Running For Your Life

A rusty iron fence is what stopped Ramiro Mayorga from saving his family from starving. 

In 1985, with only $250 in his backpack, he said goodbye to all his younger siblings and headed to find a better life. 

He grew up in a small ranch in Zacatecas, Tlaltenango. Mayorga is the oldest son in his family. His parents struggled to feed their kids and was constantly in poverty. From the age of five he would work out in the fields farming and gathering food for the winter seasons. 

“We didn’t have milk for the babies so I would make rice water to feed us. When I wasn’t working in the fields, I would take my bike into town and shine shoes for about 30 pesos and bring it home,” said Mayorga.

Once Mayorga turned 17 he set a plan to leave Mexico. He would head to Los Angeles to become a mechanic. The day arrived and he headed to Tijuana with only the things he can carry on his back. 

Arriving at a hotel near the border at 10 p.m. where he was put into a group of six strangers. Mayorga paced back and forth and handed the “Coyote” his last $200. Adrenaline ran through him. He was nervous but what was more terrifying was on the other side of that border. 

Mayorga and the group of strangers were instructed to head back to the hotel if any of the plan went wrong. The driver waited until the coast was clear and advised Mayorga to run towards the gates. He could see two helicopters patrolling from afar as he ran as fast as he could.

The cold musk night air hitting his face. Once he got to the fence, there were hundreds of dug in holes underneath.  As a skinny teenager he knew he can slip under the fence easily and headed towards an abandoned house.

“I ran for about 10 minutes to a house. This house had no roof, just four walls. There were four men guarding the house making sure to warn us if immigration was coming. I was happy that I made it the house, but I still needed to cross the river,” said Mayorga.  

Hours had passed and the guards continued communicating with each other. They had received intel that the border patrol would rotate the watch in three-hour intervals. During that same rotation is the only chance the immigrants had.

At 2 a.m. the guards rushed the people out the door to the next location. Mayorga was so close, all he needed to do was get into the car that was meant for him. He saw the Toyota and continued to run. He felt his lungs burning and heard his heartbeat in his ears. He reached out for the door handle and threw himself inside the car. 

He had done it. Finally, able to breathe the driver headed towards San Diego.

“It was still dark when we got to house in San Diego. I remember driving up to this long driveway and the palm trees in every corner, there were so many. It was exactly like you saw in the movies,” Mayorga said. “When I got out of the car, I walked into the biggest house I have ever been in, a mansion.”

Stepping inside the house he realized it was filled with tens of people in each room. Women, men, children resting on each inch of this house tired and vulnerable. Mayorga walked towards the living room and leaned against the back wall realizing the night was over as he closed his tired eyes. The following afternoon he headed to East Los Angeles. 

He was able to become a mechanic and made three times the amount of money in California. Sending as much as he could back to his family. 

Mayorga spend the next 36 years in Los Angeles. With his family back in Mexico, he never looked back. 

“It was the best thing I ever did. My little brother and sisters were okay. My family is all I cared about, and they were okay,” he said.