Jose Salgado’s family moved from Acapulco to America in 2004 when he was nine years old. When Jose first came to America, he was struggling to overcome the language barrier and was able to accomplish his goal through perseverance and hard work. Jose has also found a way to balance his culture and ethnic traditions with that of the American culture. Looking back at his childhood, Jose has come to realize that crime, violence, and drugs are a few of the problems that plague the city of Acapulco. Jose’s immigration to America has provided him the chance to reflect on his past and the conditions of Mexico as well as to help him build a better future for himself and his family.
Childhood Memory that Impacted Me: Seeing politics in Mexico and the corruption. I have experienced this corruption and it has impacted the way I see politics here in the states as well.
Corruption: The corruption is with the police itself. Over there in Mexico, you can get stopped for any given reason but the police will not give you a ticket. They just want a few bucks so they can get food or something.
Jose Salgado when he first arrived to America in 2004.
Expectations of life in NYC: I actually expected everything to be different. Nothing like my country. I was nine years old and I was used to my hometown, my culture and everything over there. I didn’t really want to come here because of the fact that everything was going to be new and I did not know how I was going to blend in with this new culture.
Journey Coming to America: We took a flight to El Paso and from there we made a stop to I forgot what state. But the first thing I saw was the snow. I was amazed because in Mexico, especially Acapulco, it is a very hot environment. It is 80, 90, 70 degrees all the time and to come here and to be able to see snow was amazing!
Adjusting to America: I always kept my roots. So in my house we always spoke Spanish, we never started speaking English. But I stayed close to my roots and started interacting with all the cultures not just Americans. There are other immigrants from Asia, South America, and Europe and that helps a lot.
Importance of Communication: That’s the thing about this country, you have immigrants from all over the world. Different languages, different cultures, different political views, religions itself. If you learn a little about everything you are going to have a way to communicate with people or to get along with people.
Working and Going to School: It was difficult because of the fact that I don’t get financial aid and my parents don’t pay for my school. It is out of pocket so it is hard to keep up with payments and keeping up the good grades itself. I have done night shifts and working overnight and I get out of work and go straight to school for the whole day and I have to come back to work overnight and sometimes I have to go back again to school.
Favorite Hobby: Soccer is just something I enjoy to do. It is more of a passion thing because it is my favorite sport. I grew up watching it. In Mexico it is different. You did not always have a soccer ball itself. You had to sometimes improvise and use a soda bottle or can or a paper or rock. You put two rocks as your net and that is your goal line over there.
The Last Time I Visited Mexico: The last time I visited was about a year ago. It felt good because I went to visit new places like Cancun, which is pretty amazing. But again, when I went back to my hometown, Acapulco, it was pretty disappointing. In the 90s, 80s, 70s, and even the early 2000s Acapulco was considered a vacation paradise. Everyone wanted to go there for a vacation and nowadays it has become the deadliest city in Mexico itself. So the beauty is still there because you still have the beaches and the resorts, but safety-wise it has changed a lot. Since the city is not safe, tourism has diminished and tourism is the base of the economy in Acapulco. If tourism diminishes, the economy will suffer a lot.
Misunderstood Mexican Holidays: In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is not a national holiday it is just for the Battle of Puebla. It is only celebrated in the state of Puebla, but over here lots of people think it is a Latino Independence Day when it is only a holiday for the state of Puebla.
Mexican or American?
I am able to blend in when I go to Mexico. Actually you have to blend in because when people know you come from the states, the first thing that comes to mind is that this person has money. You are subject to get robbed or kidnapped.
Discrimination in America: There will always be people that discriminate, but there are also a lot of people that will accept you for who you are or where you are coming from. In the case of Donald Trump running for president, he has raised that level of discrimination with his comments that he made about immigrants. We can not make the change ourselves if the people who are discriminating do not change themselves. If people that discriminate do not change their point of views, it [discrimination] will not change at all.
Mentality of Mexico vs America: The mentality [of America] is much different. If you look at Mexico, it has the potential to become a world power itself. But not just the government, the mentality as a whole country is very poor compared to America. It has so much potential to become a better country as a whole, but if you do not change the mentality you can not change the country.
Law Enforcement in Mexico vs America: Only less than 10 percent of the crimes are prosecuted in Mexico as compared to here. In Mexico, you can kill someone and get away with it. Just walk away and nothing happened. For example, I had an uncle of mine who died in a car accident. He was in the road driving to another city and there was a truck driver who was driving a trailer. And my uncle only had a Nissan. Picture a Nissan Altima, which is relatively small compared to a trailer. This guy was driving under the influence and he was sleeping and the truck had no brakes. But in Mexico, they have the sign ramps that they say if you don’t have brakes, you can exit through that ramp so you can not cause an accident. One of the wheels landed on top of his [Jose’s uncle] head and he broke his cervical spine and died on the spot. This guy paid a fine of about 100,000 pesos, which is roughly less than $10,000 dollars. He walked away with it and my uncle passed away.
Religion in Mexico vs America: In Mexico, you are born into the Catholic religion. When I moved to the United States, I found out that there are dozens of other religions such as Christianity, Jehovah’s Witness, I found out about Buddha, Allah, and all that stuff. I am no longer part of the Catholic Church and that is due to the facts that I studied other religions and I’ve seen the views of it [Christianity] and I wasn’t just comfortable with it anymore. My family had a heart attack when I told them that I am no longer Catholic because of the fact that since they were small they were born into that.
Housing in Mexico vs America: In Mexico, everybody or mostly everybody owns their house. Even the poorest person owns a house even if its made out of just wood or the cheapest material, but it is their house. Over here in America, a lot of immigrants move into a small room with 5 or 6 people into one small room. To own a house here is part of the American Dream itself. It is very difficult to own a house here. You have to work for it.
Misconceptions People Have of Me: When I am introduced to a new person, they ask me where I am from. I tell them Mexico and they say I don’t look Mexican. But how does a Mexican look, that is the question?
Jose Salgado is currently attending the College of Staten Island and majoring in biology in hopes of going to medical school and becoming a cardiologist. Jose enjoys playing soccer, swimming, taking pictures, and walking around during his free time. I met Jose Salgado when I was volunteering in NYU Lutheran Medical Hospital. He currently holds a part-time job in the café of NYU Lutheran Medical Hospital. Interestingly, Jose also volunteers most of the week when he is not going to college or not working. He started volunteering in 2011 to make an impact in the Sunset community and found a part-time job in 2012. He hopes that his experiences will keep him motivated in his path to becoming a cardiologist.
