Respond to the following questions:
What were the main reasons for the boy's mom to leave her son in Mexico with his grandmother? (Use their names as mentioned in the movie)
Why do you think the mother had to make such a difficult decision?
What problems did the boy face living away from his mother? What problems did his mom face living away from her son?
Would a mother in the United States made the same choice? Why?
2 comments:
In the film “Under the Same Moon” Rosario is a young mother who crossed the border into the United States and made her way to Los Angeles with the dream of creating a new life for herself and then to bring her son Carlitos to live with her once she had enough money and had become established. Rosario believes the United States to be a land of better opportunities for her and for her son to grow up in. Rosario left her son Carlitos with her mother because she was the matriarch of the family and was worthy of this trust. Rosario believed with all of her being that the United States would be a better place to live and prosper that she risked her life to illegally enter under the extreme of cold water in the ocean and traveling in the night to avoid being arrested by the INS. Rosario had spent 4 years in the United States working for very little money because she was working as an illegal alien which was labor taken advantage of by the residents of the United States. Many of the illegal immigrants worked for very low wages and often there were times they were cheated of their earnings. Rosario was so desperate to create a better life for her son. She missed him terribly and lived with guilt for the 4 years that they had been appart. Rosario almost married her friend Paco just to be a legal American citizen rather than wait for her citizenship. Mother is a word defined by the Webster’s dictionary.com as: a female parent , maternal tenderness or affection.
Mothers in the United States fight everyday to provide for their children as Rosario had done. Being a mother for Rosario was all she dreamed of and it was obvious when she had her babysitting job how much she missed and longed for her son to be with her.
Carlitos and Rosario missed one another so badly they both were working hard to have the reunion happen sooner rather than later. Rosario worked from dawn to dusk to earn money to send to her mother and to save for her future with her son. At the same time a boy of 9 was working without his grandmother’s knowledge or approval to find a way to get to his mother in LA. As it was Carlitos worked for a woman named Carmen who charged people in Mexico a fee of $2000.00 to be smuggled across the border to the United States and $ 2500.00 to go to the US and have a job waiting for them. I believe that Carlitos planned in the back of his mind that he would eventually pay to cross the border with the money that he earned. He knew of the promise Carmen had made to both his mother and grandmother not to help him try to cross illegally because of the dangers involved.
Carlitos was a very grown 9 years old with dreams of his own. The dream of being reunited with his mother was his goal. However when Carlitos’s grandmother died he found himself alone and afraid. Carlitos was aware that a couple claming to be his aunt and uncle whom were strangers to him might try to claim him. He decides to move forward with his plans to cross into the US to find his way to LA and his mother. Carlitos knows that he has to get to his mother before her routine Sunday morning phone call. Carlitos sets off on the journey. He has one mishap after another which would have most 9 year olds giving up. However Carlitos refuses to give up though many detours and difficulties arise. He has a determination that is equal to his mothers in a fight to be together once more. In this film a 9 year old boy shows his bravery, determination, and un-yielding struggle to be with his mother. Throughout this young boys travels he meets many people who’s life’s have changed and also they have found that they become better people from be-freiending this young man. Carlitos is a hero in my mind. He goes against all the odds and does not give up on his dreams and his goal of being a family again with his mother.
Great detailed description of this film Mary
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