Back in the time when Hall & Oates released “Maneater” and the world was getting off of the “Thriller” high, there existed two people who dreamed of change. As a man in his early twenties, my father loved to collect these cancioneros that sold in Peruvian corner markets. The purpose of these musical booklets was to provide Peruvian youth with lyrics to popular American hits. If anyone ever enters the media room in my house, one is immediately drawn to this giant pile of cancioneros. Each booklet containing its fair share of doodles and professed love. I remember asking my father why he would ever keep a bunch of broken, old and (not to mention) dirty booklets if he never read them. His answer was simple. It reminded him of his youth and the memories he had singing the songs in the booklet to my mother when they were dating and then, his memories when they were very apart. My father moved to the United States when he was 21 years old. As a young man who left everything behind in Peru, including the woman that he was going to marry, the booklets began to take on a new meaning for him. They became the vessel that connected him and my mother despite their distance. I tie these booklets to my family’s immigration story because it was the vessel that kept one of the greatest loves in my family alive. It signifies the innocent hope my dad had for his future in the United States and for his future with my mother.

– Pamela Uribe

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant