Emily and Natanael Leyva
Emily Leyva
My goal with this piece first and foremost is to show gratitude towards my grandfather for his work to ensure not only that my mom would lead a fulfilling life but that his future generations would too. I wanted to capture him doing something he loves, something he was put into since he immigrated.
To parallel my grandfather, I chose to take a picture of my brother. There is a generational gap between them, and thanks to my grandfather's work my brother will never have to be a laborer unless he chooses to be. However, my brother's shirt has the text "I just look illegal" obstructed by a corn leaf; while he is an American-born citizen, a stigma still confines children like us (especially him as a Latino teenager) to skepticism about our legal status.
My grandfather's hard work is not something we will take lightly. Despite whatever obstacles we face, we keep moving forward. Whatever adversities we go through for our heritage and its associations, we are carried by the work of our grandfather. His labor has allowed us to be here, and we will not take it for granted.
My Respectable Papa
Natanael Leyva
My dad came for opportunity
Misses Mexico
Stays for me
Left everything he had
Stays for everything he has
Each time I look at him
A respectable man I see
Emily and Natanael Leyva, 18 and 16, are the children of a Servant Partners staff-person in San Jose, California.