As you may have heard “New York is the land of opportunity.” A low class, middle aged, Dominican man named Balbuena, who is the main character in the film Nueba Yol , heard about it. He was all alone after the death of his wife and illegally immigrated to New York to find work. Adjusting to a New Yorker’s lifestyle, he faced many obstacles. Here is an interview Balbuena had as if I had it with him.

Questioner: Why did you choose to came to New York?
Balbuena: I moved to New York to find a job. I heard New York is the Land of Opportunity.

Questioner: What problems did you came across while coming here to New York as an immigrant?
Balbuena: I could not communicate with people, the man let me slide with a fake passport because he did not understand me.

Questioner: What was your first bad experience in New York?
Balbuena: I was hit by a car while running across the street, coming from the airport.

Questioner: Were there any other bad experiences after your accident?
Balbuena: I went out to looking for job and no one wants to hire me because I don’t understand English, nor I have a Social Security number. Also they are always asking me if I have Papers.

Questioner: What was the conflict with you and the police?
Balbuena: I was on my way home when all of the sudden the cops pull up. All of the drug dealers ran, I got scared and so did I. The police grabbed me until my cousins wife told him that I do live there and that I was just afraid so I ran, and that I was not involved with any of the drug dealing that was going on.

Questioner: What was your first job?
Balbuena: It was a hard labor job for just a little money. I had to scrub and clean the basement of a man’s restaurant.

Questioner: At any time did you want to give up and go back home?
Balbuena: Yes, I felt that way since the beginning, I have no money, no job, no source of communication. I dreamed every night of my little house back home.

Questioner: Have you met anyone who you consider special?
Balbuena: The lady, Nancy, that hit me with her car by accident has stayed in contact with me throughout my stay in New York. I now realize that my wife is gone and that I must learn to love someone new.

Questioner: How did your wife die?
Balbuena: She and I were at the beach back home when all of the sudden she drowned. She died in my arms.

Questioner: Why when you told Nancy about your wife, was she sad?
Balbuena: After I told her my story, she told me how she once loved a man, he left her and she misses him. She was sad.

Questioner: Now that you know someone at New York are you now more comfortable?
Balbuena: I’m getting the hang of things, the only thing that gets me is the door locks,
they get on my nerves.

Questioner: Have you experienced anything new?
Balbuena: I played in the snow with some children, we even made a pretty little snowman.

Questioner: What ever happened to your job in the store?
Balbuena: It was not a steady job as I thought. I was only paid $6.00 for the whole days work.

Questioner: What did you do after you lost your job?
Balbuena: I kept searching, until I came across this restaurant, and they hired me to work in the kitchen, then my cousin told me to move out.

Questioner: Why did your cousin tell you to move out?
Balbuena: He told me that his wife and kids were uncomfortable with me living there.

Questioner: What occurred at your cousins house when he was rushed to the hospital?
Balbuena: Well, I went to his daughters room to give her a hamburger and she flipped out. My cousin got upset and was out of control, it resulted into him having a stroke.

Questioner: After that incident, did thing get better between you and your cousin’s family?
Balbuena: As a result of my cousin’s stroke, his wife and kids treated me better and accepted me for who I was.

Questioner: Where did you live after you left your cousin’s house?
Balbuena: I rented a little apartment, I felt better about myself because I see myself progressing and I am happy.

Questioner: Are you now comfortable in your work place?
Balbuena: I have learned a lot, I am so comfortable there that I can dance, sing and do my work at the same time.

Questioner: Have you faced any problems at your job?
Balbuena: My boss has just come across a problem with money that he had borrowed a while back. Because he helped me out , I was willing to help him out in his time of need. He owed a man $15,000, I offered to lend him $5,000.

Questioner: What happened after that?
Balbuena: We sold the restaurant, and because I helped him out he gave me a nice share of the profit so that I can go back to Santo Domingo.

Questioner: When are you going to leave to Santo Domingo?
Balbuena: Hopefully, within a week after I got the money, but I faced a problem with Felito, the man that gave me a fake passport to get here, I was shot and so was my landlord for trying to help me.

Questioner: What happened to the man that shot you?
Balbuena: The landlord was still alive after getting shot, and shot both of the men dead.

Questioner: After the whole incident of getting shot what happened?
Balbuena: I went back to the Dominican Republic like I planned to, and got married with Nancy.

Questioner: So what did you think of New York after you back home?
Balbuena: I found paradise in Nancy, but overall I don’t like New York. But now I am in paradise with my wonderful wife.

I feel that the dialogue that takes place with Balbuena and me shows the reality of an immigrant’s life and struggles. As you can see being an immigrant in a foreign country is not as easy as some may think. What you hear about certain places is not always what you end up going to. Balbuena was told that New York was the land of opportunity, but as you can see Balbuena's experience wasn’t all about “opportunity”; it was about striving and struggling, and family and cultural conflict. Before you take a risk as Balbuena did you may want to think about it twice.


Christina Cruz #2