This February, we had the absolute honor of being able to travel to Mexico for the first time in 3 years with 4 farmers and 5 community members. We visited the mountainous regions around Zongolica and Cuatepec de Hinojosa with the hopes of getting to know the families of individuals that are working on our dairy farms and in other places of employment up here in Wisconsin & Minnesota. During our trip, we had so many heartwarming and heartbreaking conversations with families. As each family shared about their loved one that has been working far away, we got a little insight into the bittersweet feelings swirling around together: gratitude for what that job is doing for the family and longing for their family member that they miss immensely.
One of the villages that we got the privilege of visiting was Tecpanzacualco. While we traversed a bumpy road up and down the mountain, one that was completed less than a decade ago and the first one that was more than a walking path to this village, a few people hopped in the back of our vehicle to catch a ride. We quickly related to our new passengers while they told us all about what they had been planting in the fields and we found out that they were relatives of people we knew up in Wisconsin. We ate breakfast with the family of siblings Clara and Rogelio, who are working on Stan’s farm in Western Wisconsin. Their parents paused to take a picture with us on the rooftop of their 3 story house after they proudly showed us what their daughter had built for them.
We were also invited into the kitchen of Paola, who has had all of her 4 adult sons working up here at one point. While she told us about her sons, someone in our group asked her what life was like growing up. She shared about not having electricity until 25 or so years ago. When she was born, in the 1940s, her house was made purely of posts from local pine trees and the roof was large leaves from trees around there. She described to us how her mother used just a piece of wood for her to sleep in when she was a little baby while everyone else slept on the dirt floor. She was born right in that same house where she told us the stories of her upbringing, commenting not on a difficult childhood, but on how her life was very different and simple. She now has a cement floor, running water, electricity, beds, and several rooms.
Cole had the chance to see Alberto, an employee that had to leave his farm suddenly due to a family emergency with his daughter. It was really special for him to see how well he was doing and to realize how much he had missed him. On top of showing the house he built working on Cole’s farm, Alberto was able to show his old boss that he carries the same passion he had working for him to his new job at a bakery in Mexico.
We also got the chance to meet Margarita whose son Gustavo has been working up here on John’s farm for a little over a year. Not too long after he got here, he found out that his father was sick and a few months after his diagnosis of stomach cancer, he passed away. Gustavo had to make a tough decision: Do I go home and be with my family during this incredibly difficult time or do I stay up here and help them with the job I have? He stayed here and when we went down to visit Tlaquilpa last month, we got to meet his mom. While she told us about the hardship her family faced with her husband passing away less than a year ago, she took my hands in hers and pressed them against her chest. In a mixture of sorrow and pride, she looked into my eyes and said: “He makes sure there are always tortillas on the table and that his younger siblings can keep going to school. Since his father passed away, he has taken care of them. Thank God we never lack anything because Gustavo is there and has a good job and a good boss. We are so grateful.” The pride she had for her son, for the way he had stepped in to take care of her and his siblings just like his father would have if he was alive, was contagious.
The tears running down our cheeks told the whole story. The power of what she shared with us stayed with me. The more I get to know stories like hers, the more I can confirm how much more there is that connects us to one another than what separates us.
Our last visit was in an arid region in the state of Hidalgo where we traveled to meet the families of Michael’s employees. There, we saw 6 houses that have been constructed by the employees that have all worked on his farm. One of the most special ones was the house that 4 brothers had lovingly pitched in to give to their parents. Their dad, Carmelo, was beyond proud to take us there and show us what his sons had worked together to build for him and his wife.
As we were guided into that village earlier that afternoon, we saw close to 50 people gathered in someone’s backyard and quickly realized that they were all waiting to welcome Michael and the rest of us. As soon as we arrived, they uncovered the lamb barbecue that they had been roasting since before the sun came up. After the coals and hot ashes were taken off and heaped into a wheel barrow, they slowly started pulling off the maguey leaves that they used to tenderize and add flavor to the meat. And in a few short minutes, they were carrying plates of flavorful lamb meat to the table that had already been set with mole, homemade tortillas, 3 kinds of salsa and a host of other traditional foods. We ate, we laughed, and we had heartfelt conversations with wives and mothers and children of men working on that farm in Southeastern Minnesota.
It is hard to put into words the feeling we get when we receive this outpouring of hospitality from families that have not met us before, families that are making so many sacrifices while their sons and daughters and husbands are away for such long periods of time. The gratitude that they expressed to the bosses and friends of their loved ones while doling out such generosity was humbling. We did our best to express how grateful we were for the way they invited us into their homes with such open arms, but words couldn’t effectively communicate our appreciation for the imprints that their gestures were leaving on our hearts. To be welcomed so incredibly warmly, in a land that was foreign to us, taught us so much once again.