Wall Plate decor- "El Altar de la Patria"

 

What about it? 

This art plate is a very special decor at our home. We have decided to nail it to the wall by the entrance to our kitchen because we thought it would be viewed easily by other people. The paper plate shows us the monument of Los Padres De La Patria (The Fathers of the Country), a gift to my mom from her coworker. My mom always tells me how well her coworkers made her feel less homesick; she was surrounded by people who shared her experience, some even shared the same background as her. They were not separated by their imagined communities, but unified through the hardships of being an immigrant trying to navigate through their life in a foreign country. She did not feel like an outcast because, even though she was only Spanish speaking, many others at her workplace were too. Similarly, to the Irish, German, and Chinese immigrants who settled in the same area where other people share the same ethnic background, they never felt obligated to learn a new language because they were surrounded by their culture and language in the United States.  

How does it relate to immigrant experience?  

When my mom arrived at the United States she had left behind her home, childhood friends, family, and school. One of the main reasons why my father decided to migrate to the US was because the economy in the Dominican Republic was collapsing and it was due to corruption. The bank collapse was blamed on the politicians because the government’s corruption has been evident for the past few decades. People were extremely hopeless and decided to leave in hopes of a better standard of living. Therefore, he left to the United States, found a job, saved up some money, and a few years later he was able to reunite with my mom and me. All the trips he would make back and forth from the US to the Dominican Republic were all in hopes that one day we both wouldn’t be separated by a huge body of water ever again. When my mom arrived, she started looking for jobs immediately- she became a McDonald’s fast-food employee. Here she met her great friend, he once decided to take a trip back to his family in the Dominican Republic. When he came back, he gave my mom and all his other coworkers a souvenir from his trip. They were all united by the same feeling of melancholy, when one of them left to their home country their coworkers would wait for them with excitement.  

How does it connect to stories of other immigrants?  

The Dominican Republic was occupied by the United States during the late 1910s and early 1920s. The treaty of 1924 gave the United States control over the country's custom revenue. The United States worried that the Germans would become allies with the Dominican Republic like it was discovered with Mexico by the Zimmerman note- which was done by Germany in hopes to have a close country to the US as an ally. My maternal great grandfather was alive during this period, and I wish I had the chance to ask him how life was for him during this time. Similarly, other countries have been entangled in between wars of other countries. This negatively impacts the economy, and many citizens are forced to find somewhere else to work and raise their family. However, that does not refrain people from visiting their homes, I have returned to the Dominican Republic a few times and visited that same place on our wall plate. It was built in 1976 in the capitol by an Italian sculptor. It reminds me of how scared but hopeful my parents were when they left home, their courage is something I will always admire about them.