Progresar to the American Dream

Philip Montesinos
Thornwood High School, South Holland

The land of liberty. Golden streets. More money than anybody knows what to do with. These images consume the minds of eager immigrants wanting to come to the United States. Those visions give immigrants from all over the world the hope to fly away from their problems in their homeland and into the land of opportunity, where they can start a better life. Each American city represents a haven where immigrants flock in search of prosperity. They usually settle in parts of the city where people of the same ethnic background live so they can receive help in the transition from their old life to American life. Soon after, the new Americans think

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they can participate in the great wealth of America. However, in this creation of a new beginning, they find out they have to take the worst jobs, work extremely hard against many roadblocks, and face the deeply-rooted racial problems this nation has sometimes had since its creation. Although a rocky and unpaved road lays ahead of them, all this can be overcome so they can live the American Dream, the gift for all hard-working Americans.

Laura Vela was born on July 17, 1931, in Coloclan, a small village in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. She lived with her parents as a little girl in a prosperous home. By the time she turned twenty-one, she had heard of all the opportunities in America and made up her mind to progresar, or progress to find a better life in the United States. In 1954 she moved to live with her aunt in South Chicago. This area, home of the steelmills, was east of the Chicago skyway in Chicago, Illinois, and served as a refuge for many Mexican immigrants. It also served as a home for many other ethnic groups like Serbs, Poles, and Greeks. Once there, she worked in a candy factory.

Laura quickly witnessed a clash between two worlds. America's rock and roll differed greatly from her bolero and ranchera music. Hamburgers and hot dogs tasted different than tacos and chorizo. This clash upset her as she found out how hard it was to become accustomed to American culture. Her limited English proficiency made life more difficult because storeowners did not speak Spanish.

The racial problems of America posed another problem for Laura. She could not comprehend why people discriminated against those of darker color. Even those of imperceptible darkness, such as herself, had trouble being accepted. As Laura did progress in her life, she witnessed firsthand the racial problems of the United States.

In 1956 Laura met and married Guadalupe Hernandez, a twenty-six-year-old foreman for AAA Services who had worked through his teens as a Texas migrant. He soon switched jobs to work at U.S. Steel and then as a trucker for South Chicago Packing Company. Laura also changed jobs to work as a nanny, a maid, and then as a cook for a Swedish country club in South Chicago. Together, she and her husband worked to support their growing family.

The couple's children—Gina, Laura, Armando, Guadalupe, Rita, Jaime, Sandra, Alejandra, Georgina, and Carolina—attended Phil Sheridan Elementary

Despite obstacles to achieving the American Dream, the Hernandez family has persevered. The family poses here at a family member's wedding. (Photo courtesy Philip Montesinos)

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(now known as Arnold Mireles School). The five oldest children attended Bowen High School. The couple owned a local bar and a couple of apartment buildings in the 1960s to help them financially support their ten children. Laura and her family had definitely progressed by now. But by the early 1970s, the neighborhood was going through growing pains as racial tensions erupted between blacks, whites, and Hispanics. Laura and Guadalupe also wanted to move to a bigger house in the suburbs to pursue their American Dream.

In 1974 the Hernandez family moved to South Holland, a mostly white town in the southeast suburbs settled by the Dutch in the early nineteenth century. They bought a five-bedroom, two-story brick house with a basement, garage, and a spacious backyard. The children now could receive a better education at some of the best schools in the state. Getting a poodle, Coco, rounded out their vision of the American Dream.

While fulfilling their dreams, Laura's family still had to deal with problems that hold back many minorities. It was hard for them to be accepted as some of their neighbors refused to even talk to them. While raising a family to be bilingual, Laura herself still had trouble mastering the English language, which was even more crucial now since very few Spanish-speaking people lived in that area.

The children, meanwhile, encountered their first culture shock at the mostly white Thornwood High School, where the last six children finished high school. They found themselves going through exactly what their mother went through, although on a different scale. While they knew English, they spoke with a South Chicago accent that differed noticeably from everybody else's way of speaking. Also, their disco and latino music and clothing style distinguished them from Thornwood's rock-loving peers. To make matters worse, people also commented on their color, making life much more difficult for them.

Through the years, the whole family learned to cope, as Laura and Guadalupe told their children to never give in to other people's ignorance. The family's presence may have even helped their neighbors by making them more comfortable living with minorities and by teaching them tolerance for them. This is evident now as South Holland exists as an example of a racially diverse village today.

Laura and Guadalupe raised their children to become successful teachers, business owners, and most importantly, hard workers. They have lived happily in South Holland for twenty-five years now. The struggles and hard work that Laura, Guadalupe, and the rest of the Hernandez family have endured helped them to come as far as they have come in reaching the American Dream. Laura's first awkward steps into America were taken with the intention of setting up a better life for her and her children. For that, the third generation of Laura Vela Hernandez's family has bigger and better opportunities for the future. - [From student historian's interview with Guadalupe Hernandez, June 7, 1999; student historian's interview with Laura Hernandez, May 30, 1999; student historian's interview with Rita Montesinos, May 30, 1999; Louis Rosen, The South Side.]

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