In this documentary we learn a lot about immigration to the United States especially from Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba. We hear stories from people whose parents experienced the events that i will be talking about and it gives us a new outlook on things.
From about 1836 to about 1914 over thirty million immigrated to the United States. The U.S was thought to be a “dream place” that has an abundance of food and jobs but that is not completely true. Jose Marti joined the earliest group of Latinos that immigrated to New York. Puerto Ricans and Cubans traveled along the trade route the brought tobacco, coffee and sugar into the U.S. If you think about it those three things are huge in the United states today, especially sugar. During this time
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During this time Jose Marti published in a newspaper in Cuba at sixteen years old. He was advocating for independance of his country. This action got him in big trouble and he was charged with treason and was sentenced to forced labor. The conditions he was working in were terrible. The chains attached to the legs were leaving deep lacerations. Things got so bad that his mother begged and pleaded for them to let him go. Then he was exiled from Cuba and wandered the world for ten years. He then arrived in New York in 1880. Some people refer to him as “The Father of Cuban Independence”.
The history of Latino immigration is very tough to learn about. There were many hardships and terrible things that happened. People were used for work and then sent back to their country and others got punished for standing up for their country. It seemed as though they could never catch a break. But they didn’t let that stop them. They work hard to make money to support their families and they didn’t let anyone stop them from that. They perservered through all of the bad times so that their future family members could have a better life. This documentary was very interesting and eye opening to