The UNAM-Los Angeles headquarters and the California-Mexico Studies Center brought a group of 33 young people to Ciudad Universitaria

By Laura Lucia Romero Mireles | Gaceta UNAM para leer en Espanol | AUG. 11, 2022 | Photo by Victor Hugo Sanchez

They heard their parents talk about UNAM; many want to return from the United States to be part of their enrollment in the postgraduate course. Today, thanks to the collaboration between the UNAM-Los Angeles headquarters and the California-Mexico Studies Center, a group of 33 young people made their dream of being in this house of studies come true and, for now, getting to know some facilities of Ciudad Universitaria.

As part of the California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program of that U.S. body, which this year will bring 180 dreamers into Mexico in six different groups, a forum was held in the auditorium of the University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC), where young people shared their testimonies and experiences.

Silvia Núñez, director of the UNAM-Los Angeles headquarters, stressed that the University is an inclusive space and engine of upward social mobility. "Thanks to the vision of the university authorities to accelerate the internationalization process, this institution today has 13 offices abroad, five of them in the American Union."

The former director of the North American Research Center, and professor of the master's degree in Mexico-United States Studies, stressed that this is an open house, where "we embrace them with wings, with wings to fly."

Young people who have participated in the DACA program (in Spanish, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which temporarily protects them from deportation and grants them an employment permit by meeting all the requirements) not only have hope, but also the talent of biculturality, he said.

The collaboration agreement between California-Mexico Studies Center and UNAM-Los Angeles seeks better ways and enrich the work for the benefit of young people in the United States and university students.

Our goal is to create a bridge for [those] who have participated in the program and realize the dream that you are students of the University."

Education is the key that has motivated them to move forward, and will continue to be the engine that allows them to build new horizons. "Do not forget that those who have managed to prepare must turn to see those who have not had the same opportunities. Let's not stop thinking about others, that's what I call on, because I see terrible problems of inequality in California; it's a devastating moment."

Armando Vázquez Ramos, president of the California-Mexico Studies Center, asked young people to feel "at home" within UNAM. "Our goal is to create a bridge for dreamers who have participated in the program and realize the dream that you are students of the University, and we hope that this will begin at the beginning of the coming year, through a Spanish course and a diploma that is in the process of development."

The coordinator of the master's degree in Mexico-United States Studies, Julio Peña Vega, welcomed the dreamers. "This is the highest house of studies in Mexico, but it is also your home. They will learn about the great academic and cultural diversity of the institution and its central campus, which reflects the enormous artistic, cultural and academic multiplicity that characterizes the University."

It is a pleasure "that they accompany us, get to know us and be closer to a Mexican community in the United States. The United States is interested in their roots and the opportunities that the University can offer them," added Acatlán Academy of Higher Studies (FES).

Esther Alonso Gómez, a member of the California-Mexico Studies Center, recalled that the book Anthology of Dreams of an Impossible Journey was presented on July 20. In the summer of 2021, 214 dreamers traveled to Mexico, to reunite with their families and their roots. From that rewarding experience they wrote an essay; the best are collected in the work.

Part of Armando Vázquez's objectives are to create bridges that unite the diaspora and society, "because we are all Mexican no matter where we are," he stressed.

Meanwhile, Isabel Medina Ruiz, also a member of the Center, pointed out that the book reflects the human side of dreamers, what they live, the barriers they face and overcome. They are different stories but they reach the same point: the United States. "Your achievements are a great compensation for your parents; I can't imagine how proud you are of all of you, because in you you see the American dream achieved."

There are 130 million Mexicans on this side of the border, and 40 million more in U.S. territory; hence the importance of making connections, and the best way to do it is through education and academia. "We want there to be a bridge between us, academic and student exchange; the hybrid diploma program will be designed especially for you."


Four stories

"I feel divided and I'm learning to live with it"

Yolanda Granados is a young dreamer. The main reason he had to apply for the California-Mexico Dreamers Study Abroad Program was that his mother lives in Mexico. "In 2009, when I was 19, she was deported while I was in school; she was the only person who supported me. For us, there was no DACA or other programs. These were difficult and dark times, but I grew up and learned how to defend myself, because I only had myself."

During these years he worked, went to school, entered DACA, left school and returned. "And last year everything was fulfilled: I graduated and applied for this program. I came to Mexico for the first time, and I saw my mom after 12 years. Here he finally told me the reason for leaving: they shot the car where my family was traveling. My dad, grandmother and two other people were killed; I was the only survivor. This program has helped me heal my heart, which I didn't know it was so hurt."

Jennifer Chávez Ramírez, originally from Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, is a master's student in Educational Therapy. "I am 26 years old; we made the trip in 1999, a few weeks after I turned three years old; today I live in Los Angeles." He currently works for a foundation that serves victims of prostitution, human trafficking and pornography, in the United States. The United States and countries such as Rwanda, Ecuador and very soon Mexico.

He traveled to our country last year with this program, after more than 20 years. On her second visit to our country, she is proud and happy to have achieved that achievement again. "One of my goals will be to bring my parents in a dignified way, to visit their first home."

Edgar Ballesteros Cruz, coordinator of Special Education at high school, said that he dreamed of being at UNAM one day, while studying in the United States. USA. "I left at the age of eight with my mom, who was a seamstress, and my baby sister. I had already graduated, I had decided to return to Mexico, but I was hired as a teacher."

He is a dreamer with DACA. "I'm here for my cousin, who referred me to the program and recommended that I come. We convinced my mom and brought her to see her parents, her land, and to build the house she had always wanted. The circle closed; in February I received my residency and now it's my turn to help those who follow, and of course I'm going to return to UNAM."

Finally, Roberto García Rodríguez, a bilingual pedagogue and high school teacher, was taken to the United States at the age of seven, and "I always felt more part of there. It is with my visits to Mexico that I am knowing my roots and who I am; I feel divided and I am learning to live with it."

It was very difficult to leave his grandmother; one of the ways his mother convinced him was his promise to take him to Disneyland. "Today it is a pleasure to return to Mexico and a privilege to be at UNAM; I hope to be able to return to study someday," he concluded.