under the same moon blog discussion

The main reason Rosario left her son, Carlos, in Mexico with his Grandmother was so she could cross the border into the U.S. where she has the chance to make more money in order to better provide for her son. This was a very difficult decision for her because in order to do what she thinks is best for her son, she has to leave him. A lot is at stake leaving him at such a young age and for so long, such as him starting to doubt her love for him, and him harboring bitterness for having to grow up without her. A common thread throughout the characters of the movie was that they were willing to take this great risk despite the consequences. Many illegal immigrants suffered many injustices and subhuman conditions in order to have a chance at improving the quality of their lives and the lives of their loved ones. The way in which Rosario deals with the pain of being apart from her son is by shutting herself off from social or leisure interaction. It was as though to say,"I can not relax and have fun while my heart aches for my son". This was clear in her avoidance of advances by a very eligible courter and ultimately her refusal to marry him. Carlos faced many problems living away from his mother. For one, he risked being taken from his grandmother and into the care of some very uncaring greedy family members, which surely would have made his life miserable. Once his grandmother died and he was in pursuit of reaching his mother, he risked near suffocation under the flooring of the van crossing the border. He then barely escaped being sold into child slavery/prostitution when he hooked up with a shady character in the bus station. Trouble continued as he had close run ins with the authorities when working to pick tomatoes and then again when sleeping on the park bench in LA. Few mother's in the U.S. have had to make decisions as tough as the decision Rosario had to make when she left her son, since for the most part, our quality of living is not dire. However, I do think that no sacrifice is too great in regard to a mother's love. If a mother in the U.S. is faced with a desperate harmful situation and has the opportunity to provide something better for their child, they would do the same.