Gloria Palafox is the owner of Cinco de Mayo, one of the best mexican restaurants in South Jersey, and today she is going to talk about her trip to the United States, how he built his life here and how she misses her Mexico, the country she left 25 years ago.
Why do you decide to come to the US?
I didn't want to come at the beginning, it wasn't my dream or something like that. I came to the US following my sister. When my mother died, my father decided to marry again and my little sister said to me “I want to go to the U. S”, I wasn't sure if I want to travel but she convinced me. We thought that since my sister was "guera" (blonde) it would be much easier, but in reality it wasn't, she suffered a lot crossing. But I didn't have any problems. In Mexico I had a good job as a secretary, the necessity to come was not big, but God always knows how to do things. He brought me to this country and has kept me well since then.
What happened to your sister when she tried to cross the border?
First, she crossed the border over the hill. She walked for two nights, because it's much easier for the immigration police to see you in the daytime. In the end, they caught them all and she had to go to jail for a fortnight, which is really not much. When they release you on Mexican land, they do it in Ciudad Juarez, so she wanted to try again. The second trial was by the river, she tried to cross Bravo river in truck tires, in fact she made it, but at the night, the police who have dogs grabbed her and sent her back to Mexico. At the end, she decided to cross by the sewage pipes. She succeed but when she arrived to me, she was a mess. Because of the amount of time she was waiting on her knees, the ants ate her and her clothes were completely destroyed.
How did you meet the person who helped you cross over?
We don't know who is going to help us, you only know how much is the price and the time that you are supposed to travel. They don´t tell you who they are, you start with a group that have certain indications about what to do. At each step of the way you find different facilitators, who tell you what to do and where to cross, but after an hour you never see them again. The price depends of the date and also who you are. The only certain point that you know is: if you don't pay, you aren't going to see your family because there is no way to escape.
How was your life like when you first came to the country?
When we first arrived to this area we didn't know what to expect. We started working with a jewish house because they were the only ones we knew that speak spanish. It was hard because we had to sleep on the ground in their living room, we couldn't eat or interact with them, we didn't even have a bed, our bed was just a few pillows from the couch. For mi was so difficult because I left everything behind just to suffer in a country that it's not mine.
After a year, we decided to start working with american people, that because we learned a little bit of english and we could interact with people. At that time we didn't have a car, we had to call an italian man, he charged us ten dollars for every ride. Cleaning houses was our main business, then I decided to buy this place, the restaurant. The first thing that I made with my money was to buy me a car, it was only a $500 car but for me it was my dream. After that, with the facility of speak english, I got two houses and another car.
How did you get your american citizenship?
I have my citizenship because of my husband. He came to the US in his twenties, he got married with a Puerto Rican girl, that's how he got his papers. After the divorce with her, we decided to get married quickly because at that time was easier to get you american residence. After the residence, I wait 15 years to apply for the real citizenship. The exam used to be so difficult, you have to learn like 100 questions about the US history, also the language and other stuff. My daughter helped me a lot with that and also, I wanted to know, that's why for me was easier.
When you go to the office they take ten question from the 100. After that, you have to read a paragraph in an english book and speak with the interviewer. I was so nervous, I thought I wasn't going to pass the test, but the officer congratulated me and told me I was an American citizen. I hugged him and cried endlessly, an hour later I was taking the oath and became for the law just another American.
What does the restaurant mean in your life?
This restaurant is the culmination of my dreams. I arrived without anything to this country, the only thing that I had was my love for Mexico. I decided to used it with my husband, he know all the recipes because his mother taught him, we decided to plan a little country in this house. We had the luck of being the best mexican restaurant at South Jersey. We are listed by Magazine as one of the best restaurants in the state of New Jersey.
In 2008, 2012 and 2019 we were recognized as the best Mexican restaurant for our food. The governor of New Jersey came to eat here and gave us another award. This fills me with a lot of pride because even though I left my life, I created a new one here and these walls are proof of that. The Mexican community in the area appreciates my restaurant, they come to eat here and if any of our fellow countrymen need something, we are all there to support them. I may have my American citizenship, but regardless of the distance, I am still in my beautiful Mexico.