This tan sombrero is a symbol of prosperity, handwork, and dedication to my father who migrated to the United States in 1986. Throughout his journeys he always worn a sombrero on his head, and to this day wears his sombrero with pride. My father is from a small pueblo in Jalisco, Mexico known as, "Los Naranjo's." It was in Los Naranjo's where he was born and raised with his four sisters and one brother, as well as my grandparents. Los Naranjo's is also where he in his words "earned" his first sombrero at the age of 18 years old. He earned it by working day after day on a neighbors farm, where he would do things feed cattle, work on the field, and also build fences out of wire and or brick. Eventually he saved up enough to be able to purchase his sombrero which at the time was worn for work to provide him with shade from the beaming sun. But the sombrero began to become something he had grown attached to and something that began to mean more to him than just a shade hat. He bought more sombreros, nicer ones too, and one day at a Christmas festival in a neighboring pueblo known as "San Gaspar" with his sombrero on he met my mom. The two of them got married in 1983, and it wasn't long after that the two of them grew and itch for more than just the rancho life. They both wanted a "better life" for their children, which in my dads words is "a life with full opportunities" Three years later in 1986, my parents immigrated to the United States aboard a large truck with others who also were seeking a better life in the United States.

– Marco Santana

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