| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
12 | AUGUST 19, 2015
the American system. This year, for instance, a group of Latinos marched in the Independence Day parade alongside a Latino Resource Center float. Through the center, Latinos are urged to participate in events outside of their cultural traditions, which can be a positive learning experience for all. Latinos, Capece said, are often unsure they “belong” at majority white events. Their demeanor in speaking English is often very different, unintentionally, than when speaking Spanish. Whites, she said, must “be willing to look past color and listen past accent.” “One of the most amazing things I enjoy about speaking English is all the people I have met because I can communicate with them,” she said. “Thanksgiving is now my favorite holiday. I grew up without it.” Capece worries that harboring biased racial mindsets will mostly manifest in the next generation. “America is a country of opportunities, and if these are available, people will shine,” Capece said. “The cost [of socioeconomic disparities between ethnic groups] is continuing to create barriers. It will create generational poverty, especially for those young people referred to as “ni … ni,” or “neither from here nor there.” If young immigrants are not fully integrated, and have no real identity with their country of heritage because they grew up in America, they risk having no cultural identity at all, Capece said. “We have an amazing opportunity to make this a really vibrant community,” she said. “You have to be openhearted and willing to integrate the two majority communities. Our attitudes have a lot to do with outcomes.”
Ajxup leads and participates in Central Wyoming’s “Spanglish” program, in which whites and Latinos meet informally to help one another improve their second language skills. His participation in community events, and that of fellow Latinos, Ajxup believes, can help unite the Jackson Hole community. He was the only Latino in the annual Snow King Hill Climb this year. He also paraglides and mountain bikes. “Because of this, I have a lot of white friends,” he said. “I still am looking for ways to fully engage with white people. We need people to be open, even just to small conversations with the person who serves you in a restaurant or sits next to you on the bus.” Wortman, who teaches Spanish at Jackson Hole Community School, has lived in the valley for three years, and has always been a legal resident. She earned a master’s degree in engineering at Universidad Católica Santa Maria in Arequipa, Peru, and grew up bilingual and bicultural. Married to an American now, she is thankful to live in a multicultural community where her son attends the dual immersion program at Jackson Elementary, one that is actively breaking down language barriers. She sees that as the first step toward socioeconomic equality: English-speaking youngsters comfortably speaking Spanish and vice versa. Bridging the language barrier is paramount in the effort toward integration of the two communities. She also advocates for undocumented workers. “Any person who is willing to work, follow the law, contribute to the economy and sense of community in this nation has the right to stay,” Wortman said. “It’s not fair and it’s not right to have people living in fear or without freedom when the country is benefiting from their work. The U.S. needs to take responsibility on an individual level.” Wortman routinely invites Latinos into her classroom to tell their stories to her immigrant and native-born students alike. “The immigrant population has helped build this country,” she said. “Every resident of the United States should exist on the record, pay their taxes and should be treated with dignity and a cco u n t a b i l i t y regardless of their ethnicity. The current regulations on immigration are feeding
There is a large Latino population here that is very stifled and very ignored. It is not a celebrated or embraced culture.
– MICHAEL STRATTON
A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIVES OF JACKSON LATINOS Gustavo Ajxup came to the U.S. from Guatemala in July 2007, speaking only Spanish and his indigenous language K’iche’. Once here, he studied English at the Teton Literacy Center and Central Wyoming College. Although he holds a bachelor’s degree from a Guatemalan university, and worked as an electrician in his birth country, his first American jobs were washing dishes at Rendezvous Bistro, shoveling horse manure and occasionally carpentry. “When I first came here, I would see people skiing and playing in the snow,” he said. “Almost four years later when I finally had the confidence in English, I started making small talk. That is how I learned to snowboard and to ski.” He now is pursuing an electrical engineering degree to advance his position at AJ’s Electric, where he works full time. Ajxup also volunteers to translate for the priests at Our Lady of the Mountain Catholic Church. “I do it because I have been helped,” he said. “This community has given me so much. I’d like to give back some of that. I am not just translating; I am also doing something that is sacred for me. I am helping people to listen to God’s word in their language.”
sentiments of racism, exploitation and division. The idea that culture is not going to change is dangerous.” Cristina Campos Dayse, early childhood teacher for Early Head Start, is originally from Bogotá, Colombia. When she arrived in America, she did casework management helping refugees from Somalia, Eretria and Ehtiopia in Boise, Idaho. Later, she worked at a hotel in in Driggs, and after three work visas, finally gained permanent residence status. In Colombia, Campos Dayse worked as a Civil Engineer developing water systems, schools and roads with the Colombia Department of Agriculture. She has worked for Early Head Start and the Children’s Learning Center in Jackson for 12 years. Dayse also runs a bilingual Bible study each Monday at River Crossing Church. “I don’t see walls,” she said. “I see the opportunity to work together, to enjoy each other’s differences from both sides.” Dayse also participates in a bilingual book club for English speakers who want to learn. “It is wonderful to see the development and help supply people’s needs,” she said. “We have fun together. We are totally integrated. It feels like family, really. We love each other.”
ACKNOWLEDGING THE DIVIDE
Jacqueline Vulcano, an American married to an Argentinian, and a veteran teacher of English as a Second Language at Central Wyoming College, echoed Wortman’s respect for struggling immigrants. “Most Latinos in our community have traveled long distance on foot and by car to get their family out of dangerous situations and to create a better life for their future,” Vulcano said. “They are extremely hard workers. Along with learning English, they often work full-time jobs and part time jobs, while balancing family and school.” Interestingly, despite the Latino Resource Center’s efforts, even new members of the Jackson community recognize the cultural divide. “There is a large Latino population here that is very stifled and very ignored,” said Michael Stratton, local