Waldemar Ruiz Villatoro, 33, and his daughter Virginia Carmelita Ruiz-Carillo, 13, are from the town of San Pedro Necta in the Huehuetenango Department of Guatemala. In their community people mostly speak the Mayan language of Mam, however Waldemar’s family speaks solely Spanish or “Castellano,” as he calls it. The two traveled here by way of coyote, paying about 30,000 Quetzales ($4,000) for passage through Mexico, which took them on a 15 day-journey.
The money for that, however, was partly borrowed using his home as collateral. “If God doesn’t give me the chance to enter the country, I will lose everything,” he said. This situation of borrowing money to pay for their passage through Mexico is not uncommon for Central Americans.
Waldemar owns a small piece of 7 cuadra land growing coffee, which he said at most could yield 8 quintals of coffee (about 900 pounds.) However, he said the purchasing price per quintal of coffee is about 600 Quetzales ($77). So on a good year, he could make at most $616 for a yearly crop yield. This doesn’t include the cost of cleaning, fertilizing and losses due to sickness. With such small earnings, his outlook for life in Guatemala is bleak.
Virginia, who has been attending school in Guatemala, wants to get ahead in her studies in the United States. The two would travel to North Carolina where a friend awaits him.
Waldermar Ruiz Villatoro , 33, y su hija Virginia Carmelita Ruiz Carillo, son del pueblo de San Pedro Necta, en el Departamento de Huehuetenango, en Guatemala. En su pueblo la gente habla mayormente el idioma Mam que viene de la familia lingüística Maya, sin embargo la familia de Waldemar habla solamente español o “Castellano” como el dice. Los dos viajaron aquí por medio de un coyote, pagando más o menos 30,000 Quetzales ($4,000) para pasar por México que los llevo a un viaje de 15 días.
El dinero para eso, sin embargo, una parte fue prestada usando su casa como garantía de pago. “Si Díos no me da la oportunidad de entrar a los Estados Unisos, voy a perder todo” dijo el. Está situación de pedir dinero prestado para pasar por México es algo muy común entre los centro americanos.
Waldemar es propietario de una tierra chica de 8 acres donde se cultiva el café. Que el dice que aproximadamente son 8 Quintales de café. Sin embargo dijo el que la venta de quintal por café 600 quetzales ($77). En un buen año el puede ganar más o menos $616 por la cosecha de un año. Esto no incluye el costo de limpiar, fertilizar y las pérdidas a causa de infección
Virginia quién atendio a la escuela en Guatemala. Quiere seguir adelante con sus estudios en Estados Unidos. Los dos viajaran a Carolina del nortenos, donde unos amigos ya los esperan
The Faces of Immigration Project is a 40 Day photo journal series used to highlight the stories of all Immigrants. The project is meant to shed light on some of the many reasons people have for immigrating to the U.S. Statements and stories have been edited for content, clarity, and brevity and may not reflect the entirety of an Immigrant’s reasons for immigrating to the United States.
By Paul Ratje