16 minute read
Looking for a Better Life Estefany Gonzalez
Estefany Gonzalez: What is a border for you?
possibilities so you can get from point A to point B either you can take the bus or walk there, it’s dangerous since you are being so close to the moving vehicles, so I think that is one of the
Maria Poblete: Border for me is like an abstract element, it is not really like a physical form. To me it’s like the differences in people or it’s like their culture that differs from one another or it’s their lifestyle. To me that’s kind a border is.
E: How have borders impacted your life?
M: The border… it has impacted my life as amm.. kind of like a changing point since I moved here from Guam. The differences here have made me change to whom I am today before I used to be more reserved and just come to myself to try to be kind of like more open to changes and to interacting with other people. M: Yeah. From how I am today it has changed me in a good way like fast like how I said before staying by myself or being more isolated.
E: What have you been doing in order to adapt to a new culture?
M: Amm... It’s more like how you interact with other people and then how you kind of like just taking the changes to yourself. Amm… I guess it is all kind of part of how a person is if you it’s part of, I guess to a process.
E: Why do you think that borders divide cultures?
M: From the top of my head, It will probably be how people travel from one point to another. Like in Guam we don’t have that much public transportation and so you basically need to have a car or your own ways to be able to go from one area to another, here you have more since it’s kind of safer here compared to where I am, Guam we don’t really have sidewalks and differences.
E: Do you think that the border has had a positive impact in your lifestyle?
I was more reserve and now I am more open and I’m getting more out there than just staying... adapt to the situation that you put in like you can be in another area, and it’s just adapt yourself
E: Do you still see the border as a barrier in your lifestyle?
M: Aamm.. Yeah, because even if I’m so accumulated with the changes there is always a barrier between people’s lifestyles. It is just the way we are; we can have something similar like small little aspects but everybody’s lifestyles differs from one another.
M: I think the border hasn’t necessarily divide a culture. It’s just how the cultures are different from one another and because of that it creates a border within itself.
E: Do you think that it is important to have a balance in order to be able to interact with others cultures, especially in this country where we can find people from all parts of the world?
E: Being from another country, what have you done in order to not see an abstract border as an M: It would be nice to have a balance with other cultures but as it is right now there is always obstacle? going to be one dominant culture compared to another. It is just the way it is because… I don’t
know…. It just depending on politics, government, and every other thing that comes into play, M: I’ve never.. I used to see as a barrier between two people but now it is like something there is always be some differences and that undercount as a balance; but a balance will be ordinary because there is always going to be an abstract border like separating you from nice. another person; either by language, culture or ethnicity, it’s just the way it is because every
body is different from one another, we have like different personalities and so it’s just E: Do you think that borders are necessary?
something that you used to or just commit to that.
39 E: What are some differences in culture that you have had to adopt in your life style since you move to California? M: It is not really necessary, but it’s just.. it ‘s something that you’ve got to get accustomed to because everybody is different today. There’s always a sense of a border whether it’s a physical wall or just an abstract idea. ● DRAW YOUR THOUGHTS visit: www.collectivemagpie.org/book foranother interview conducted by Estefany Gonzalez and to download the full collection of 82 interviews
The wall has become an extremely politicized symbol of the region, of SD/TJ. Twenty minutes away from our home in San Diego 50,000 northbound vehicles and 25,000 northbound pedestrians cross the US/MX border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry daily. You can stand at the closest beach to that port at the International Friendship Park and be a part of the surreal i image of three different layers of border divisions. La Mojonera, or Western Land Boundary Monument No. 258 is a 9-foot high obelisk which sits completely out of place at the beach like a tomb marker from a historic cemetery. It marks the start of the 1,952 mile line separating Mexico and the United States. In 1851, representatives of the Boundary Commissions from each nation placed the marker together in a collaborative effort that seems difficult to imagine today. A foot away from the territory marker is a sight impossible to fully ii understand. There is a 10 foot steel fence that divides the concrete, then the sand along the beach and continues on into the ocean for several hundred feet as if to attempt to divide that as well. This is a security border wall to prevent the passing of people from Mexico into the United States as a result of the 1994 Operation Gatekeeper. The wall is made of steel military iii landing mat and has small gaps between slats. Separated families have used those spaces to see each other, talk and hold hands between the bars for years. The latest wall is a double v iv reinforcement, first built after 9/11 when more federal legislation allowed for increased security at the border. This secondary wall built in parallel, several feet away from the first, also vi put an end to the possibility of physical contact through the fence. It created a further strange division of a policed no entry zone between the two fences that is occasionally opened for cultural events and often increases the pain of this division. If you go there today, you will see the barren US beach of Border Feld State Park under watch of a border patrol officer. On the MX side, you can see the lively festivities of the Playas beach front, food vendors, live musicians, seafood restaurants and children playing. What we see here is a landscape that separates families, creates tension between nations and instills fear of each other. The wall is a constant reminder of war, failed humanity and the incessant power play for the 1%. President Trump’s scheduled 21 billion dollar border wall will only reinforce and reassure us of all of many years of tension.
The interviews transcribed in this publication share a Mexican-American border patrol officer reflecting on illegal immigrants, a criminal sketch artist profiling the accused inside the court, first hand observations of how the legend of Tijuana, the dangerous city, continues to haunt families over 3 generations, a self described racial identity fading away from racial tension, the resolution of an internal struggle caused by external violence, a pathway from religious crisis to the questioning of freedom and much more. These stories are tragically frustrating, violently unforgivable, some cringe worthy, or confusing at times, are all warmly exchanged, immensely complex and most surprisingly, they are strikingly honest and personal. They ignite the border from the inside rather than from the outside reminding us that the border does not start at the line between US and MX but it is here, embedded in our lives, in every one of us.
These are the stories that are here and remain here as a memory and history. These are the stories of the border residents. These are the stories of our border—the border that matters.
40 w i t h r e s i d e n t s o f T i j u a n a - S a n D i e g o Growing with a border | Self-Interview READ ALL 82 CONVERSATIONS Maria was born and raised in Guam then moved to California around her sophomore year in high school. She is currently residing in San Diego, CA. She is an Undergraduate Woodbury Architecture Student. The Unseen Barrier Maria Poblete Border is an abstract idea in which it can be the situation where two cultures collide. Maria was born and raised in Guam. She moved to California when she was 16 attending high school at Long Beach. She currently resides at San Diego and attending Woodbury University. She is an architecture student that enjoys working with graphic designs. Her interests are on sketching and other art related subjects. b o r d e r t h r e e 3 6 c o n v e r s a t i o n s PREFACE & THANK YOU We are humbled and grateful to have had the honor and privilege to cross back and forth between San Diego and Tijuana, listening to the experiences of people living in these borderlands, over these last several years. Those who have shared their personal stories, for others to read, have inspired this rich publication. We thank you all for extending your sincerity, labor and trust in each other and to us—two complete strangers—during our Globos Workshops*. The generosity extended by each participant opened a space to consciously engage together, reflecting on the complex close(d) relationship of living within the region of the most frequently crossed border in the world—And all the mess, beauty and challenges that are a part of it. The resulting 82 conversations on the subject of border were produced via four seminars from an experimental Art & Ethnography course series: HOT AIR BALLOONS and INTERVIEWS from 2015-2017. The seminars were held in conjunction with the Culture, Art & Technology Program, University of California San Diego; the Transdisciplinary Program, Woodbury University at the School of Architecture; and the concluding seminar, Transnational Edition was held in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, in addition to multiple sites in both border cities. MCASD hosted the seminar extending access and content to the their permanent collection and enabling the seminar to exist between multiple colleges, allowing joint participants from Southwestern College, University of California San Diego and Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. This interview collection and artwork consists of a series of transcribed interviews conducted and edited by millennials working collaboratively with each other and with us. * Globos Workshops were developed to produce a fleet of 25ft unmanned hot air balloons to be launched over the US/MX border at Friendship Park, TJ/SD. Balloon construction workshops were held at both sides of the border within many different communities and cultural centers. This publication is a four part series of conversations about the border. Preface & Introduction by Tae Hwang & MR Barnadas of Collective Magpie. Design by Adrian Orozco & Abigail Peña. Copyright. 2015-2018 All authors. . Printed at Diego & Sons, SD. Complete free download of 82 interviews can be accessed at www.collectivemagpie.org/book
Q: What do you constitute as a border to be, a physical form or an abstract idea?
A: In my perspective a border can be both physical and abstract; it just depends on the situation in which you have to face that particular term. Here in San Diego, the border is usually seen as the separation of Mexico and the United States in the form of a wall. This wall has been set as an obstacle for one side and a protective measure for the other. This physical form has been a topic talked about politically and amongst others within the general area as a heated debate. One side such as Mexico the border is seen as an obstacle stopping the residents from achieving the life they want or holding them back from reaching their dreams. As for the United States, they see it as a protective measure to keep the drug smuggling away and to stop illegal immigration. However, this is just the physical form. In a way a border can be seen as an abstract just by its representation. A border can be something not seen but felt or experienced. An example of that would be simple conversations between two or more people about a certain particular topic. One person may have limited knowledge on the topic while say two others may have a life time experience with it. The conversation between these people would differ due to the amount of knowledge they have creating a sense of a barrier for both sides.
Q: For yourself, what do you see border to be?
A: After thinking it thoroughly, I’m leaning towards the abstract side of the term just from my personal experience. Coming from a small island, I grew up in a culture that differs greatly from around here. My lifestyle consisted of school, friends, and family all of which done within a set of guidelines drilled inside of my way of thinking since I was a kid. Moving here, to California, was a big shock just based on that. I met students who had a bigger horizon to deal with, such as less strict rules and more opportunities to grow within the modeled adulthood. The rules set to them by their parents/guardians made my way of living seem sheltered and secluded. And when I talk about strict rules, I mean it by the people I’m allowed to hang out with. My parents are traditional folks and prefer me to hang out with a group of females rather than males. In order for me to even hang out with my male friends there has to be a female along with us. Another is the places I’m allowed to go to. The island is pretty small since anyone can drive around the island within two hours. However, for me I’m only allowed to go to certain places where large groups of people are present no matter the circumstances. Even when growing up grades were considered more important than being on a team (sports team or group club) or hanging out with friends. Here, however, it is seen in high standards to mix both in a way to achieve high marks in both academics and popularity. Due to this, it took me a while to be accepted by others since I closed myself up from all this differences. It was hard to find a common ground to stand on with the differences. It created a buffer in which it was difficult to break free of my own way of living to accommodate there’s.
Q: Would you place lifestyle as part of culture that creates this division in some people?
A: Yes, because culture is a pretty broad subject that consists of a lot of things. Culture is an accumulation of lifestyle, arts, beliefs, and many more. Lifestyle plays a part in one’s culture as a way of living. What’s interesting about it is that it can contain rules, ideas, knowledge, and one’s wellbeing. The term itself contains subcategories, making it essential in the building of a culture. Everyone’s lifestyle differs from each other, some might even have similarities but not all of them would be 100% carbon copy. One area, let’s say a town can celebrate the same holiday as its neighboring town but their methods dealing with it can be different. This goes with countries, every country celebrates the holidays in their own way such as Christmas. However, the way they interpret it and see it is not the same with each other even if it’s the same holiday. In my personal experience with the move between Guam and California, the culture differences took a toll on me during the first year. It was difficult to set myself within the same group as the people I encountered. Even my relatives here differ greatly from the way I was taught. It shows that you can have the same ethnic background but your location and the resources available to you can change your view. I stayed with my cousin’s for a couple of years and my lifestyle differed from their own. They have the tradition of going out during the weekends and engaging in miscellaneous activities. While for me a typical weekend back at Guam is just staying at home engaging in some house chores and school work. The only time we ever go out is if there was a special occasion or if my friends wanted to celebrate someone’s birthday. Because Guam is pretty small, there aren’t that many places to go to. And the places such as restaurants and beaches have been already visited frequently. It’s really hard to discover new places in an island that takes about just 2 hours to go around it once.
Q: Defining lifestyle, would you see it as a main contributing factor in culture?
A: I believe so; in my earlier answer lifestyle is built by multiple factors that make it a whole. The other factors that build a culture are basically specific to the point while lifestyle can be broader. Without it in the mix culture wouldn’t be as a strong concept or be a whole. A lifestyle can be a set of guidelines that an individual follows to interact with society or a way for them to feel as if they are functioning like a civil person. It’s also built upon a person’s habit. This habit is usually how they deal with everyday situations such as work, school, and home. Another factor is their attitude, when encountering situations or how they perceive life to be. These are just a couple of the factors that contribute to the term.
Q: Does your lifestyle now still create this sense of barrier with other people you encounter?
A: It does because I grew up with a strict upbringing as a Filipina. Even up till now it’s difficult to break away from that idea of how I should act. The typical guidelines I grew up with are the standard that grades come first before hanging out with friends, no hanging out alone with the opposite sex, and a bedtime hour. There are always strange habits driven to me of never taking a shower if I had a fever or to duck my head down when walking in between people talking. These are just things that my parents instructed me to do that I’m sure can be considered strange to others.
Q: Having been a resident at California for years now, do you feel yourself accumulating to the way of living here?
