![]() ![]() Reyna and her siblings endure lice and roundworm infestations, scorpion bites, as well as taunts from Élida and all the neighborhood kids about being “orphans.” When news arrives that Mami is going to have another baby, Reyna and her siblings grow even more despondent, convinced that their parents have forgotten all about them. They sleep squished together on a straw mattress, are forced to eat table scraps, and are neglected by their grandmother even as she dotes on her other grandchild, Élida, whose own mother María Félix left years ago for the US. Reyna, Mago, and Carlos suffer difficult and even abusive treatment at their Abuela Evila’s house. Abuela Evila is not happy about looking after the children, and reminds Mami to send money every week. Mami drops the children off at the home of Abuela Evila-their father’s mother. ![]() Reyna and her older siblings Mago and Carlos beg Mami not to leave, but she insists she must leave to join their father, who has already been working in the US for years in order to make money for their family. ![]() ![]() In 1980, four-year-old Reyna Grande’s mother is preparing to leave Mexico for the United States-“El Otro Lado,” or “The Other Side,” as it is known in their impoverished city of Iguala. ![]()
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