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Salvador Mendoza

Salvador Mendoza

Father and Restaurant Worker

Born: Zapotlan del Rey, Mexico
Heritage: Mexican

To behave good. And also learn things about the land. If you think about it, the land is number one. Agriculture is the principle thing. All wealth comes from the land.

Salvador Mendoza

Father and Restaurant Worker

My name is Salvador Mendoza. I want to tell you I am a man from a rural town in Mexico. My town is called Zapotlan del Rey. I had a hard life. I had a lack of many things growing up.

I was a very poor person growing up. We were not a big family. Two sisters and myself. I remember as a kid I was a lucky person. We were hungry a lot of the time. We had one, two, or three cows on the ranch we used to farm. We didn’t have equipment or the right tools to work the land. For fun we used to create our own toys out of clay. The other thing we used to play with was our shoes.

The homes were made out of different materials. We had homes made out of cardboard. We used to get wet a lot. Even in our house it looked like a shower inside the house. We had a lot of holes in our roof. I remember I was suffering so much in life in the cold weather.

We didn’t have a lot of medicine. I remember, as a kid people would do fumigation of homes to prevent illness. I lost the use of one of my ears. I blame that on bronchitis.

My wife is Amalia. We were just kids and playing in the same school. We used to go to everything like a family, even though we were not from the same family.

I was 17 when I came here. I remember when we came walking to the United States. There were no borders. There weren’t people looking after the borders. We suffered so much to come here. We would have to ask people on the road to give us a ride. That was very hard. It was about everything, the money, the food. The first thing I looked for was ranch work because these are the things I know how to do.

Afterwards, I went back and got married. Every year I went back. After every season, I would go back and see the family. Today no. Right now I have been away from Mexico for 20 years.

I came to Minnesota for my kids and my sons. I raised my sons in California. They were the first who came to Minnesota. Now I work at a restaurant. I am a dishwasher and clean tables.

What I will never forget is the land I come from. My town and my land I will never forget. Even though when we come here we have everything. One thing I will never forget is my land and my town. Sooner or later we always go back to our countries. We never forget them.

HONOR SONG LYRICS

Honoring Salvador Mendoza

All Wealth Comes From The Land
(Honoring Salvador Mendoza)

(Chorus)
All wealth comes from the land
If you know the earth
You will know the worth
Of everything you need

My name is Salvador Mendoza
I now live in Minnesota
A simple man
with a hard life
from a small town in Mexico
I was poor, but I was lucky
Often we were hungry
In a house of dirt
From the earth
When it rained it poured
(CHORUS)
In a blanket called a capote
To keep warm in cold weather
Up in the hills
When we got ill
There was no place to go
Except to boil some water
Filled with potatoes
With lots of salt
Oregano
For soup to get well
(CHORUS)
Back then land cost nothing
But the sweat of your labor
To clear grass
Would break your back
Without tools or machines
And for school we were lacking
Lots of information
But the ABC’s
So after three
Years I quit
(CHORUS)
There used to be no borders
To come into this country
we simply walked
from town to town
straight north till we got there
California, Illinois, Texas
Working for money
From ranch to ranch
Then went back
When the weather got cold
(CHORUS)
Now my wife and children
Live here in Minnesota
Together now
In one house
With 3 grandchildren
Together we have freedom
Through love life has meaning
God is everywhere
When you care
For those near to you
(CHORUS)

Music by LARRY LONG. Words by LARRY LONG with Jill Swanson’s 5th grade class. Valley View Elementary School, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

© Larry Long 2010 / BMI