I met Maria when she was a young teen in high school and was awed by her go-getter spirit and willingness to speak up about her immigration status and willingness to stand up for others. She always struck me as wise beyond her years, honest to the core and loyal to her family, friends and community. As time went on we continued to run into each other at community events and my admiration for her work ethic continued to grow. We asked her to model for Cadena because she embodies a young Latina who lives in-between two cultures, never forgetting where...
When we arrived to the United States, we merged two worlds to create our own bicultural experience and became third culture kids - ni de aqui, ni de alla. This is personal. We are products of the risk our parents took to create a new life in an unknown country. We understand that migration is beautiful because it means so much to so many - just like us.