Cecilia Carpio: Ecuador to Chicago by Miley Prado

Born in 1980

mprado502 — 2025-05-19 18:52:14 UTC

My mom was born on December 17, 1980 in Cuenca, Ecuador. She's the middle child of 10 siblings and the daughter of Andres and Luisa Carpio. Growing up, her parents were farmers and all her siblings helped care for the animals and crops.

1987 Earthquakes

mprado502 — 2025-05-24 16:00:29 UTC

My mom was 7 years old when the Ecuadorian earthquakes in Napo occurred. My mom is not from Napo but she has family there. This impacted her family though because many of her cousins were injured due to the earthquake and lost their homes.

Village bunny nurse and farmer

mprado502 — 2025-05-24 16:05:36 UTC

My mom spent lots of time at her grandma's house in her adolescent life where she learned how to properly care for bunnies with the help of her vet aunt. She helped her parents with their farm and crops production most of them time as that was the family's main source of income. Her tasks included taking the cows and sheep up to her family's property high in the mountains where they could eat.

Starts dating my dad in '97

mprado502 — 2025-05-24 16:10:27 UTC

My parents have known each other since they were kids but they started dating when my mom was 17 and my dad was 20. My dad eventually immigrates to the U.S in 1999 leaving my mom in Ecuador but still dating each other. Within the next 2 years, my dad work several jobs and get a visa. The visa allowed him to go back to Ecuador and marry my mom there.

2001

mprado502 — 2025-05-24 16:12:09 UTC

In 2001, my mom makes her first attempt to immigrating to the United States alone with coyotes to help her. My dad pays for the coyotes to guide her but they ultimately get caught by border control in Mexico and are detained.

2002

mprado502 — 2025-05-24 16:14:26 UTC

My mom and dad decide to go an alternate route and get a visa for my mom. That way, she'll travel by plane and arrive to Chicago where my dad will greet her.

2009

mprado502 — 2025-05-24 16:16:34 UTC

My mom and dad have had 2 children by 2009 with me being a newborn and my mom studying to get her American citizenship. She passes the test and is proud of herself.

Parents occupation

2025-05-27 15:57:29 UTC

Growing up, my grandparents were farmers with a few side hustles. My Grandpa worked for an oil company in the neighborhood called petrolera Sand Andres. My Grandma was a seamstress and many people went to her to put in orders for blouses or polleras, an Ecuadorian skirt.

Paquisha War (1981)

2025-05-27 16:02:31 UTC

The Paquisha wars occured when my mom was just 1 year old. It was a conflict between Ecuadorian and Peruvian military over control of 3 main watch posts along the 2 countries borders.