Esperanza
This is the country that Esperanza, Alberto, and their children flee at the beginning of the story due to political violence and death threats.
What is Guatemala?
This is the name of Carlitos mother
Who is Rosario?
Young Carlitos braves the dangerous journey across the U.S.-Mexico border for this specific purpose.
What is to find his mother?
This Spanish vocabulary word refers to the money or wages earned by workers, which Rosario sends back to Mexico to support Carlitos
What is el dinero?
In both stories, characters rely on these individuals—often paying them thousands of dollars—to smuggle them across the U.S. border.
Who are coyotes?
Alberto holds this specific job, which makes him a target for the corrupt department of immigration and the military.
What is a union leader?
In Bajo la misma luna, Carlitos has a special talent for keeping track of finances, which he uses to help this local, blind woman who runs an illegal smuggling business in his hometown.
Who is Doña Carmen?
Every Sunday at 10:00 AM sharp, Rosario calls Carlitos from a payphone located next to these three distinct landmarks.
What are a laundromat, a dominoes pizza, and a piñata?
This is the Spanish word for "hope," which serves as both the title of Carol Gaab's novel and the central theme of both stories.
What is esperanza?
Both Carlitos and Esperanza utilize this specific method of transportation to travel long distances through Mexico toward the U.S. border.
What is a Bus?
This is the heartbreaking reason Esperanza is forced to leave her two children, Ricardito and Lili, behind with her mother when she first escapes.
What is because the journey is too dangerous ?
Bajo la misma luna: Carlitos' godmother who takes care of him in Mexico until she passes away in her sleep.
Who is Abuelita?
This grumpy, reluctant migrant worker initially tries to abandon Carlitos but ends up becoming his protective father figure and friend.
Who is Enrique?
This is the Spanish word for moon.
What is Luna?
Both stories prominently feature this major California city as the ultimate destination where the characters hope to find safety and family.
What is Los Angeles?
When Esperanza is arrested in Tijuana, this specific person lends her money and helps her successfully cross the border into the United States on her second attempt.
Who is Lucy?
Esperanza: The crying, four-year-old son who accompanies Esperanza on her terrifying bus ride through Guatemala.
Who is Ricardito?
Carlitos picks tomatos earn money, but his journey is nearly ruined when this group unexpected raids the greenhouse, forcing him and Enrique to flee.
Who is ICE?
In Esperanza, Alberto is a sindicalista, which means he is a leader or active member of this type of worker protection organization.
What is a sindicato?
In Esperanza, Alberto initially flees Guatemala City and hides out in this specific remote, southern Mexican state where his parents live.
What is Chiapas?
To legally stay in the United States and bring their children over, Esperanza and Alberto must prove they have a "reasonable fear" of persecution to grant them this legal status.
What is political asylum?
In Bajo la misma luna, these two individuals attempt to smuggle Carlitos across the border because they desperately need money for college tuition.
Who are Martha and David?
Enrique makes the ultimate sacrifice at the end of the film by doing this, allowing Carlitos to escape the police and finally reunite with his mom.
What is throwing coffee at the police/ drawing their attention to get arrested?
This Spanish term describes a person who does not possess the legal documents or visas required to reside or work in a country.
What is indocumentado?
To achieve their goals, both Rosario in the film and Esperanza in the novel must navigate the difficult reality of working in the United States under this legal designation.
What is undocumented?