By Mercedes Olivera
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-893685.mp3
Dallas, TX –
INTRO: At the same time the U.S. House recently voted to pass the new health care overhual bill, supporters at a march nearby in Washington renewed a push for comprehensive immigration reform. The efforts sparked memories of her family's past for commentator Mercedes Oliveira.
COMMENTARY: MOST AMERICANS HAVE SEEN THE ICONIC IMAGES OF THE REVOLUTIONARIES PANCHO VILLA AND EMILIANO ZAPATA, WITH THEIR HANDLE-BAR MOUSTACHES AND BULLET BELTS STRAPPED ACROSS THEIR BARREL CHESTS. BUT MOST HAVE NO IDEA OF THE PROFOUND IMPACT THAT THE REVOLUTION HAD ON THEIR DESCENDANTS.
FOR MANY MEXICAN-AMERICAN FAMILIES, THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION NEVER ENDED. IT LIVES ON IN THE HEARTS AND MEMORY OF AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF HISPANICS - MY GENERATION, IN PARTICULAR, WHICH IS TWO GENERATIONS REMOVED FROM THE ONE THAT FLED THE FAMINE, POVERTY, AND BLOODSHED THAT STARTED IN 1910 AND LASTED AT LEAST TEN YEARS. THE REVOLUTION SPURRED A MASSIVE MIGRATION OF MEXICANS INTO THIS COUNTRY THAT NEVER REALLY STOPPED.
ALMOST A MILLION OR MORE MEXICANS POURED OUT OF THEIR HOMELAND AND SETTLED IN HISPANIC COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S. MORE MEXICAN-AMERICANS TODAY ARE DESCENDED FROM THAT DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP THAN FROM ANY OTHER.
FOR THIS REASON, THE REVOLUTION WAS A SEMINAL MOMENT NOT ONLY IN THE HISTORY OF TWO NATIONS, BUT ALSO IN THE HISTORY OF OUR FAMILIES. STORIES OF "LA REVOLUCION" HAVE BECOME A PART OF OUR FOLKLORE IN COMMUNITIES ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY.
WE CARRY THE STORIES OF OUR GRANDPARENTS - AND THE EXTRAORDINARY HARDSHIPS THEY ENDURED WHEN THEY LEFT THEIR HOMELAND - AS A BADGE OF HONOR.
MY GRANDMOTHER WAS 17 - STILL A TEENAGER - WHEN SHE CAME NORTH. SHE ONCE RECALLED ONE PAINFUL MEMORY SHE HAD AS A CHILD, WHEN THEY HAD NOTHING TO EAT EXCEPT BANANA PEELINGS. THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WAS ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION. THE JOURNEY NORTHWARD MEANT SURVIVAL.
AND IT HAPPENED AT A TIME WHEN THE BORDER PATROL DID NOT EXIST. IT WASN'T CREATED UNTIL THE 1920s.
MY GRANDMOTHER, CASIMIRA LUNA, SETTLED IN DALLAS AND EVENTUALLY MARRIED, HAD SEVEN CHILDREN, AND STARTED HER OWN RESTAURANT. FOUR OF HER FIVE SONS FOUGHT IN AMERICA'S WARS, INCLUDING MY OLDEST UNCLE WHO SERVED WITH GENERAL PATTON'S ARMY IN EUROPE DURING WORLD WAR II.
WHEN SHE PASSED AWAY IN 1986, SHE OWNED HER OWN HOME, HAD NO DEBTS, AND WHILE IN BUSINESS NEVER TURNED ANYBODY AWAY FROM HER RESTAURANT WHO WAS HUNGRY. THAT'S THE PERSON I WANT TO BE. SHE SET THE EXAMPLE FOR ALL HER CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.
AND HERS IS THE FACE I SEE WHENEVER I LOOK INTO THE EYES OF NEW IMMIGRANTS WHO COME TO THIS COUNTRY WITH THE SAME DREAMS.
NOW, AS PRESSURE GROWS ON CONGRESS AND THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO TAKE UP THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION AGAIN, AMERICANS WOULD DO WELL TO REMEMBER ITS OWN BEGINNINGS.
OUR HISTORY IS FILLED WITH CASIMIRA LUNAS WHO CAME AND ARE STILL COMING, WHO WERE WILLING TO LEAD A LIFE OF SACRIFICE FOR THEIR CHILDREN, TO GIVE THEM THEIR BLESSING WHEN THEY GO OFF TO FIGHT OUR WARS, AND TO BUILD BUSINESSES AND BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT WHILE HELPING OUR COMMUNITIES PROSPER.
THEY'VE DONE IT, THEY DO IT STILL, AND WILL DO IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT. AND WHAT COULD BE MORE AMERICAN CAN THAT?
MERCEDES OLIVERA IS A LONG TIME COLUMNIST WITH THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS.
YOU CAN E-MAIL QUESTIONS AND OPINIONS ABOUT THIS COMMENTARY TO KERA.ORG.