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Imelda explained that the reason she left Mexico was to be with her husband. Her husband had already been living and working in the U.S. by the time they were married. Shortly after they were married in Mexico, Imelda moved to the U.S. to join her husband and have her first child. Pictured here: Imelda on her wedding day.

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When she first arrived in the U.S. she joined her husband in Garden Grove, CA. Imelda arrived with a visitor visa. She stayed for a few years before having to return to Mexico. During her stay, her husband's 'sobrina' came to visit one day. She asked Imelda if she knew how to sew. Imelda responded that she did and said she was interested in finding a job. Her sobrina helped her apply for a job where she worked, a Van's factory.

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Imelda recounted how nervous she felt going to that interview. About 10 women were there and they all had to pass a sewing test to be hired. Once Imelda stepped into the room she realized that these industrial machines were not the ones she knew how to handle. As if by a miracle, the manager administering the test was called to the office...

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The woman taking the manager's place saw Imelda struggling and asked her "you don't know how to sew, do you?" "No" Imelda responded. The woman, Paz, quickly explained to her how to use the industrial sewing machine. Imelda thought she had completely failed the test! Later that day she received a call telling her she had gotten the job. In a few months, Imelda was being asked to stay overtime to make more specialized shoe models.

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After her visit permit expired, Imelda returned to Guadalajara, Mexico. She continued to work as a teacher raise her two children. She would visit her father every weekend in her hometown, San Juanito de Escobedo.

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In 1986, Imelda decided it was time to return to the U.S. so that her children could be closer to their father. Pictured here is the last birthday party she had for her first daughter, Thania. This party would be the last one she would spend with her whole family for decades.

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Imelda left Jalisco, Mexico with her two children. Because her visitor's permit would expire, she would not be able to return Mexico to visit her family until 2003.
Shortly after she arrived in 1986, Imelda and her husband decided to separate. She moved to Glen Avon, a small neighborhood in Jurupa Valley, CA. where her husband had a house. The house sat in the back of a long, dirt road near a canal. "Aqui me van a matar" thought Imelda as she arrived the first time. Everything felt lonely and they were surrounded by white Americans. "That was before the Mexicans took over" Imelda recalled.

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"We got a little green Toyota, that was our first car." Imelda recalls driving in circles in an empty parking lot as she learned how to drive stick shift for the first time. She relied on her 8 year old son to teach her.

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Imelda was able to talk to a neighbor who helped her get a factory job where she made syringes. She also went to ask at a local beauty school how she could apply. Imelda began working during the day and going to school at night.
Imelda would continue working hard to eventually open her own beauty salon in 1995.