Sonia Cuzco is an Ecuadorian immigrant who migrated to Jackson Heights, Queens when she was thirteen years old because of her family’s business in the town. Her family at the time consisted of a father, mother, six siblings. She talks about the restrictions she felt growing up in an immigrant household and the struggle that her parents especially her mother had to go through to raise a family.
Growing Up in Ecuador:
“I just have a few memories as a child, it was a long time ago”
“In Ecuador, my parents sent me to a military high school, because at that time when they sent you to a private high school people are very rich, especially because my parents were here [America], they could sent me to that place.”
[coming to America] “At the beginning, I was not sure, I didn’t want to come and I was worried because it was a new beginning”
“And mostly I didn’t know my parents, especially my father that well because I grew up like by myself with my sister and [I knew] they were very strict, I don’t know, I don’t know, I didn’t realize anything”
After coming to America:
“No…but I will say at the beginning it was very hard, because I didn’t know him [father] and I was only a teenager and they were very strict, and I used to be like how I want to say, independent”
“I used to go to school, playing with my friends, going to the park blah blah blah, and at that time when I just came here it was not ok [for the parents], I was to come back home and help in the restaurant”.
“When I came here I used to be working but always like inside, I didn’t really have a chance to go with my friends or be like normal people”
“Definitely at the beginning I didn’t know how to speak English, I didn’t have friends and all of them I don’t know were acting like weird and were from other countries and I was from Ecuador and there were only a few Ecuadorians…it was very hard for me” “For my brother, he was the young one, so it was maybe a lot easier for him”
“I remember there were Columbians, Peruvians, and Americans”
“I used to love basketball, but my parents didn’t let me participate in any after school programs because they didn’t like it”
“When I came here my parents had a little restaurant, they used to work all the time morning and evening”
“I love to study…even when I was in Ecuador, I used to love to study”
“For me when I came here, obviously everything was easy because everything was different for instance for math, in my country everybody in third grade would learn dividing, but when I came here they taught me dividing, etc., so for me it was very easy. For me the only problem was English” “But it was hard but maybe because all my classmates were Hispanics, they could help me”
“I chose business [college] because I was in the restaurant maybe”
Her Mother:
“She got married when she was thirteen, and then she had kids and she came to this country, and they were living in Brooklyn [when they immigrated], and you know how the life is like here she was always in the apartment. She used to say what am I doing? We have seven kids and at that time, my dad was the only one working working, and he works seven day. She started thinking different, she told me Brooklyn was a quiet place and when she saw Queens, she saw it was a business places, I don’t know how she convinced my dad to move and live here, but she did. After, they settled out in Queens and my dad used to go to her work, and she used to “morocho” similar to hot chocolate. Especially in the wintertime. She used to go sell those on the streets with a small cart. Yah it is very inspirational, she worked very hard. She saw that she was doing very well and then she started making chicken soup and started selling that. After a while, she started to get more customers, and my dad realized she was getting more money than him.”
“They both worked hard, and they saw the business was growing and opened up a little restaurant, and that is when I came.”
“until now they don’t know how to turn on computer or use calculator, they don’t nothing but I don’t know how they still do it but they do it. At the end of the day when they have to add up they do it all in their head. They don’t have cell phone”.
Why Jackson Heights:
“We were here”
“I didn’t choose, my parents chose. At the beginning we used to live in Brooklyn but my mom used to not like to live with all the family. She used to work. In Brooklyn, I don’t know it was another kind of environment. Here it is like busy, I don’t know, and that’s why she likes it here”
“I don’t think so, she told me that there were not a lot of Ecuadorians, there were a few Ecuadorians, but most of my family is in Brooklyn”
“A lot of Ecuadorians before, didn’t have or own any homes but now there are a lot of Ecuadorian people are owning business and houses”
“When you go outside its crazy because there are a lot of business”
As a Parent:
“I will say I am not that strict as they used to be, like my daughter would come home and ask I want to go to any club or afterschool, I say yes…go ahead you can do it, I am going to pick you up after school. I don’t want to do the same mistake my parents did because I used to love basketball”.
“They have similar like me, but maybe when they get older maybe I’ll see differences”
Why immigrate:
“I think it was all about money issue”
“I didn’t want to come because I had all my friends well all my life was in Ecuador, this was a new future for me, but I was happy because at that time I was very poor” in coming here she thought her financial status could be better.
