Gerontology Case Study: Elderly Mexican Immigrant's Life

Introduction: Mirta's Life History

Mirta immigrated to the United States when she was fifteen, crossing the border with her brother and his friends, who were eighteen at the time and looking for work. Her brother was her primary guardian, as Mirta's father had moved to California and her mother had become heavily involved in drugs and alcohol. Leaving their impoverished community in central Mexico felt exciting to the young Mirta, as she reflects on her eighty-seven years of life.

Mirta was born in a small town near Chihuahua on December 23, 1921. She remembers her childhood well. Growing up, she played with her brothers outside and helped her mother at home. The family was poor but very happy. Mirta and her four brothers all attended school, though not for very long, and none of them went to college. Mirta and her friends dreamed of someday getting rich and living in the city or in the United States, but they never had a concrete plan for achieving those goals. When she crossed the border, Mirta left behind many childhood friends, cousins, and other family members. She planned on returning, but has visited only a handful of times since her mother passed away in the 1990s.

As a girl, Mirta worked mainly at home helping her mother. Together they would shop, cook, and clean. Gender roles were highly stratified in her community. Women handled most domestic chores such as cooking, while men took on heavy tasks like roof repairs. Women were also responsible for family-related matters, and men and women socialized in largely separate spheres. Unemployment was rampant throughout the community.

Immigration and Early Life in the United States

When Mirta moved to the United States, everything changed. She spoke no English and knew no one except her brother and his friends. Finding a job was extremely difficult because she was underage and had entered the country illegally, and school was therefore not an option. Her brother vowed to take care of her, but they needed extra income to pay the rent, so Mirta took on odd jobs babysitting and housekeeping. She then spent many years working for a textile company before leaving that position for a well-paying live-in role as a housekeeper for a wealthy family in Los Angeles.

Mirta's father had migrated north of the border when Mirta was six, hoping to help support the family. He promised to return but never did, sending only occasional care packages with cash and a few small candy treats or toys. When Mirta and her brother moved to the United States, she searched fervently for her father, but neither she nor her brother ever saw or heard from him again. As their mother slipped further into an unhealthy lifestyle, her older brother Tomas stepped in as head of the household. Eventually Tomas left for the United States, and two years later Mirta and her brother Jose made the move as well. The youngest sibling, Manuel, relocated to Mexico City to pursue a singing career and achieved moderate success performing in bars and at parties. Manuel and Jose are both still living, though Jose is in a nursing home and in poor health. Their mother passed away in the 1990s, and Tomas died of a heart attack just last year.

Mirta identifies the most significant events of her life as crossing the border and piecing together a new life in the United States. She married a Mexican man at the age of twenty and has three children with him. His death was, in her own words, the most tragic event she has ever experienced, and it has had a tremendous impact on her health and overall well-being. Since the death of her husband Ronaldo, Mirta has been uncharacteristically depressed.

Family Relationships and Personal Values

A gracious and warm interview subject, Mirta made me feel instantly comfortable when we sat down to talk, and she opened up willingly. She credits her brothers with providing her the strength and optimism to succeed and considers herself a successful woman. Reflecting on the courage it took her and her brother to cross the border as teenagers, Mirta believes that younger generations in the United States today lack the same fortitude, work ethic, and sense of responsibility that her generation possessed. She also feels that moral permissiveness and disrespect have become serious problems in contemporary society. She has devoted much of her life to church-related activities as a way of insulating herself from what she perceives as moral degradation. Mirta's views on gender, sexuality, family values, religion, and work create a rich matrix of perspectives that illuminate both the generation gap and the cultural divide between her background and mainstream American life.

Mirta lives with her eldest daughter. Mirta claims that strong family ties are the most important factor in good health and credits her daughter's love with keeping her strong. Accustomed to a cultural tradition of family responsibility for elders, Mirta is critical of the way many American seniors live lonely, isolated lives. Her views on aging and social responsibility closely mirror the interviewer's own perspective, and her adamant convictions about individuals' duties toward their elders are both consistent and compelling.

From Mirta's perspective, the most valuable thing she can offer young people is guidance on how to honor family and tradition. Her eyes brightened when she spoke about her affection for her children and grandchildren, all of whom she sees regularly. Mirta is somewhat reticent about religion but is a practicing Catholic. She attends church with her family whenever possible, and church forms a significant part of her social life. Mirta also derives most of her core values from Catholicism, particularly her sense of moral duty. Her values are conservative, including strong views against extramarital sex and abortion. She laments what she perceives as a breakdown of traditional morals and values in American society, yet she nonetheless tolerates social change and diversity. Her perspective is refreshing.