Jesús' Border Crossing Story

Full transcript

0:31Tengo otro hermano, pero ese hermano nunca lo había visto.
I have another brother, but I'd never seen him before.

0:34Estaba allá en Estados Unidos, ahí en, este, California.
He was in the United States, in, um, California.

0:41Eh, no sé cómo pudo contactarme mi hermano.
Uh, I don't know how my brother managed to contact me.

0:46Y me dice que, pues, la neta, somos los únicos que nos tenemos.
And he said, well, truth is, we only have each other now.

0:50Ahora sí que somos los únicos que estamos.
We're the only ones left now.

0:53Que realmente, prácticamente, que él quería verme después de...
Basically, he wanted to see me after...

0:57veintidós años, creo, de que no nos habíamos visto.
twenty-two years, I think, since we last saw each other.

1:02Nos separaron de muy chicos, entonces...
We were separated when we were really little, so...

1:05Sí, es mucho tiempo, ¿no?
Yeah, that's a long time, isn't it?

1:07Entonces mi hermano me dice, un hermano no se abandona.
So my brother says to me, you don't abandon your brother.

1:09Yo no te pienso abandonar, hermano.
I'm not going to abandon you, brother.

1:11Mi hermano me manda dinero para el avión, en el me voy a Tijuana.
My brother sent me money for the plane, and I fly to Tijuana.

1:16Llegando allá a Tijuana, pues, entre los coyotes que estaban ahí...
Once I get to Tijuana, well, there were coyotes all over the place...

1:22Entonces conozco un coyote y habla de dinero, cómo poder pasar.
So I meet a coyote and he starts talking money and how to get across (the border).

1:29Pues intenté pasarla de muchas formas.
Well, I tried to get across in so many different ways.

1:31En la cajuela, un coyote me dice que me metiera a la cajuela, me pusieron una especie así como de, de lona, pero como de aluminio,
In the trunk... a coyote tells me to get in the trunk, they put a kind of, like, a tarp on me, but more like aluminum,

1:43para que no me detectara el sensor.
so the sensor wouldn't detect me.

1:48Eh, intenté pasar por la montaña, intenté pasar por el desierto.
Uh, I tried to cross over the mountains, I tried to cross through the desert.

1:55En la montaña fue muy duro,
I had a really tough time in the mountains, it was really tough.

1:59Los coyotes no todos son...
The coyotes, not all of them are...

2:03Pues son coyotes.
Well, they're coyotes.

2:04Pues sí.
Right.

2:04Entonces vi a muchas personas que luego las dejaban ahí, dejaban a los niños.
So I saw a lot of people who, they'd just abandon, they'd leave the kids behind.

2:10Luego por los mismos llantos, pues, te descubren los oficiales, ¿verdad?
Then because of the kids crying, well, the immigration officers find you, right?

2:14Así los oficiales te descubren.
That's how the immigration officers find you.

2:19Entonces, de cierta manera es mucho miedo, ya que, pos, tú no vas con nada más que con una botella de agua.
So, it's kinda terrifying because, well, you don't have anything on you apart from a bottle of water.

2:27Empiezas a ver muchas cosas malas de, de los coyotes.
You start to see the coyotes doing a lot of bad things.

2:31Pues sí.
Yeah, I can imagine.

2:32Le quitaban el dinero, abusan de las personas.
They'd take your money, they abuse people.

2:36Fueron unas experiencias muy duras.
It was an incredibly difficult experience.

2:38No pude pasar ni por la aduana, ni por el monte, ni por el desierto.
I couldn't get through the border crossing, or the mountain, or the desert. I couldn't get across.

2:47Entonces conocí otro coyote, pero que era paisano, de, de... paisano mío.
So I met another coyote, but from back home... he was one of my own.

2:55Él me conoció, vio que yo ya estaba dado por vencido.
He met me and saw I was ready to give up.

2:58Entonces él me sugiere que me dice que por la lancha y por el mar.
So he suggests... he tells me he could take me across by boat.

3:03¿Por el mar?
By sea?

3:04Ajá.
Uh-huh.

3:05Pero en verdad es mar abierto.
But it's the sea, the ocean.

3:07Entonces me daba un poquito de miedo.
So I was quite scared.

3:12Sí, porque no pueden ir como por la costa, ¿verdad?
Yeah, because you can't go along the coast, right?

3:14O sea, se tienen que, este, o sea... alejarse un poco de la costa.
I mean, you have to, um, I mean... get a bit away from the coast.

3:19Exacto.
Exactly.

3:20Entonces ya cuando empecé a...
So once I started to...

3:22Me decía, pues, ¿Qué onda?
He said, well,

3:23¿Te avientas?
So... you in?

3:24Le digo, foo, man...
I tell him, foo, man...

3:27Ok, le digo, perfecto.
Okay, I said to him, perfect.

3:29Pero cuando lo intentamos la primera vez, o sea, él me dijo, vamos a intentarle varias veces, porque luego la marea cambia a través del clima.
But when we tried it the first time, I mean, he told me, we're gonna try it a few times, because sometimes the tide changes with the weather.

3:37Y yo, sí, claro, no hay ningún problema.
And I was like, yeah, sure, no problem at all.

3:39Cuando lo intentamos la primera vez, no, unas olísimas enormes, enormes, enormes.
And when we tried it the first time, the waves were huge... literally enormous!

3:45Sí, sí, sí.
Yeah, I can imagine.

3:47Yo tenía contacto con mi hermano y le decía, carnal, la neta no está funcionando, mejor yo me regreso.
I was in contact with my brother and I told him, bro, honestly, this isn't working, I'd better just go back.

3:53Dame para un pasaje, yo me regreso.
Give me money for a ticket, I'm going back.

3:54O sea, yo estaba muy decepcionado.
I mean, I was really discouraged.

3:56Unas olísimas enormes.
Those waves were huge.

3:58La primera vez me volcó, horrible.
The first time they flipped the boat completely.

4:03Lo bueno es de que estaba cerca de la orilla.
Luckily I was close to the shore.

4:09La segunda vez también igual lo intentamos, pero nos empezaron a perseguir los drones que ya estábamos cruzando,
The second time too, we tried the exact same thing again, but the drones started coming after us, because by then we were already crossing the border, so they started chasing us.

4:20Como está la línea, está el mar, o sea, es la línea y de frente...
There's the border, there's the sea, I mean, it's like a line and straight ahead...

4:24O sea, nosotros teníamos que seguir de frente, pero ya los drones ya nos estaban esperando.
I mean, we had to keep going straight, but the drones were already waiting for us.

4:30Esa fue la segunda vez.
That was the second time.

4:32Al tercer día, pues, lo intentamos.
On the third day, well, we tried it again.

4:34Le digo, ¿sabes qué, hermano?
I told him, you know what, bro?

4:35Esta es la última vez que yo lo intento.
This is the last time I'm going to try.

4:36Si no se puede, no se puede.
If it can't be done, it can't be done.

4:39Yo renuncio y me regreso a mi tierra.
I'm gonna give up and go back home.

4:45Ok, entonces, pues, no sé, me puso uno bueno, me dice... un gallo.
Okay (says his brother)... So, well, I dunno... he hooked me up with a good coyote, a real tough guy. Well, alright, let's do it.

4:54Pos, órale, va.
a real tough guy. Well, alright, let's do it.

4:55Me subo a la lancha en la madrugada y le empezó a dar, le empezó a meter a la lancha puro aire, puro aire.
I get in the boat before dawn and he started flooring it, he started pushing the boat full throttle, full throttle.

5:06Yo nada más sentía lo que era la pura brisa del mar, todo oscuro por todos lados, no veía nada prácticamente.
All I could feel was the sea breeze, nothing else, everything was pitch black, I literally couldn't see anything.

5:15Tenía mucho miedo.
I was really scared.

5:17Eh, no sé qué tanta distancia haigamos tomado, pero como cierto tiempo, la lancha se queda sin gasolina.
Uh, I don't know how much distance we'd covered, but after a while, the boat runs out of gas.

5:27Híjole.
Yikes!

5:28Pero él llevaba un tanque, un bote extra de gas para poderla volver a vaciar.
But he had a tank, an extra can of gas to fill it back up.

5:34Ok.
Okay.

5:35Entonces empezamos y le vacía el tanque otra vez.
So we start, and he empties the can into the boat again.

5:40Le sigue avanzando, le sigue dando, le seguimos dando.
It keeps moving, it keeps going, we keep going.

5:45Me dice, mira, o sea, ya llegamos.
He says, look, I mean, we're here now.

5:49Pero todavía estaba lejísimos, lejísimos.
But it was still so far away, so far.

5:52O sea, yo lo veía, pero todavía lejísimos.
Like, I could see it, but it was still so far away.

5:54Y dice: ya merito.
And he says: we're almost there.

5:55Son como unas tres horas, más o menos.
It's about three hours, more or less.

6:00Pues no sé cómo la lancha, en el momento que la está metiendo así, la lancha empieza a repapolotear, empieza a como que a brincar…
Well, I don't know how, the boat, the moment he's pushing it like that, the boat starts to buck and shudder, it starts to, like, jump...

6:08y la lancha se sumerge.
and the boat goes under.

6:11Una vez que entra la lancha al mar, pues yo lo único que hago es nadar hacia arriba para poder jalar el aire.
Once the boat goes into the sea, well, the only thing I can do is swim upward so I can get some air.

6:20Entonces empiezo a nadar hacia arriba para poder salir del agua, ¿no?
So I start to swim upward so I can get out of the water, you know?

6:27Una vez que salgo, lo único que hago es empezar a jalar el aire.
Once I surface, the only thing I do is start gasping for air.

6:32Ya que la lancha entró profundamente.
Since the boat had gone down deep.

6:36Yo sentí que no entró tanto, pero entró bastante.
I felt like it hadn't gone that deep, but it honestly went pretty deep.

6:42Salgo, tomo aire y veo, alcanzo a ver unas luces hasta el fondo, pero hasta el fondo.
I surface, take a breath, and I can make out some lights way off in the distance, but way, way off.

6:47Y todavía me decía que en la lancha eran como tres horas para poder llegar, más o menos.
And he was still telling me that by boat it was still gonna take about 3 hours, more or less.

6:55Empecé, empezamos a nadar hacia la orilla para poder llegar a tierra.
I started, we started swimming toward the shore to reach land.

7:02Pero el frío del agua, o sea, sentía como calaba.
But the water was so cold, I mean, you could feel it cutting through you.

7:09O sea, te calaba realmente hasta los huesos.
I mean, it really cut you to the bone.

7:13Empiezo a nadar, a nadar,
I start swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming.

7:17No sé cuánto tiempo tuve que nadar.
I don't know how long I had to swim for.

7:19Yo me estaba ahogando.
I was drowning.

7:21¿Y estabas solo?
And were you alone (at this point)?

7:23Sí, me estaba ahogando.
Yeah, I was drowning.

7:25El coyote estaba más adelante.
The coyote was way ahead of me.

7:28El coyote, él estaba salvando su vida.
The coyote was saving his own life.

7:30A mí me estaba dejando.
He'd left me behind.

7:33Lo bueno es de que sabía cómo nadar.
The good thing is I knew how to swim.

7:36Entonces yo nadé con todas mis fuerzas, yo no dejé de nadar.
So I swam with all my strength, I didn't stop swimming.

7:41Porque yo me estaba muriendo, me estaba ahogando.
Because I was dying, I was drowning.

7:46Él llega, pasa bastante tiempo, llego agotadísimo a la orilla.
The coyote gets to the shore, and a good while later, I reach the shore completely exhausted.

7:53Una vez que llegamos a la orilla, empiezan a rondarnos varios drones y llegan varias patrullas y empiezan a buscar a nosotros.
Once we reach the shore, various drones start circling us and a few patrol cars show up and they start searching for us.

8:01Nosotros, cuando llegamos a la orilla, corremos hacia un lugar donde estaba como un tipo de piedras, muchas piedras apiladas.
When we reach the shore, we run toward a place where there was like a kind of a rocky outcrop, loads of rocks all piled up.

8:10Entonces, entre las piedras nos metimos y nos escondimos en las piedras.
So we squeezed in among the rocks and we hid there in the rocks.

8:17Yo me quedé así, escondido, casi amaneciendo.
I stayed like that, hidden... it was almost dawn.

8:22El agua nos estaba llegando.
The water was rising.

8:24Empezaba a subir la marea.
The tide was starting to come in.

8:27Entonces yo no me podía mover porque tenía piedras de este lado, lado, tenía piedras encima de mí.
So I couldn't move because I had rocks on this side, I had rocks on this side, I had rocks on top of me.

8:33Entonces yo no podía hacerme a ningún lado.
So I couldn't move at all.

8:35El agua me estaba tapando completamente todo.
The water was almost completely covering me.

8:40Yo me estaba ahogando y aparte de que me estaba muriendo de frío, me estaba dando mucha hipotermia.
I was drowning, and on top of that I was freezing to death, I was getting really hypothermic.

8:47Una vez que empezamos y dejamos de escuchar ruidos, decidimos salir a asomarnos un poco para
Once we started... and we stopped hearing noises, we decided to come out and look around a bit to

8:56ver qué era lo que habíamos pasado.
see what had just happened.

9:02Ya vimos que ya no había nadie.
We could see there was no one there anymore.

9:03Entonces él saca una bolsa de plástico con ziplock.
So he pulls out a plastic bag with a ziplock.

9:09Entonces lo abre y saca un teléfono celular, desechable.
So he opens it and takes out a cell phone, a disposable one.

9:14Hace una llamada y me dice que tenemos que esperar un poco más a que llegara una camioneta por nosotros.
He makes a call and tells me that we need to wait a bit longer for a truck to come for us.

9:25Y yo le digo, sí, está bien.
And I said to him, yeah, okay.

9:28Pero yo no aguantaba el frío.
But I was unbelievably cold.

9:31Salimos del empedrado que estábamos ahí porque la marea estaba subiendo.
We got out from among the rocks where we were hiding because the tide was coming in.

9:37Entonces me dice, una vez que salgamos vamos a correr.
So he tells me, once we're out, we're gonna run.

9:41Ahí hay unos tinacos de basura.
There are some trash cans over there.

9:46Y dice, los vamos a agarrar, dice y nos metemos ahí, nos escondemos.
We're gonna get inside them, he says, and hide.

9:49Voy a recibir una llamada, ya nada más paso y te toco.
I'm going to get a call, then I'll just come by and knock on your trash can.

9:52Pero yo tenía miedo porque como ya me había abandonado él en el mar, o sea, yo tenía miedo que me fuera a abandonar otra vez.
But I was scared because he'd already left me alone out at sea, I mean, I was afraid he was gonna abandon me again.

10:02Entonces por miedo yo corrí, cuando salimos, corrí con todas mis fuerzas hacia el primer tinaco y me sumergí en él para esconderme
So out of fear I ran, when we came out (from the rocks), I ran as fast as I could to the first trash can and I got inside to hide from

10:13de la migra.
la migra.

10:16Pasado... no sé como cuánto tiempo haiga pasado, con el frío que yo estaba empapado, sentí una eternidad.
After... I don't know how much time had passed, I was soaked and cold, so it felt like an eternity.

10:28Al poco rato que yo ya estaba perdiendo el conocimiento, siento que golpean el tinaco y salgo y me dice, vámonos.
After a little while, when I was about to lose consciousness, I feel someone bang on the trash can and I get out and he says, let's go.

10:38Ya llegaron por nosotros, nos ponen una caja de pesca... dizque estábamos pescando, entonces ya agarro y corremos hacia la camioneta
They're here now, they gave us a fishing crate... to pretend like we'd been fishing, so I just grab it and we run toward the truck

10:51y nos salimos, ¿no?
and we take off, you know?

10:52Una vez ahí, dentro de la camioneta, escucho que ellos empiezan a hablar en el idioma, pero entiendo algunas, ciertas cosas de inglés.
Once inside the truck, I hear them start talking in their language, but I understand a bit of English.

11:05Entonces yo sentí que mi vida estaba corriendo en peligro, cuando empecé...
So I felt that my life was in danger, when I started...

11:09que empezaban a hablar de más y que me iban a hacer daño.
when I started to hear them... talking more and more, like they were going to hurt me.

11:12Entonces yo sentí mucho miedo en ese momento y empecé a sentir más miedo, porque eran personas que yo no las conocía, entonces dije, no, me van a hacer daño, nomás por
So I was terrified in that moment and I started to feel even more afraid, because they were people I didn't know, so I thought, no, they're going to hurt me, just for

11:22unos cuantos pesos, ¿verdad?
a few bucks, right?

11:26Pero no sabía ni siquiera dónde estaba, entonces no supe qué hacer.
But I didn't even know where I was, so I didn't know what to do.

11:34Me subieron a la camioneta, me llevaron a una casa diferente, me metieron a un sótano, me dieron... me metieron a bañar,
They put me in the truck, they took me to a different house, they put me in a basement, they gave me... they put me in a shower,

11:47me dieron unos trapos ahí para poderme...
they gave me some rags so I could...

11:49para que me cambiara de ropa.
so I could change my clothes.

11:54No probé bocado ese día.
I didn't eat anything that day.

11:58Al día siguiente salimos temprano...
The next day we left early...

12:02salimos y llegaron como a una, este, una gasolinería, hicieron el cambio, me dijeron que me bajara y me subiera a otra camioneta.
we left and we got to like a, um, a gas station, and they made the switch, they told me to get out and get into another truck.

12:11En esa camioneta iba bajando una muchacha, una señora grande y una muchacha.
In that truck a young woman was getting out, an older lady and a young woman.

12:17Eran hispanas, hablaban español, pero también igual sentí, porque le empezaron a hacer llamadas y me empezaron a decir que...
They were Hispanic, they spoke Spanish, but I felt the same way again, because they started making calls and they started telling me that...

12:26que me dieran vueltas y vueltas.
they kept driving me round and round.

12:28Entonces ellos se habían quedado que me iban a llevar a Los Ángeles primero, de ahí de Los Ángeles iban a recogerme otras personas.
So they had agreed that they were going to take me to Los Angeles first, and from Los Angeles some other people were going to pick me up.

12:36O sea, iban a hacer varias, varias paradas para hacer cambios.
Like, they were going to stop a few times to make handoffs.

12:42Entonces yo sentí que mi vida estaba corriendo mucho peligro.
So I felt that my life was in serious danger.

12:45En cuanto yo tuve la primera oportunidad para poder escapar, pues escapé de la señora.
As soon as I got a chance to escape, well, I escaped from the lady.

12:53Y yo cuando vi, yo le dije, paisana.
And I looked at her and said, hey, paisana.

12:55no seas así, mira.
don't be like that, come on.

12:57Y me dijo, mira paisano, dice, la verdad yo corro riesgo también.
And she said, look, paisano, she says, the truth is I'm at risk too.

13:02Entonces ella estaba amenazada y pues, ni modo, ¿no?
So she was being threatened and, well, there wasn't much I could do, was there?

13:06Entonces tuve que aventurarme.
So I had to take a bit of a risk.

13:08Cuando avanza el carro, bajo el vidrio y me aviento del carro.
When the car started moving, I rolled down the window and I threw myself out of the car.

13:13¡Órale!
Whoa! Was it going fast?

13:13¿Iba rápido?
Whoa! Was it going fast?

13:15Pues apenas iba como que a querer encarrerarse, entonces yo agarro y me aviento y caigo de espalda.
Well, it was just starting to pick up speed, so I just go for it and throw myself out and land on my back.

13:22O sea, me aviento de frente, pero me cubro la cara y caigo de espalda.
Like, I throw myself forward, but I cover my face and land on my back.

13:27Y empiezo a rodar por todo Los Ángeles.
And I start drifting around Los Angeles.

13:30A caminar, a caminar, a caminar.
Walking and walking and walking.

13:32Sin un medio de comunicación para comunicarme con mi familia, ni con mi hermano, o sea, nada, ¿no?
With no way to get in touch with my family, or my brother, I mean, nothing, you know?

13:40No sé, trato, veo, veo mucha gente, veo a los hispanos y los veo vestidos así como pandilleros, o sea, cholos.
I don't know, I try, I see, I see a lot of people, I see the Hispanics and I see them dressed like gangsters, like, cholos.

13:50O sea, daba miedo.
I mean, it was scary.

13:53Me daba mucho miedo.
I was really scared.

13:56Llego, me acerco y les digo, hola.
I go up, I approach them and I say, hi.

14:02No necesito nada, hermano, nada más que lo único que necesito es hacer una llamada.
(I say) I don't need anything, brother, the only thing I need is to make a call.

14:07Por suerte mía, soy algo bueno nada más para recordar un número de teléfono.
Lucky for me, the one thing I'm good at is remembering a phone number.

14:15En ese momento, el único número de teléfono era el de mi hermano.
At that moment, the only phone number (I could call) was my brother's.

14:21Entonces, consigo un teléfono, le hago la llamada a mi hermano y le digo: ¿Sabes qué?
So, I get hold of a phone, I make the call to my brother and I say:

14:26¿Dónde estoy?
You know what? Where am I?

14:27Y me dice: estás aquí en Los Ángeles.
And he says: you're here in Los Angeles.

14:31OK, ya le digo, mi carnal, ¿sabes qué?
Okay, so I tell him, bro, you know what?

14:34Me encuentro así, así, así.
I tell him everything that happened.

14:36Pero como la llamada de mi hermano estaba interceptada por los mismos coyotes, entonces me dice: ¿sabes qué, wey?
But since my brother's call was being intercepted by the coyotes, he tells me: you know what, bro?

14:42Que párate, wey, y empieza a caminarle, wey.
Get up, bro, and start walking, bro.

14:45Entonces, mi hermano habla con los coyotes y les dice: ¿Sabes qué wey?
So, my brother talks to the coyotes and tells them: You know what, bro?

14:48Que aquí está la feria, dejen a mi hermano.
Here's the money, leave my brother alone.

14:50Pero yo no sabía, entonces yo empecé a seguir caminando, subiéndome al bus y pues el bus me daba vueltas y vueltas.
But I didn't know (that he'd done that), so I started... I just kept walking, I got on a bus, and well, it just kept going in circles.

15:00Yo le expliqué mi situación y él me dijo, no hay problema, súbete ahí, paisa, y aquí te cuidamos un momento.
I explained my situation to the driver and he said, no problem, hop on, brother, and we'll look after you here for a bit.

15:06Pero yo sabía que no iba a ser eterno estarme escondiendo de los coyotes, ya que me les había ido.
But I knew I wasn't going to be able to hide there forever from the coyotes, since I'd slipped away from them.

15:15Bueno, el chiste es de que tardó mi hermano como un mediodía más.
Anyway, the thing is, my brother took about another half a day.

15:25Yo no había probado bocado.
I hadn't had anything to eat.

15:28Con mi experiencia que yo tenía de la calle, empecé a caminar, encontré un mall, vi comida en la calle, entonces comí de la
With the experience I already had from living on the street, I started walking, I found a mall, I saw food out on the street, so I ate out of the

15:41basura una vez más.
trash once again.

15:44Cuando llega mi hermano al punto donde habíamos quedado, este, lo primero que hace mi hermano es correr hacia mí y darme un abrazo.
When my brother gets to the spot where we'd agreed to meet, um, the first thing he did is run toward me and give me a hug.

15:54Hermano, bienvenido a Estados Unidos, tienes una deuda de 22 mil dólares.
Brother, welcome to the United States, you have a debt of 22 thousand dollars.