I choose this picture because this is what I am about "Familia." My mother came here to America to provide a better life for her children. The picture has all my brothers and sisters and our center "Nuestra Querida Madre" which is what her tombstone now reads. She came to this country not knowing a word of English but only knew she had to provide a better future for her kids one that she never had. My mother worked the fields, cooked and sold food. She even cleaned homes to make a living. Her drive was her kids and that is what she needed to keep going. She used to get up at 5:00 am and did not sleep until 11:00 pm. She made sure we never felt poor even though we were poor, she always had a way of making sure we did not go without and still have a roof over our head. She was our center and always made sure we stayed close and knew we had each other to fall back on. My mother passed away 28 years ago but her way lives in us still and that way is being passed down to our children because it is what she would have wanted. Her last words were "En esta vida solo tenia a mis hijos." The coin in the right top corner is a coin she used to carry with her all the time. It is of an Aztec God Tlaloc. I carry this coin with me now so I have her with me always. 

– Luis Allon

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant