Episode 15: Humvees on Qualia Street cover art

Episode 15: Humvees on Qualia Street

Episode 15: Humvees on Qualia Street

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 Roberto Perez's roots stretch across the border to Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. Imagine moving to a new country in sixth grade, mocked for not knowing the language—and then turning that ridicule into fuel to master English in less than a year - with nothing but grit and a dictionary in hand. Roberto worked as a shoe salesman in Del Rio, scraping by on an unlivable wage, but hear how his brother's Nissan 300 ZX showed him that there was a whole world beyond the border. And then there’s the wild teenage years: driving friends across the border in his 'taxi' to party in Mexico, and fooling out-of-town girls into thinking he was older than he was. But life on the border wasn’t all parties and fast cars. When Haitian migrants sought asylum under Del Rio’s international bridge, his parents’ neighborhood was overtaken by law enforcement, a reminder of the complex, raw realities faced by border towns.

00:00 Introduction to Border Kids
01:16 Meet Roberto
02:44 Roberto's Journey to the U.S.
04:09 Challenges of Learning English
06:46 Life in Corpus Christi
11:10 Memories of Del Rio
12:09 Crossing the Border for Fun
17:01 Reflections on Safety and Growing Up
24:26 Current Border Issues
31:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts


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