In front of a packed house at the Arts Campus at Willits on April 10, Sylvia Gallegos described her childhood living in the Roaring Fork Valley.
“I often heard my mom declare this rule and its variations,” Gallegos said on stage at TACAW. “In this house, we speak Spanish, and English can be learned in school or out there with your friends.”
The black box theater was packed with standing room only as Gallegos and five other immigrants took the stage one by one, telling the audience about stereotypes, accomplishments, and complexities inherent in their lives as immigrants.
The evening was hosted by English in Action, a nonprofit that provides tutoring for English language learners. Some of the storytellers are students in the program, but the event is open to immigrants across the region.
Gallegos said she had attended Immigrant Voices in the past and was inspired by other speakers.
“I have sat in the audience and heard people's stories and related so much that I have actually already thought the story out as I was sitting in the seat, so when I got the opportunity to present my story, it was already there.”
According to Rachel Schmidt, the marketing and events director for English in Action, some storytellers did not feel as comfortable as Gallegos and decided to withdraw from the event, in part because of the Trump administration’s increased focus on immigration enforcement.
“We had to make a few changes this year, and in the interest of safety and security, I do think there is increased fear and uncertainty for some of the families that we serve at English in Action,” Schmidt said.
Since President Donald Trump took office, the federal government has been investing heavily in immigration enforcement efforts, even targeting those with proper documentation.
Given this context, organizers were very conscientious in working with the immigrants who shared their stories.
“(We were) securing our storytellers’ buy-in in all stages of promotion, making sure that they were comfortable and gave us permission to share their image, share their name,” Schmidt said.
More than ever, Francisco “Paco” Nevarez-Burgueño was compelled to tell his story — if not for himself, for his friends and fellow immigrants.
“They have to hear our stories,” Nevarez-Burgueño said. “In that way, they can come out and be themselves — who they were in their countries and they can do the same thing here in this country.”
Nevarez-Burgueño has been in the U.S. for over 30 years and in the Roaring Fork Valley for more than two decades, teaching Mexican folkloric dance as the director of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklórico.
For him, life as an immigrant is not all about fear and uncertainty. In many ways, he loves it.
“For now and in the near future, I just want to stay as a global immigrant, travel places to places, meeting people around this earth, immersing myself in culture and traditions, … meeting new people, connecting with their hearts, and connecting with their souls,” Nevarez-Burgueño said.
Over the course of the evening, the storytellers — their individual lives and journeys — remained the central focus.
The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies and executive orders were never directly mentioned.
“It's so hard to be targeted, to be persecuted,” Nevarez-Burgueño said. “It’s not easy to be an immigrant. But guess what? We stay here.”
