In Pursuit of Happiness

In Pursuit of Happiness – An Immigrant Mother’s Story

By Franco Hernandez 

It was the intense desire to insure the happiness and wellbeing of her children that motivated Luisa Zamora to immigrate to Fort Worth, Texas. 

Mrs. Zamora, now 71 years old, moved into her home in the Worth Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth in 1970. She was born and raised in a farming-ranching community in the rugged state of Durango, Mexico. Life in Durango was rough; farming was difficult; farmland was degraded, harsh draughts afflicted the region. Most people had two options: starve or leave. Most left, some to California, others to Chicago, and many to Texas.

Mrs. Zamora recalled, “I worried about my children’s future. In Durango only severe poverty awaited; I could picture my babies, crossing desserts and wilderness, trying to enter the US as illegal immigrants. I spent sleepless nights worrying about the fate that was in store for them: exploitation and mistreatment. My mothers’ heart was determined to immigrate to the USA legally to protect my children.”   

Her first impression when arriving in Fort Worth was according to Mrs. Zamora, “seeing my beautiful house that my husband had bought before I arrived, in fourteen hours I made the transition from being a campesina (peasant girl) to a housewife in a blue collar neighborhood of Fort Worth.”

Yet not everything was easy in Fort Worth, Mrs. Zamora recalls how not speaking English became a frequent problem, Mrs. Zamora explained “I was pregnant with my fifth child, I had a horrible time at the Hospital because I couldn’t communicate with the staff and doctors. I was eventually fortunate to find a hospital staff member, Anita Garcia, who could interpret for me.”

Some of the satisfactions of her life in Texas, Mrs. Zamora said, “are to know my children are educated and living decent lives; some of my grandchildren who have excelled in school are now engineers, others are school teachers. In 1990 I became a US citizen, and being able to exercise my vote in this country is another great satisfaction.”           

Mrs. Zamora offers her advice to recent Mexican immigrants: “Keep all the good values that you bring from Mexico, they will help you succeed. Respect the laws of the land; always strive to be good and outstanding citizens. Texas and the USA provide us the opportunity to pursue happiness and that is why we Mexican immigrants feel at home here.”