The Echo of Experience of Latino Immigrants
New Brunswick is an area that is home to a large Latino immigrant community and being a Latino immigrant in the United States comes with a myriad of hardships. Due to language barriers, resource deficiency, and racism, Latino immigration into the United States has been consistently challenging. My public art piece, a mural, will show the struggles that Latino immigrants have faced and, importantly, overcome through the diaspora to empower and inspire future Latino immigrants in the New Brunswick area. In order to facilitate my piece, further research into the struggles of being a Latino immigrant was imperative. Through a series of interviews, I collected primary research to further facilitate my piece and gain a better understanding of where the Latino community in New Brunswick needs support.
For my piece, primary research into Latino immigrants in New Brunswick was critical. I interviewed two individuals to help further facilitate my project: Charles Bergman, the Director of Neighborhood Strategies at New Brunswick Tomorrow’s Esperanza Neighborhood Project, and Yolanda Hernandez, a Mexican immigrant and active member of New Brunswick Tomorrow’s Esperanza Neighborhood Project. Charles provided insight from a professional point of view, while Yolanda provided more personal anecdotes to help facilitate my project.
Starting with Charles, he provided more detail about what the Esperanza Neighborhood Project does for the Latino immigrant population in New Brunswick. He broke down the project into four basic focus areas: economic development, housing, neighborhood building, and community services. Economic development helps those in the community build their own small businesses, housing supports tenants and first-time home buyers, neighborhood building helps residents find out what is going on in the community, and community services offer aid such as the Family Leadership Academy, to help immigrants get themselves and their families better accustomed to life in New Brunswick. He explained that the four focus areas help address the common problems that Latino immigrants in New Brunswick face, including lack of resources, lack of familiarity with government procedures, and language barriers. These focus areas help address these problems in a multitude of ways. He also addressed the need for the Latino immigrant community in New Brunswick to feel and be seen, which is a big reason why this piece is important to supporting the community as they adjust to life in the United States.
My second interview was with a Latino immigrant in New Brunswick, who is also a member of the Esperanza Neighborhood Project, named Yolanda Hernandez. Off the bat, it was clear that there was a minor language barrier, reinforcing what Charles had discussed with me during our interview. While Yolanda wasn’t able to speak on behalf of the entire Latino immigrant community in New Brunswick, she was able to share her story with me. She started with how she immigrated to America from Mexico in 2006 to look for opportunities to study and have a future. When she got here, she ended up spending a lot of time at home because she didn’t know how to speak English and ask for help when she needed it. She said the first year was really difficult, being alone and missing her support system. She struggled and wanted to go home, and when she went to her mother for advice, her mom shut her down, and she no longer felt comfortable talking to her mom about how she was doing, losing another piece of her support system.
Yolanda went on to tell the story of how she had to fight to get air conditioning put into New Brunswick’s public elementary schools, her first contact with a government agency. She said her son would come home every day dripping in sweat or even have to leave early because the conditions of the school made him feel unwell. She explained how difficult it was to be taken seriously due to the language barrier and how because of this she rallied together the community to enforce change. Yolanda told me about the importance of her family during this time and how her children made her want to do better and be better. She actively advocated for quality of life improvements for New Brunswick elementary school students, providing an empowering story of a Latino immigrant in New Brunswick facing going against all odds and using her community to help overcome her struggles.
The stakeholder in my project is New Brunswick Tomorrow’s Esperanza Neighborhood Project. The Esperanza Neighborhood Project is already involved with facilitating art in New Brunswick through its neighborhood-building focus. They have the network necessary to help get the piece done, as well as get the word out so people can come and enjoy the piece. The Esperanza Neighborhood Project focuses on bettering the lives of Latino immigrants in New Brunswick, so the piece aligns with their initiatives, by showcasing the strength of this community and empowering the past, present, and future Latino immigrants in New Brunswick.
With the help of the Esperanza Neighborhood Project, I believe this piece would be very successful. On French Street, the heart of the Latino community in New Brunswick, the piece would be recognized and appreciated by its intended audience, Latino immigrants. It’s meant to help uplift the community and ensure that they are aware of the resources they have available to them. It’ll also help provide a place where the community can feel seen. It’s important that marginalized groups are recognized and this piece will do just that. Showcasing the struggles Latino immigrants face such as language barriers and lack of resources, will make sure the intended audience, Latino immigrants, know that they are not alone and that help is available to them if they need it.
