My fathers name is Fernando Leal. He immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1988 by crossing the border into Texas, eventually making his way to Brooklyn, New York. My father experienced many hardships in Mexico, including poverty and being abandoned by his family. My mother was also very poor and never received an education. While Mexico is progressing as a nation, it has historically struggled with poverty, corruption, and more recently, drugs, prompting some to leave and seek a better opportunity in the United States.

When my parents first arrived, one of the things they liked to do was go to baseball games. When I was old enough, my family brought me and my siblings to our very first baseball game at Yankee stadium. I remember entering Yankee stadium and seeing a sea of people in the stands while the players threw baseballs like rockets. After the game, we went to a souvenir shop and my father bought me this bobble head representing The Yankees. The neck of the bobble head is cracked, so I have to be careful when moving it around. 

While my parents have since separated, the bobble head remains a reminder of when when we were together as a family. My father, through an abundance of interviews, paper work, and taxes, became a naturalized citizen in 2013 - a process that took him 15 years to do. That was his way of "making it" in America.

– EG

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant