In Laredo like in the rest of the Rio Grande valley, people live the Mexican way. Born to Mexican parents, Ricky and Juanita Sias speak Spanish at home. And their son Mauro, who is six, goes to a bilingual school, whereas his sister Roxy, who’s just one year and half, is taken care by her mom and her grandmother when Juanita leaves for the restaurant she works at, and before Ricky comes back from the car body shop he works at. (…)


Despite these two jobs, the Sias do not have health insurance. It’s not paid by their respective employers and they make too much to benefit from Medicaid without being able to afford a private insurance. It’s also for financial reasons that they’re waiting to replace the car Ricky involved in an accident and do not want a new child.


Juanita wants to travel in order to discover something else than Laredo and its border city twin Nuevo Laredo, where live all her family and Ricky’s one. But the Sias need to stay near family members in this 240,000 inhabitants city thriving on international transportation of goods made in Mexico where the average individual income is under $15,000 and the poverty rate is near 30%. (…)​



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Because they need her help, they allow Juanita’s mother to bring her grandson to church every Sunday, even if they do not observe for example. And to ensure themselves a protection against unemployment, they also maintain proximity with their mayor. “We like Raúl Reyes because he paved the roads, whereas his predecessors didn’t do anything for us, explains Ricky. But I must admit it’s also because people in my family who were out of work got a job at City hall”.


That’s why on November 6th election, Ricky and Juanita will vote “Republican. Wait! Is Obama Republican or Democrat? Democrat?! So it’s Democrat we’re going to vote. And we hope our neighbors will do the same, because we don’t like the Republican Party’s ideas”.