“Over There on the Other Side” by: Santiago Vaquera Vasquez

Growing up in Mexico couldn’t have been an easy life, and envisioning your life in a place such as America, where you are free, and are capable of so much, is a dream that many Mexicans wish to have. Americans take for granted the life they were given, and as others such as Santiago, he only hoped that he could finally reach and pass the U.S. border from Mexico to America, and to finally live in a country where you can feel at peace and safe walking on the streets. As Santiago tells his story on how his parents crossed the border, years before when the border control wasn’t greatly implanted, it seems as though he’s recalling many memories, and even someone else’s memory throughout the book. He speaks of his travels, from California and their beautiful flowers, to the state of Iowa; displacement from one’s culture is a running theme throughout the book. As he waits for his turn to cross the border, he describes the people that surround him and their actions, some appear nervous as if scared for what awaits them or being denied to cross, and others appear excited and anxious for their turn to come. The quote “over there on the other side” is emphasized because seventy-one immigrants who died in Mexico, will never get to experience the “other side” referring to America, and the beauty it is to live in a place where you have freedom.

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