Luis Enrique Motiño Pineda by Amaziah Afalava

MLA Citation

afalaama000 — 2024-01-31 17:24:41 UTC

Nazario, Sonia. Enrique's Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother. Delacorte Press New York, 2013.

#1 - January 29, 1989 Enrique's Mom Leaves

afalaama000 — 2024-02-15 05:46:51 UTC

Lourdes, Enrique's mother leaves Tegucigalpa the capital of Honduras to go to America. Lourdes will look for a job to better sustain her children in Mexico. This is the beginning of Enrique's infamous journey to the U.S.

#2 Two Years Later

afalaama000 — 2024-02-15 05:55:40 UTC

Enrique is now seven years old and his mother has successfully made it to the U.S. and is living in Las Angeles where she has trouble looking for jobs that suit her. Lourdes still has enough money to ship essentials to the children. At this point Enrique is wondering when his mother will come back.

#3 Lourdes is Homesick

afalaama000 — 2024-02-15 06:01:30 UTC

Lourdes gets into a toxic relationship with a man from the Honduras named Santos. Eventually Lourdes gets pregnant and Santos spends all their savings in a bar and eventually gets deported. After Santos' deportment no one has heard from him since. Lourdes is now left with a baby girl named Diana and no job to support her kids in Mexico.

#4 Enrique Rebels

afalaama000 — 2024-02-15 06:09:57 UTC

Lourdes now has a job at a Mexican Restaurant and now can reliably support her family. Enrique is now older and is beginning to hang out with bad influences in school. Known as a bad kid in school he's also one of the smartest, being able to graduate elementary. The previous guardians of Enrique which were his two uncles have been murdered which lead to him living with his grandma.

#5 The Girl Next Door

afalaama000 — 2024-02-15 06:16:35 UTC

Enrique now fifteen goes to the funeral of his uncles, which is when he notices a girl. After many loving acts of romance, after asking her for the third time she finally agrees to be his girlfriend.

Quote 1

"...Enrique notices a shy girl with cascading curls of brown hair...She has an inviting smile, and warm manner." (41)

Outside Source #1

afalaama000 — 2024-02-15 06:35:26 UTC

El Tren de la Muerte (The Train of Death): Freight train hopping from Mexico to U.S.

#6 Drug Addiction

afalaama000 — 2024-02-15 17:28:09 UTC

Enrique is beginning to feel angry and frustrated because of his mother's absence. Because of Lourdes not being home Enrique has turned to glue and paint sniffing to relieve himself of the emotional pain he has. Being turned down by everyone he knows except for Maria he decides to try to find his mom via train hopping.

Quote 2

"On March 2, 2000, he goes to Grandmother Agueda's house. He stands on the same porch that his mother disappeared from eleven years before. He hugs Maria Isabel and Aunt Rosa Amalia. The he steps off." (50)

#7 Looking for Help

afalaama000 — 2024-03-10 01:02:53 UTC

It has been 3 weeks since Enrique has left and now he's in Oaxaca a state in Mexico. Enrique is battered with life threatening injuries and finds himself asking a local field hand for help. Out of pity the worker helps Enrique and we find out his name is Sirenio Gomez Fuentes.

Quote 3

"His right shin is gashed. His upper lip is split. The left side of his face is swollen. His eyes are red, filled with blood. He is crying. He dabs at open wounds on his face with a filthy sweater he found on the tracks. It is Enrique. He is seventeen. It is March 24, 2000." (53)

#8 La Arrocera

afalaama000 — 2024-03-17 04:10:26 UTC

Being one of the worst immigration checkpoints, Enrique's train is now heading towards it. Enrique decides to lie flat on the top of the train to avoid being spotted by the immigration officers. Eventually, Enrique hops off the train to avoid the train stop, after doing this he runs around the stop which is about 2-3 miles. After crawling under electric fences and barbed wires Enrique gets food from a local, then hops on the train as it leaves.

Outside Source #2

afalaama000 — 2024-03-17 04:13:13 UTC

La Arrocera (Immigration Checkpoint): One of the worst La Migra checkpoints.

#9 El Norte

afalaama000 — 2024-03-19 03:22:49 UTC

Enrique arrives up North to the fields of Veracruz and is now a third of the way there. After moving past a 20 ft statue of Jesus, Enrique arrives at a town where people gather by the tracks holding something that looks like rocks. But fortunately these people are here to help him as they throw water and food. This changes Enrique's perspective of a world that hates migrants.

Quote 4

"...a dozen people, mostly women and children, are rushing out of their houses along the tracks, clutching small bundles. Some of the migrants grow afraid. What are these people holding? Will they throw rocks? ... They toss up a roll of crackers." (96)

#10 Almost There

afalaama000 — 2024-03-23 04:28:45 UTC

Enrique is now in Mexico City the capital of Mexico which is not too far from Texas. He makes friends with two boys who are also migrants, they eventually depart leaving Enrique alone again. Now searching for food and money, he finds an old bricklayer who pays Enrique. The kind man gives Enrique advice to take a bus to Nuevo Laredo a town which is right next to the Rio Grande the river that separates the U.S. from Mexico. With the help of a kindly trucker Enrique hitchhiked his way to Nuevo Laredo.

Outside Source #3

afalaama000 — 2024-03-23 04:30:35 UTC

Nuevo Laredo: The town that Enrique is currently at in the book and which plays a critical milestone in his journey.

#11 Getting Money

afalaama000 — 2024-03-23 04:47:56 UTC

It is May, 2000 and Enrique left Honduras almost two months ago. He is now staying at a migrant campsite run by a drug addict called "El Tirindaro". Enrique plans on calling his mom but requires 100 pesos or $5 USD, he'll have to get a job because it's too risky to beg for money in Nuevo Laredo. Enrique works washing car windows for tips but in eight hours only made $2. He constantly hears the sounds of La Migra catching immigrants on the other side of Texas each night.

#12 Crossing Border

afalaama000 — 2024-03-29 05:45:06 UTC

Enrique has called Lourdes and we find out she is in North Carolina. After a heartbreaking call, it is now time for Enrique to complete his journey across Mexico and enter the US. Enrique's mom pays El Tirindaro to take Enrique across the Rio Grande into the US. After using tubes to cross the river, El Tirindaro helps Enrique to a car driven by a male and female. They get him new clothes and drop him off in Orlando, Florida where Lourdes' boyfriend will pick up Enrique.

Quote 5

"Enrique smiles to himself as though in a dream. He can hardly believe he is in the United States of America." (154)

#13 The Moment He Waited For

afalaama000 — 2024-03-29 19:04:26 UTC

Lourdes' boyfriend finally arrives at Lourdes' home in North Carolina. With a heavy breath and an overbearing sense of nervousness Enrique hugs his sister he finally met. When Enrique asks his little sister, Diana, he finds out his mom is in her room fast asleep. He enters the room and finally embraces his half-asleep mother, the feeling he feels is love and a sense of his journey finally being complete.

Quote 6

"Inside, the room is dark. On a queen-size bed, under a window draped with lace curtains, his mother is asleep. He jumps squarely onto the bed next to her. He gives her a hug. Then a kiss.

'Your're her, mi hijo.'

'I'm her,' he says." (161)

# 14 Not the Ending We Wanted

afalaama000 — 2024-03-29 19:10:46 UTC

What was a heartfelt and overall good ending was not what Enrique would've expected. All the rage and emotion that Enrique felt when he was alone in the Honduras with an absent mother never left him even now. He would take out that anger and argue with Lourdes about her leaving him behind and that everyone would've been better off if she stayed. Ending in Enrique barging out the house and going to a nearby grave-yard where he lays on top a mausoleum. Reminding him of the time he slept in a grave hiding from La Migra. Eventually, he returns to the trailer the next day and apologizes.

#15 Getting Worse

afalaama000 — 2024-03-29 19:16:08 UTC

Enrique finds out he's a father and that Maria Isabel gave birth to Jasmin their new child. Lourdes constantly scolds Enrique which angers him because he believes that because he hopped trains and did dangerous things that he is responsible for himself. Enrique now plans to return to Honduras to take care of his child. Enrique is resenting his own mother more and more, eventually he takes pleasure in enraging or annoying her.

Quote 7

"Day after day, they argue. Enrique loves to contradict his mother, to set her off, even when he knows she's right." (172)

Outside Source #4

afalaama000 — 2024-03-29 19:18:39 UTC

Enrique's Biography

#16 Mother Left Behind

afalaama000 — 2024-04-02 04:53:43 UTC

Maria Isabel is left alone in Honduras as Enrique is in the U.S. She gets into an argument with Enrique's family in South America that she ends up leaving to live in an old shack. With the pressure the family has put on her because of the family's jealousy that she gets income from Enrique, she left crying and in emotional pain.

Quote 8

"Maria Isabel has come to hate Enrique's family. One day, after too many criticisms from them, she offers up Jasmin."

#17 Improvement

afalaama000 — 2024-04-03 02:55:22 UTC

It's Enrique's third year in America and he decides to change himself for not only himself, but for his family and Maria Isabel. He decides to quite every drug and alcohol addiction and loses weight. With all this improvement he realizes that when he argues with Lourdes it hurts himself more than it hurts her. Fixing his life he plans on marrying Maria Isabel when he gets the chance.

Quote 9

"He realizes he can no longer wallow in what happened in the past. He's not hurting his mother as much as he's hurting himself." (182)

#19 A Reunion

afalaama000 — 2024-04-03 03:00:51 UTC

Maria Isabel left Jasmin with Enrique's family in the Honduras to embark on her own journey up to the U.S. Using money that Enrique is sending to pay for bus fares she eventually makes it to the borders where Enrique pays a smuggler to migrate her over the borders. Leaving Jasmin she begins to ponder whether or not her mother would come back. But it is reassured when Enrique's sister says that Jasmin will go to the U.S. one day.

Outside Source #5

afalaama000 — 2024-04-03 03:02:34 UTC

A interview of Enrique and his wonderful journey

#18 Daughter Left Behind

afalaama000 — 2024-04-03 03:08:10 UTC

Jasmin is all alone without her two parents to care for her. She is now with Belky, Enrique's sister in Honduras awaiting her mother and father to return one day. But sadly learns that they'll never return. What makes Jasmin's experience different from Enrique's is that Belky reassures her that one day she'll go meet them again one day.

Quote 10

"Jasmin, left with Enrique's sister Belky, asks, 'Auntie, is my mommy coming back?'... Belky tells Jasmin no, but that her parents will have her with them in the United States someday."

#20 The True Ending

afalaama000 — 2024-04-03 03:15:12 UTC

Belky leaves Jasmin with the rest of Enrique's family to take care of her. Because, Belky plans on visiting Lourdes and Enrique in the U.S. This is the biggest moment in the family's life, because all have not been in the same room in years. When Belky finally meets Lourdes she says that she's never seen her mother in 17 years. It is now that we find out that Belky was pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy in Honduras. Remembering the pain she felt not having a mother, she decides to go back to her son to take care of him.

#20 The True Ending

afalaama000 — 2024-04-03 03:15:14 UTC