Examining the Hispanic Community in a Very Small Virginia Town

THE NEWS VIRGINIAN• newsvirginian.com/borders THE BORDERS WITHIN SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12. 2010 • B5 advance parents' dreams XXIII Tor Helen Gardea, the goal is college. She used to think "How do you say this sentence?" she asked. "Is it: 'John makes more money than he,' - or is it, "John makes more money than him? She looked across a row of confused faces. "You know what, most Americans wouldn't get this right," she conceded. "If you're out on the street and you say 'him' instead of he' nobody's going to flinch." They moved on. "If there's a need, they are communty. Y. Tmore tangible, like social work or medicine, she said. there's a celebration, they are community." Still, thinking of the opportunity, she fidgeted while de- Pastor Don Gibson, scribing the cost hurdles and future for her family. Her father has worked 15 years in landscaping, and her mother at various jobs. "They say they don't want me to have the back-breaking Basic City United Methodist Church Mexican grocers along North Poplar Avenue were decades from opening. No Spanish echoed from the soccer fields at jobs that they have," Gardea said. I zekiel Zamudio, 50, of Waynesboro, said he picked up Ridgeview Park. English words one at a time over three decades. His vocabulary began with the basics. "When I first come into this county, the first words I learned were bad words," he said. "I didn't know what they store opened. mean but they went straight to my head." These days, with a comfortable grasp on English, he's more interested in learning to write. His son Isai, 7, already knows more English than his father. And Zamudio anticipates his 3-year-old daughter Lluvia (her name means rain) will speak English almost exclusively. He traveled to the United States in the early 1980s after moving from the rural state of Michoacán in the south of Mexico. In 1989 he settled in Waynesboro. "Y no tenía miedo," Zamudio said. He had no fear. At the time, Zamudio encountered few of his fellow Working as a planter at Waynesboro Nurseries, Zamu- dio watched the city change. In 1992, Waynesboro's first Mexican restaurant opened. In about 2001, the first Hispanic parents granted him free will to search widely for a career. Alex said he wants to get work at a restaurant when he turns 16, but his long-term plans are undetermined. Sometimes he thinks of joining his cousin in the Navy. His As the population flourished, Zamudio climbed the ranks to nursery foreman. Of the country left behind, his son "knows nothing." he said, without disdain. Organized crime grips cities, even small ones in Mexico, he said. "I don't know how people stay there," he said. The father never had a shot at college, but he started sav- ing money years ago hoping his children would. Many immigrant children grow up watching parents toil at numerous, difficult and often thankless jobs. Zamudio gained status at the nursery. But his children will have careers, he said. Miguel Moreno said his goal is too unrealistic to even mention. When he thought back to a questionnaire com- pleted at school that matched his strengths with careers, he couldn't contain a smile. The shy freshman, with plenty of time to decide, wouldn't share. Whatever Miguel decides to do, his community will see him through, said Venito Teran, a family friend among those who supported the boy, his siblings and his father Demetrio in their time of need. "The same as usual," Venito said. Demetrio said he was never able to thank the community, but felt assured his dream did not perish with his wife, Rosa. "Un día vive mejor," he said. One day, life will be better. countrymen. ". young people acculturated far more quickly to the mainstream, whereas parents Waynesboro's Hispanic tended to remain far more attached to their traditions." From 1990 to 2008, Hispanics in the Military population grew 696 percent Air Force José Szapocznik, University of Miami, Professor of Family Therapy 15.598 Army 38,937 Over that period, Hispanics went from just 1 percent of the city population to 5 percent by U.S. Census estimates. Marine Corp 21,636 Navy 33.316 School enrollments, which count the children of illegal immigrants, suggest the percentage is closer to 10 percent. Rosa Hernandez SOURCE: Pew Hispanic Center HAVE A STORY IDEA? 4 » The News Virginian accepts story suggestions for continuing Borders Within coverage. Send your thoughts, observations and ideas to the paper by e-mailing or calling. 10 Chase Purdy [email protected] [email protected] 540-932-3561 Tony Gonzalez 540-932-3563 1. Jaime 2. Jesus Ceron 3. Otilio Briones 4. Marina Obrusnik 8. Ezekiel Zamudio 9. Isai Zamudio 10. Helen Gardea Herney Jimenez 6. Alex 7. Paula Rodriguez-Hereda Dissolving borders In times of need and celebration, Waynesboro's Spanish-speaking population calls on a small group of leaders. Don Gibson Rosa Cruz Bermudez Fernando Hoyos With a background that includes missionary work in Spanish-speaking countries. Don Gibson came to Waynesboro to find the city's Hispanics in a state of need. In addition to providing a Spanish service each Sunday. Gibson also aids families in need of financial, religious and emotional support. He says he keeps his doors open for anyone in need of help, regardless of She may work for the Waynesboro A Health Department, but Rosa Cruz- Bermudez has been helping Spanish- speaking immigrants with much more than their health for the better part of two decades. Raised bilingual in Puerto Rico, the woman known as "Dona Rosa" is well connected with the Hispanic community His responses may be skeptical – his answers short - but a well-placed joke gets Mi Mercadito manager Fernando Hoyos-Hernandez laughing and shaking his head in disbelief. His is one of two all-purpose Hispanic stores on North Poplar Avenue, where immigrants can find back-home foods like cacti denomination. and familiar with government service agencies. "Everything is word of mouth with the Hispanic community." money across borders and snare the latest in Latin music she says. "If you serve them well, they trust you forever." and Jarritos sodas, wire "It's incredible what people have lived through," Gibson said. "And they're here, right in our community. and movies.