Layers of Me: My Origin Story by Mayra Almaraz

mayraCLC — 2023-11-29 17:36:58 UTC

My family from both sides come from the state of Zacatecas.

mayraCLC — 2023-11-29 17:39:09 UTC

My dad said that the first time he left home to come to the US, he heard this song (not by Alejandro Fernandez)playing as he was getting on the bus, and it brought him to tears. I love this song, because of my dad's connection to it, but also because the lyrics express the sentiment that so many who leave their homeland must feel.

mayraCLC — 2023-11-29 17:45:01 UTC

This monument is in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. This is the neighborhood my parents called home when they immigrated to Chicago in 1970. They lived right by this monument. My mom liked it because it reminded her of the "Angel de la Libertad" in CDMX.

Many people from my parents' hometown lived near this monument and they often referred to it as. "La Aguilita." And then they nicknamed this area, "Tayahuita," because so many people from Tayahua (their hometown) lived there and often used this as a hangout spot.

This "Aguilita" holds a special place in my heart. This is the the place that my Chicago roots were planted.

Cueva del Indio - Las Piedras

2023-12-01 20:00:07 UTC

This is an indigenous park that contains the meeting grounds of the indigenous tribe located in the town where my father was born.

Villa Purificacion

2023-12-01 20:00:09 UTC

Both of my parents come from this town, with the plaza being the place "to be" for people of this village in Jalisco, Mexico.

Ahuehuepan, Gro.

2023-12-01 20:00:31 UTC

I connect to my father's side of the family and my grandparents' home is in Ahuehuepan. This is the pueblito where my grandparents purchased land--using the money my grandpa made in the U.S.--for them and their four kids. When they purchased the land, they envisioned all of their kids and their families living next to each other... a dream they didn't get to see.

Humboldt Park

2023-12-01 20:00:33 UTC

This is the humboldt park boathouse. My family has lived in humboldt park for the better part of 40 years in various different sections of it. I also have taught locally and seen the neighborhood change. The neighborhood is the place I call home ans wehre I choose to be in Chicago

Alaska Flag

2023-12-01 20:01:37 UTC

I lived in Alaska for 5 years as a child, then 4 summers as a tween/teen. My father lives there with his wife, and my brother lives there (although his mother have now moved to Oregon), so I travel there and share it with my husband and children. I feel a connection to the state and hope to visit the Katmai National Park and Brooks River bears one day.

Hacienda de Mendoza, Guanajuato

2023-12-01 20:01:44 UTC

This is the small rural town my Mexican ancestors originated from.

2023-12-01 20:02:55 UTC

En Mi Viejo San Juan

2023-12-01 20:03:24 UTC

Puerto Rico's version of "America the Beautiful," this was a song my grandma would sing reminiscing about Puerto Rico.

2023-12-01 20:04:02 UTC

My family is one where there are a lot of farmers in them. The farm is where both my grandparents lived and made their living. This is the start of the origin story, as there was later immigration to the United States and Chicago. It is important to realize the value of the Earth and the value of labor to where we are today.

Selena (Quintanilla-Perez)

2023-12-01 20:04:07 UTC

Selena was my idol growing up, having to navigate these two worlds of being Mexican and American and not seen as "enough" on either side. This song, especially, connects to often only having photographs and memories of deep personal connections.

Jibaro

2023-12-01 20:05:58 UTC

Jibaro is the name of the rural farmers of Puerto Rico. All my grandparents on my Puerto Rican side and their parents and so on were Jibaros, working on farms, farming tobacco or sugar cane. I think about this a lot and reflect on how my life is drastically different than theirs just a difference of two generations.

2023-12-01 20:06:02 UTC

2023-12-01 20:08:11 UTC

Chi-city, my city

2023-12-01 20:08:25 UTC

My father, aunt, and grandmother moved to Chicago with my grandpa in search of a better life with the dream of one day returning to Mexico. Citizenship allowed my grandparents to come and go, but my aunt has yet to return to her homeland. As a young girl, I lived in an apartment in Bucktown. When my parents divorced I was sent to Mexico to live with my grandparents. A year and a half later, I returned and lived in Logan Square with my aunt. As gentrification continued, we moved west. Into the Hermosa neighborhood where my aunt purchased a home.

2023-12-01 20:08:31 UTC

The value of education is instrumental to my family and its success. My father received a 3rd-grade education and came to America with all the drive in the world to learn English and earn a better way of life for his family in Mexico and the one he would start with my mother. He always emphasized the importance of Education and ensuring his children had an easier life than he did. always said we get educated to defend ourselves and that has stuck with me.

Aca Entre Nos

2023-12-01 20:08:35 UTC

Vicente Fernandez is one of the "greats" in Mexican musical history. This song is my favorite and when my mom and I sing it, we sing from the heart, wondering so much about decisions that she made as a single mom in my early childhood and how things turned out for those we left behind.

2023-12-01 20:10:37 UTC

It is hard to trace exact origins. My grandparents traveled to the town in Italy where my great-grandfather is from, but there had been a fire in the church and all records were destroyed. The Polish records were lost in WW2.

2023-12-01 20:12:07 UTC

2023-12-01 20:13:33 UTC

The Trail near my first childhood home

The American Dream

2023-12-01 20:14:03 UTC

My parents' home in the neighborhood of West Elsdon in southwest Chicago.

Chicago

2023-12-01 20:14:23 UTC

I think that putting this as an integral part of the overall story because Chicago has a lot of opportunity and it is what brought my parents here. It is also what is bringing so many students here and the hope for a better life is something that I hope can be passed on to other students.

2023-12-01 20:15:11 UTC

Dreams

2023-12-01 20:20:09 UTC

I always dreamed of living in another country. First, it was the idea of going to DC for college. But I stayed and went to DePaul. Then, I decided I would spend summers in France teaching English. But I didn't follow through. Then, I got accepted for a temporary 8mo job in Australia, but I didn't go. I chose to stay and go to Northwestern for Master's. I fell in love and my dreams changed from leaving to staying and raising a family surrounded by family. Life had other plans. So now I'm just a little bird working on the courage to fly.