loved ones waiting for a reunion that may never come.
Across town I find myself in a different kitchen but listening to a similar
story.
LUPITA (Translation): Actually my whole family are migrants. From my
father to my brothers and finally my husband.
Lupita's husband was forced to leave because they were broke. One night
thieves stole everything out of their repair business and then they were hit
with medical bills.
LUPITA (Translation): We tried to make the workshop work again but
didn’t make anything, we could barely pay the rent, we only just made the rent,
my son got very sick. He had an operation, went to hospital twice. And this is
what really broke us because we didn’t have money, and we had to sell a piece
of land to pay for the hospital.
That was six years ago now, and her husband's planning on staying in the
US for another four.
LUPITA (Translation): And it’s been very difficult because they are away
from the family for many years and when they come back we don’t have much time
with them because here life is very hard.
Year after year of missed anniversaries and birthdays, but the women
here hold on to the dream of seeing their loved ones again and they are trying
hard to make it happen. They have formed their own support group called CAFAMI
to fight for the rights of both migrants and their families and they started
performing theatre as both activism and therapy. But in a Shakespearean twist,
they have discovered this might also get them into the USA.
WOMAN (Translation): Mum, please, there’s something I need to talk to
you about.
They developed a play based on their own life experiences. It's called
Casa Rosa, or The Pink House.
WOMAN 2 (Translation): We’ll talk about it when we get home for dinner.
Now, get back to work.
They found out that if they get invited to perform in the US, maybe then
they have a chance of getting visas as performing artists.
PLAY:
WOMAN (Translation): It’s that…
WOMAN 2 (Translation): Son of a bitch I cut my finger!
WOMAN 3 (Translation): Oh, look, there’s a lot of blood…
They have given their theatre group an Indigenous name which translates
to 'Brilliant Women of the Stars', and the plays message is that young people
must stop migrating.
PLAY:
WOMAN (Translation): I said I’m going to the United States!
WOMAN 2 (Translation): What did you say?
WOMAN (Translation): Sorry what?
WOMAN 2 (Translation): I told you…
WOMAN (Translation): I heard you and I say no. Sorry, what?
WOMAN 2 (Translation): I told you…
WOMAN (Translation): I heard you and I said no.
After months of talks, they have received invitations from four American
universities. It's no guarantee they'll get visas, but it was enough to start
preparing according to the group's leader, Monica.
MONICA (Translation): And everything got started with the trip,
rehearsals, workshops. Beginning with the passports, some of them had trouble
getting their passports issued, then all the documents for theirs USA visas.
No-one knows the exact figures, but Monica thinks close to 70% of
families here have seen members leave for the US.
MONICA (Translation): Have you eaten? Where are you? I can’t see
you.
HUSBAND (Translation): Your brother says that you caught me
eating.
Coping with their long separation is something Lupita and her husband
have had to work hard at.
LUPITA (Translation): He calls me three times a day. We have video
calls. That’s been very helpful. It’s not the same clearly, but it lets us see
our loved ones, if only from a distance.
HUSBAND (Translation): And Johan?
LUPITA (Translation): He went to play again. He called to say he
was going to play in the fields until 3 but he’s not back yet.
REPORTER: So how are you keeping love alive all this time?
LUPITA (Translation): First of all, I think it’s about trust - mutual
trust. He trusts me, I trust him a lot. We’ve had small problems as a couple
but always tried to work them out. There’s always gossip. We’ve tried to talk
about it without shouting, just talk about it calmly and I think that’s what
has helped us to maintain our relationship after six years apart.
For the women who stay behind, the only solace is that their men send
money to give their families a better life. Rosa is showing me around the
family piggery, something they would never have been able to afford without
remittances from her brothers.
ROSA (Translation): Watch out! They are working over there and
send it here, so then he buys the pigs, they mate them and they come here to
give birth.
Rosa's sons are also laying the foundations for their own return to
Tetlanohcan, which can't come soon enough for Rosa.
ROSA (Translation): My sons bought this piece of land. All this.
REPORTER: It’s a big piece of land.
ROSA (Translation): Yes. By buying all of this, you can fit a very big
house.
REPORTER: Migration's had a huge impact on your family. Do you
think of it as a blessing or awe curse?
ROSA (Translation): It’s a blessing that nothing has happened to them
and immigration hasn’t caught them. That’s why I feel it’s a blessing. Because
I pray a lot that nothing happens to them, that they won’t get caught and
they’ll achieve their dreams.
ROSA PRAYS: Our Lady of Guadalupe, I only ask you to protect all our
children who are in the USA. Don’t abandon them.
Her prayers for their safety have so far been answered, but no-one knew
if their prayers for a visa to the US were going to be heard.
ROSA (Translation): Saint Peter, please help us.
MONICA (Translation): The fact is we were very nervous, very, very
nervous and I told them that, whether they give us a visa or not, we mustn’t
show any emotion.
A good plan, but it was hard to hide their joy when the visas were
granted.
MONICA (Translation): So when the first member got her visa, and she
discreetly showed us, I relaxed and all the other women started clapping.
To celebrate getting this far, they are having a dinner together.
Fidelia had tried and failed to get a visa in the past, which made today even
sweeter.
FIDELIA (Translation): I was very emotional, very happy. My legs were
shaking with joy.
Rosa is like a changed woman.
REPORTER: So how many days until you see your kids?
ROSA (Translation): Four days. In four days I’ll see them, be able to
hug them, kiss them… And I’m going to cry and tell them how much I love them.
They’re the most important thing I have in the world. My children.
It's one day before the women fly to New York and it's the final rehearsal
of their play.
PLAY:
WOMAN (Translation): Aren’t you tired of seeing the bad treatment you
get over the border?
WOMAN 2 (Translation): Yes!
A play which is not only personal, but also political.
WOMAN (Translation): The days when the United States pretended to close
the border while accepting those who could survive the ordeal of the desert
must end now.
The play has not only got them US visitor visas - doing it has empowered
the women, which is one of the group's main goals.
WOMEN (Translation): Justice!
ROSA (Translation): I was a very shy timid woman, nervous, very ashamed.
I had never been on stage. But now that I’m in CAFAMI I feel like a different
woman.
WOMEN: Bye Bye! Muchos Thank you very much
Rosa has one more thing to do before leaving to see her sons for the
first time in 12 years.
ROSA (Translation): We’re here in Santa Anna buying some fish to cook
and take it to my children for them to enjoy.
A true Mexican mother, Rosa is intent on cooking their favourite dishes
and she's taking the special ingredients with her. It's hard to believe how
much love is wrapped up in this one salted fish - but for Rosa, her son's
happiness is all she can think of.
ROSA (Translation): I mean, I think that when I speak about my children
my smile goes from here to here.
LUPITA (Translation): Can you bring me some things from the fridge?
Lupita is also busy packing. The women are leaving in just a few hours
and you can feel their anticipation and that of their husbands in the US.
HUSBAND (Translation): Is everything ready?
LUPITA (Translation): Yes, it’s all ready .
HUSBAND (Translation): I couldn’t sleep last night, I was so
excited.
LUPITA (Translation): Neither could I.
MONICA (Translation): The hard work has borne fruit but we still have to
get there and we hope the tour goes well.
Then finally it's time for this determined group of women to set off on
the dream they have strived so hard to make a reality.
MONICA (Translation): We arrived at the airport, you know, 23 women with
thousands of suitcases. We didn’t know the process, the tickets, where to go,
what to do. It was chaotic. We’re grateful we didn’t lose anyone.
ROSA (Translation): I haven’t slept a wink.
Some of these women have never been on a plane before. Bleary-eyed they
arrive in New York's JFK airport at 6am, outside immigration, their loved ones
are waiting, including Rosa's sons, who have a million things to say to their
mum when she makes it through.
JOHNNY (Translation): So I really want to tell her I love her and have
missed here. I think of her a lot, and when I see her I’ll give her lots of
hugs and kisses, trying to make up for all those years in just a few seconds.
Lupita's husband is also here with a bunch of flowers. Now the men are
the ones waiting. Husbands, sons, and even grandsons the women have never met and
then the long separation is over.
ROSA (Translation): Oh, so, I’m here.
JOHNNY (Translation): Yes, Mum, you’re here with us.
ROSA (Translation): Thank you, darling, thanks for coming.
JOHNNY (Translation): Of course we came, we love you very much. How’s my
beautiful mum?
ROSA (Translation): Good, son, good.
In a cold arrivals hall, a simple amateur play unites families.
ROSA (Translation): I’m so happy to have my son, and my other son, my
grandson and my daughter in law. , I love them very much. I’m very happy.
REPORTER (Translation): Is this your happiest day?
ROSA (Translation): Of my life…
JOHNNY (Translation): It’s good that we’re together now. Give me a
big hug.
Days later, the women must feel like they have entered another world. In
a tiny Brooklyn apartment shared with relatives, Lupita is adjusting to her
husband's life here.
LUPITA (Translation): That’s mine. You took the wrong one.
They are rediscovering all the forgotten quirks of living with the
person they'd married and discovering some new quirks as well.
LUPITA (Translation): Now he eats cream.
HUSBAND (Translation): But only in spaghetti.
LUPITA (Translation): It doesn’t matter. It’s still cream. It’s not
the same as a video call. Seeing her, being close to her, being able to hug
her, it’s beautiful for me. It’s beautiful…
But the American dream is not as grand as Lupita had expected.
LUPITA (Translation): When I arrived, I didn’t say anything to my
husband. This is the only thing they can afford because rents are very high.
Very high.
Lupita's journey to the US has not been like the millions who have
risked their lives to be here, but she hopes that when they step up on stage
tonight they can start a conversation about the toll migration takes on those
left behind. It's a sell-out crowd for tonight's performance of The Pink House.
Back stage, the women are ready and excited.
WOMAN (Translation): Yes, we are about to start.
Performing in front of an American audience doesn't seem to faze them.
ROSA (Translation): I’m well, I’m relaxed.
PRESENTER: Without any further ado, CAFAMI.
None of these women ever expected to an actress on an American stage,
but here they are.
PLAY:
WOMAN (Translation): Mum, please, I need to see the world.
WOMAN 2 (Translation): Isn’t that what you do every day online?
They have had no formal training, but somehow the authenticity that
comes from telling their own stories gives the show a raw power.
WOMAN (Translation): Then I need to go into the world.
WOMAN 2 (Translation): Isn’t this the world?
WOMAN (Translation): Maybe for you. Not for me.
WOMAN 2 (Translation): How are you going to get there? You don’t even have
money for a smuggler.
WOMAN (Translation): Carmen leant me the money.
By the end, I'm surprised at how moving the night has been.
WOMAN (Translation): Maybe our efforts haven’t been enough. But for
God’s sake, we’re not going to give up. We’ll keep fighting.
WOMEN (Translation): Yes. Let them hear our voice.
In the audience Q&A afterwards, it's clear they have hit a raw
nerve.
AUDIENCE (Translation): You are strong women who come to expose… Yours
and our feelings… What we have left behind… brothers, sisters, grandparents who
have passed away and who we couldn’t return to say goodbye. There are lots of
topics that you address, that go straight to the heart. Thank you.
JOHNNY (Translation): I’ve always been proud of my mother and I
still am. She accomplished her goal and she made it. If it hadn’t been for her
work, she wouldn’t be here with us. But yes, I feel very happy and I think she
is, too. We’re all very happy with everything.
The joy of this reunion can only be temporary but Rosa's not letting
that stop her taking over the kitchen in her son's apartment.
REPORTER: The fish, how did the fish go?
ROSA (Translation): The fish is soaking so as to get rid of the salt.
They only have a few precious weeks together, but she's determined to
make the most of it.
ROSA (Translation): Come and have your memelita. Your gordita.
Again, that shadow of separation hangs over them. On a walk through New
Haven, so far from Tetlanohcan, I asked Rosa if she has convinced her sons to
return home yet, but it's a touchy subject.
ROSA (Translation): I would like them to come back home with me. I would
be very happy to have them with me. I haven’t spoken to them. We haven’t had a
chat.
Unsaid words and unfulfilled hopes. That's how it is for migrant
families. But for now, they can live in the moment just enjoying being
together.
Reporter
AARON THOMAS
Producer
AELA CALLAN
Camera
AARON THOMAS
Additional Camera
AARON LEWIS
Fixer
DAWN PALEY
Editor
AARON THOMAS
Thanks To
RUTH HERNANDEZ
Translations
EMILY BARTON
Composer
VICKI HANSEN
10th May 2016