Migrant New Yorkers are miles away from their families and finding new ways to be close to each other.
Millions will observe Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, a holiday where partners and friends express admiration and affection. Documented asked our Spanish-speaking readers from our newsletter, Documented Semanal, to share how they will celebrate the holiday this year. Their responses varied in ingenuity and tradition — representing the different facets of the immigrant experience away from home.
Maria Guadron, 46, will spend Valentine’s Day with her husband and her three daughters, preparing a special meal that combines their cultures. “My husband is Mexican, so we will prepare mole with chicken and salad. And since I am Salvadoran, we will accompany it with pupusas,” she said, adding that they have lived in Queens for two decades.
“For those who are far [from their loved ones], no distance will separate unconditional love felt for one another,” she said. “Love and friendship will always flourish.”
Marta Sanchez, who lives in the Bronx, will use FaceTime to join her son and mother in Ecuador during the holiday. “In my country we celebrate the day with a friend, family, a loved one or someone dear to us,” she said. “We used to buy gifts for one another,” adding that she has been away from them for two years since arriving in New York City.
Far away from home also means adapting to the distance, said Gus, a 42-year-old Ecuadorian national. Every Valentine’s Day he would buy roses and hire a band to serenade his partner. Like previous years since leaving Ecuador for the U.S., he has had to adapt. “I will do a video call and send her flowers,” he told Documented.
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For Firmino de Carvalho, distance is not an obstacle to celebrating love. “On this Valentine’s Day and Friendship Day, we will be together on a video call,” the Angolan father said, adding that he will FaceTime his wife of 16 years from Madison, Wisconsin.
你知道吗？非公民办理驾照时的这个错误可能会导致选民欺诈
He moved to Wisconsin five months ago due to a job opportunity, but his wife and children continue to reside in New York City. “A screen between us, yes — but no wall in spirit,” he said. “Distance does not divide us. It consecrates us. Because when God is in the middle, space becomes a school and time becomes a seed.”
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