Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York: Martina, 23, from Mexico

Photo by Sasha Nialla

Martina‘s photograph and story were curated as part of the photo and storytelling exhibit, “Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York.”

After I immigrated to the United States I struggled a lot with myself. My family and I came when I was only seven years old and settled down in the Bronx, while my grandmother Luisa stayed in Mexico.

Luisa had always been like a mother for me, and it was really hard to live so far away from her. For a long time I was an emotional mess, I did not want to speak and I kept to myself. Once I started attending school I tried to socialize with my classmates, but it was difficult because I would often find myself talking about life in Mexico, and they soon became tired of it.

After some time I stopped talking about Mexico, but I also stopped calling home (my grandmother’s house). I decided that this was the right decision if I wanted to adapt to my new life. Calling home only brings tears to my eyes, and up to this day I have called home only five times in the 15 years I have been living in the Bronx.

This does not mean that I am not proud to be Mexican because I do embrace my Mexican heritage. I just chose to forget my childhood in Mexico in order to relieve myself from the pain of not being able to be home, of losing my childhood friends, and of not growing up with mi abuelita. But, I will see her very soon.

“Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York” was a one-time event hosted by New Women New Yorkers at the Centre for Social Innovation on March 24, in honor of Women’s History Month. Read a recap of the event here.