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The Valdez – Chicanos without a job but full of hope

Augustin (the dad), Nikolas (the son), Gabriel (the grand-son) et Rosemary (the mum).

Valdez Family – Nikolas, 10 years old, artist and fan of Katy Perry

Nikolas is only ten years and yet it has everything to be great adult one day. In his room invaded with dolls and drawings, Nikolas dreams of being an "artist and singer."



Unbeatable on Monster High, the small Texan is also a fan of Katy Perry. His drawings reflect his talent. It depicts details of the heroines of fairy tales version monsters. With his communicating smile, Nikolas assures that we should not "be afraid." It is only his imagination that pours its white sheets.


During our exchange, I teach him a few French words "hello", "thank you", "goodbye" ... He wants to learn to say "you are beautiful". The little Nikolas is clever. When I asked him about Paris, he knows there is an Eiffel Tower and inquired what the French people eat. At the sight of meat on Google images, his eyes light up: "It looks good ...!"



Like the cheeses, baguettes and sweets that he is discovering through his rickety computer, a valuable window on the world for this little Texan.



I modestly manufacture a game with paper. "Oh! But we can do a fair game with paper that's great!" What he wants to know, at ten years old, is if he will get married when he grows up ...



His father tried to initiate him to the football with his friends but it did not last. The child prefers to sing, draw, dream. His parents have high hopes on him. I bet he won't disappoint them.

The Valdez belong to the 25.8% poor living in San Antonio, meaning they live with less than $23,000 a year. In fact, the household income is just $8,400 a year (or $700 a month), the amount of the parents’ two invalidity pensions.


With this money, “we’ve got to pay the house expenses, food, gas, subscriptions to cable, phone, but also internet, that our last son, Nikolas, needs to study and reimburse the loans we’ve taken to finance our second daughter’s dance classes and go to Disneyworld last summer”, lists Rosemary, whose depression was diagnosed a year ago. (…)










































“When Augustin’s handicap was recognized, after his two strokes, we got governmental help for food, the children’s healthcare… And any help was welcome. But we were still struggling financially”, says Rosemary.


The Valdez support Obama’s redistribution policy. But they didn’t vote for him in 2008. In fact, they never vote, even if they’re registered to do so. “But his year, I should go vote”, says Augustin, while distractedly watching to the second presidential debate on TV.


THE NEED FOR BENEFITS


“Even if we’re not better off today than we were two years ago, we must take the right decision to avoid paying the consequences later, adds Rosemary. People are being too hard on Obama. When he took office, he said it would take time to fix the economy. 
Romney wants to lower taxes for the rich, who already live in luxury and get rid of programs such as Medicare, that keep poverty, crime and drugs use low. It’s true there are people who do a bad use of benefits the get. But we do not remain silent in that kind of situation”. “And when my son-in-law started living with us, I told him he couldn’t stay cool at home without working”, mentions Augustin.


Work might not organize the Valdez’ lives anymore, unemployment didn’t hurt their traditional values, deeply rooted in religion. (…) They hope their second daughter will start college next year. And their eldest son will pass the exams to become a firefighter. So that their four children do better than their parents.

Photos 

TEXT Cécile

PHOTOS Mélinda

TEXT & PHOTOS Mélinda

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