enrique's journey chapter 1 summary

Enrique’s Journey | Chapter One: Notes About Sources

• Copy Link URL Copied!

Sonia Nazario, the writer, found Enrique in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in May 2000. She and Don Bartletti, the photographer, spent two weeks with him there and rejoined him at the end of his journey in North Carolina. Then, based on Nazario’s extensive interviews with him in Mexico and during three visits to North Carolina, she and Bartletti retraced each step Enrique had taken, beginning at his home in Honduras.

Between May and September 2000, Nazario and Bartletti spent three months working their way north through Mexico just as Enrique had, riding the tops of seven freight trains and interviewing and photographing people Enrique had encountered, along with dozens of other children and adults making the same journey. Nazario and Bartletti walked around immigration checkpoints and hitchhiked with truckers, exactly as Enrique had. To retrace Enrique’s steps, they traversed 13 of Mexico’s 31 states.

Nazario conducted interviews in the United States, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala with immigrant rights advocates, shelter workers, academics, medical workers, government officials, police officers and priests and nuns who minister to immigrants. At four INS detention centers in California and Texas and in two shelters for child migrants in Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico, she interviewed youngsters who had made their way north on top of freight trains. She also consulted academic studies and books about immigration.

The Los Angeles Times has a strong preference for naming the subjects of its articles in full. It has done so with two members of Enrique’s family, his girlfriend and a friend. But The Times has decided to identify Enrique, his mother, father and two sisters by publishing only their first names and to withhold the maternal or paternal name, or both, of six relatives as well as some details of Enrique’s employment. A database review by Times researcher Nona Yates showed that publishing their full names would make Enrique readily identifiable to authorities. In 1998, the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer profiled an illegal immigrant whom it fully identified by name and workplace. Authorities arrested the subject of the profile, four co-workers and a customer for being undocumented immigrants. The Times’ decision in this instance is intended to allow Enrique and his family to live their lives as they would have had they not provided information for this story.

Scenes from Enrique’s life in Honduras with his mother and sister, including his mother’s departure: written from interviews with Enrique; his mother, Lourdes; his aunts Mirian Liliana Aguilera and Rosa Amalia; his maternal grandmother, Agueda Amalia Valladares; and his mother’s cousin Maria Edelmira Sanchez Mejia. Quotation in which Enrique asks his mother to look at things: from Lourdes and Maria Edelmira.

Lourdes’ departing words to Enrique: from Lourdes and Enrique.

Enrique’s reaction to his mother’s departure: from his paternal grandmother, Maria Marcos. The boy’s remarks asking about his mother come from Marcos.

Estimate that at least 48,000 children enter the United States from Central America and Mexico each year, illegally and without either parent: This total, for 2001, is reached by adding the following numbers, which are the latest available. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service says it detained 2,401 Central American children. The INS has no figure for Mexican children, but Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the INS detained 12,019 of them. Scholars, including Robert Bach, former INS executive associate commissioner for policy, planning and programs, estimate that about 33,600 children are not caught.

For 2000, the total was 59,000.

Reasons children travel to the United States and information that many come in search of their mothers: from Roy de la Cerda Jr., the lead counselor at International Educational Services Inc., an INS-contracted detention shelter for unaccompanied minors in Los Fresnos, Texas. His information is corroborated by Aldo Pumariega, principal at the Bellagio Road Newcomer School; Bradley Pilon, a psychologist who counsels immigrant students in the Los Angeles Unified School District; and Rafael Martinez, director of Casa YMCA, an immigrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico.

Children bringing photos of themselves in mothers’ arms: from Ralph Morales, pastor of the End of the Road ministry in Harlingen, Texas.

Estimate that half of Central American children ride trains without smugglers: from Haydee Sanchez, executive director of Youth Empowerment Services, a nonprofit Los Angeles group that helps immigrants; Olga Cantarero, a coordinator for the nonprofit Casa de Proyecto Libertad in Harlingen, Texas, which provides legal help to INS child detainees; and De la Cerda.

Details about travel through Mexico: from immigrant children in Mexico and the United States and from children in INS detention facilities in Texas and California. Included are Nazario’s observations as she traveled with children on Mexican freight trains. The University of Houston study about violence to children is titled “Potentially Traumatic Events Among Unaccompanied Migrant Children From Central America” and was published in 1997.

Encountering children as young as 7: from Pedro Mendoza Garcia, a railroad security guard at a depot near Nuevo Laredo. Remarks of 9-year-old boy searching for his mother who is in San Francisco: from Haydee Sanchez in Los Angeles. Police placed him in her care until she found his mother.

Typical age of children: from INS data and immigrant shelter workers in Mexico.

How children recall their mothers: from interviews with several of them, including Ermis Galeano, 16, and Mery Gabriela Posas Izaguirre, 15, questioned in Mexico on their way to find their mothers in the United States.

Enrique’s life with his father: from interviews with Enrique; his paternal grandmother, Maria; his father, Luis; and his stepmother, Suyapa Alvarez. Enrique’s question about his mother’s coming for him: from Maria.

Lourdes’ journey and her early years as an immigrant: from her and members of her family. Lourdes’ remark about feeding another child: from Lourdes. Grandmother Maria’s assurance that Lourdes would be home soon: from Maria, confirmed by Enrique.

Enrique’s father’s new family and how he left Enrique: from Enrique, his father and his grandmother Maria. Enrique’s statement to his sister Belky about how his father did not love him anymore: from Belky and Enrique. Maria said Enrique said the same words to her.

Belky’s reaction to Mother’s Day and her mother’s absence: from interviews with Lourdes, Enrique, Belky and his aunt Rosa Amalia. Belky’s commiseration with a friend whose mother left her behind: from Belky.

Enrique’s life with his paternal grandmother: from her and Enrique and from Nazario’s visits to the home of the grandmother and the home of Enrique’s father, as well as her visits to the market where Enrique sold spices. The amount of money Lourdes sent Enrique each month came from Lourdes and was corroborated by Enrique, his grandmother Maria and his aunt Ana Lucia. Happy birthday wish: from Maria. Quotation from Maria urging him to earn money: from Maria and Enrique. What Enrique shouted as he sold juice and spices: from Maria, confirmed by Enrique. Words Enrique wrote on a Mother’s Day card to his grandmother: from Maria, confirmed by Enrique.

Lourdes’ infrequent calls and her life in Long Beach: from Lourdes and members of her family. Quotation from cousin Maria Edelmira when Lourdes phoned after one year: from the cousin and confirmed by Lourdes. Belky’s reaction to having a new sister: from Belky, confirmed by Enrique and their aunt Rosa Amalia.

Enrique’s phone conversations with his mother: from Enrique, Lourdes and her cousin Maria Edelmira. Enrique’s questions about when his mother would come home and his statements about wanting to be with her: from Enrique, confirmed by Lourdes. Remarks from Lourdes’ mother urging her to return to Honduras: from Lourdes and her mother, Agueda Amalia. Lourdes’ concern that she might have to return without money to build a house for her family: from Lourdes, confirmed by her mother. Nazario, accompanied by Lourdes’ sister Ana Lucia, visited the white house with purple trim.

Lourdes’ efforts to become a legal resident and her pledge to return for Christmas: from Lourdes, Enrique and Belky. Promise by Lourdes that she would return for Christmas: from Enrique, confirmed by Lourdes. Enrique’s comments to Belky about needing to be with his mother: from Enrique, confirmed by his sister. Questions Enrique asked about how his mother reached the United States and about Mexican trains: from Enrique.

Enrique’s comments when he realized that Lourdes would not keep her promises to return: from Enrique, confirmed by his mother.

Lourdes’ questions about risking her children’s safety to have them at her side: from Lourdes. Her realization that she could not afford a smuggler: from Lourdes. The smugglers’ fees are from immigrant women and Robert Foss, legal director of the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles. Enrique’s quotation that he wanted to be with Lourdes and her reply: from Enrique and Lourdes.

Enrique’s problems at school and with his paternal grandmother: from conversations with Enrique, Belky, their grandmother Maria and aunt Mirian. Comments Enrique made standing on his teacher’s desk: from Enrique and Belky, who was told of the incident at the time by Enrique. Statement by teacher about being thankful that Enrique was graduating: from Enrique’s aunt Mirian, who learned about the remark from Enrique and his paternal grandmother, Maria. Remark by Maria urging Enrique to stay away from bad boys and his reply: from Maria, confirmed by Enrique. Maria’s threat to send Enrique away and his response: from Maria. Her plea for him to bury her: from Maria.

Description of the Tegucigalpa dump and its scavengers: from Nazario’s observations and interviews with children at the dump.

Lourdes’ life in North Carolina and her assertion that it was friendlier than California: from Lourdes.

Enrique’s life with uncle Marco, Marco’s death and Enrique’s departure from his uncle’s home: from Enrique, his uncle Carlos Orlando Turcios Ramos and his grandmother Agueda Amalia. Quotation by uncle Marco asking Enrique to work with him forever: from Enrique; other family members confirmed that uncle Marco made such remarks. Amount Lourdes spent on her brothers’ funerals: from Lourdes.

Quotation by uncle Marco’s girlfriend telling Enrique to leave: from Enrique. Other family members said Enrique recounted these words to them shortly afterward. Enrique’s question at his maternal grandmother’s doorstep: from the grandmother, Enrique and his aunt Mirian.

Enrique’s life with his maternal grandmother and life in the hut: from Enrique; the grandmother, Agueda Amalia; aunt Mirian; uncle Carlos; and aunt Rosa Amalia. Descriptions of the grandmother’s home and the hut are from Nazario’s observations. Statement by Agueda Amalia that the family needed food: from Agueda Amalia. Enrique’s glue sniffing and his tears for uncle Marcos: from aunt Mirian, confirmed by Enrique.

Life in “El Infiernito”: from Nazario’s visit to the neighborhood accompanied by teacher Jenery Adialinda Castillo.

Enrique’s drug habits: from interviews with Enrique; his sister Belky; cousins Tania Ninoska Turcios and Karla Roxana Turcios; girlfriend Maria Isabel Caria Duron; her aunt Gloria Cuello Duron; as well as Enrique’s aunt Rosa Amalia, uncle Carlos, aunt Mirian and Enrique’s friend and fellow drug user, Jose del Carmen Bustamante. Nazario accompanied Tegucigalpa priest Eduardo Martin on his evening rounds to feed glue-sniffing homeless children.

El Gato’s description of train rides through Mexico: from Enrique. Quotations by girlfriend Maria Isabel when she thought Enrique smelled like paint fumes: from her, confirmed by Enrique. How Enrique tried to hide his drug habits: from Maria Isabel, Belky, aunt Mirian, aunt Rosa Amalia, uncle Carlos and aunt Ana Lucia, confirmed by Enrique. Ana Lucia said she called him “drogo.”

Enrique’s drug-induced hallucinations: recounting of the notion that he was being chased is from Maria Isabel and Enrique; that he saw gnomes is from Belky and Enrique; that he saw ants is from friend Jose and Enrique; that he saw Winnie the Pooh is from Jose and Enrique; that he couldn’t feel the ground, his legs wouldn’t respond, houses moved and the floor fell is from Belky and Enrique. That his hands trembled and he coughed black phlegm: from Belky, confirmed by Enrique. Both are symptoms of glue sniffing, according to Harvey Weiss, executive director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, and Jorge Reanos, a caseworker at Agape Center, which treats glue-sniffing children in Honduras.

Enrique’s attempt to reach his mother in 1999: from Enrique and Jose del Carmen Bustamante, his companion on the journey. Dialogue between Enrique and a guard at Guatemala-Mexico border: from Jose, confirmed by Enrique.

Exchange with drug dealer and the jewelry theft: from Enrique, Belky, their cousin Tania, aunt Rosa Amalia and uncle Carlos. At Enrique’s interrogation, quotations by Rosa Amalia are from Rosa Amalia, uncle Carlos and other family members present. Enrique’s comments to the police that he did not want to commit the crime are from Belky, who heard the exchange after Enrique motioned her over to the police car. The words were confirmed by Enrique. The officer’s questions about whether the family wanted to have Enrique locked up come from uncle Carlos, Rosa Amalia, Belky and Tania.

Enrique’s deteriorating behavior: from Enrique, corroborated by Maria Isabel, Belky and other family members. Aunt Ana Lucia’s role as the breadwinner and her accusation that Enrique was an economic drain: from Ana Lucia and grandmother Agueda Amalia. Both said Enrique was hurting the family’s reputation.

Arguing with aunt Ana Lucia: from Enrique, Belky, aunt Ana Lucia, grandmother Agueda Amalia, aunt Rosa Amalia, girlfriend Maria Isabel and Lourdes’ cousin Maria Edelmira. The words spoken between Enrique and his aunt Ana Lucia are from the shared recollections of those present--Ana Lucia, Enrique and Agueda Amalia. In addition, Maria Isabel and Rosa Amalia heard large portions of the exchange.

Sentiment by Agueda Amalia that Enrique should leave: expressed to Nazario by the grandmother. She said she had expressed the same sentiment to Enrique before he left.

Enrique’s hallucination about his mother’s death: from girlfriend Maria Isabel. He described the hallucination to her as he was having it. Enrique’s question about why his mother left him: from Maria Isabel, confirmed by Enrique.

Enrique’s shame: from Maria Isabel and his friend Jose del Carmen Bustamante, corroborated by Enrique. Statement by Enrique to Jose expressing love for his mother: from Jose, confirmed by Enrique.

Sale of belongings: from Enrique, Belky and their grandmother Agueda Amalia.

Enrique’s exchange with his father: from Enrique and his paternal grandmother, Maria, whom he told about the exchange moments afterward. The dialogue also was confirmed by Enrique’s father, Luis.

Enrique’s farewell to his paternal grandmother: from Enrique, his grandmother Maria and his father. The words of Enrique’s exchange with her: from Maria and Enrique.

His farewell to his sister: from Enrique and Belky. The words of the exchange: from Belky, confirmed by Enrique.

Enrique’s hope that Lourdes would accept him: from Jose, confirmed by Enrique.

Enrique’s words that he would persevere for one year: from Enrique.

His departure: from Enrique, Belky, Maria Isabel and aunt Rosa Amalia.

Return to Chapter One

More to Read

Convictions in Mexico fail to quell demands for justice in massacres of migrants

Aug. 31, 2024

Column: The death of California’s Spanish-language newspapers leaves a void. ‘It gets filled with trash’

July 24, 2024

Photos: A visual report from the border following President Biden’s rollout of asylum restrictions

June 6, 2024

Sign up for Essential California

The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Trump’s Haitian immigrant comments create a storm in Florida

Sept. 13, 2024

In closely divided Nevada, Harris and Trump battle for economic hearts

World & Nation

He’s training the world’s next microchip leaders. Here’s why he worries

North Korea discloses uranium enrichment facility as Kim calls for more nuclear weapons

Sept. 12, 2024

Most Read in World & Nation

Sex tourism in Indonesia sells itself as Islamic temporary marriage

Sept. 11, 2024

An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight

Mexico’s president announces ‘pause’ in relationship with U.S. Embassy after criticism from ambassador

Aug. 27, 2024

Long a Republican state, Louisiana is redder than ever under new governor

June 21, 2024

• Member Login
• Library Patron Login
• Get a Free Issue of our Ezine! Claim

Summary and Reviews of Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio

Enrique's Journey

• BookBrowse Review:
• Critics' Consensus:
• Readers' Rating:
• First Published:
• Feb 21, 2006, 320 pages
• Jan 2007, 336 pages

• Biography & Memoir
• History, Current Affairs and Religion
• Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean
• Contemporary
• Adult-YA Crossover Fiction
• Immigrants & Expats
• Latinx Authors
• Publication Information
• Write a Review
• Buy This Book

About This Book

• Book Club Questions

Book Summary

A true story from award-winning journalist Sonia Nazario recounting the odyssey of a Honduran boy who braves hardship and peril to reach his mother in the United States.

In this astonishing true story, award-winning journalist Sonia Nazario recounts the unforgettable odyssey of a Honduran boy who braves unimaginable hardship and peril to reach his mother in the United States. When Enrique is five years old, his mother, Lourdes, too poor to feed her children, leaves Honduras to work in the United States. The move allows her to send money back home to Enrique so he can eat better and go to school past the third grade. Lourdes promises Enrique she will return quickly. But she struggles in America. Years pass. He begs for his mother to come back. Without her, he becomes lonely and troubled. When she calls, Lourdes tells him to be patient. Enrique despairs of ever seeing her again. After eleven years apart, he decides he will go find her. Enrique sets off alone from Tegucigalpa, with little more than a slip of paper bearing his mother's North Carolina telephone number. Without money, he will make the dangerous and illegal trek up the length of Mexico the only way he can – clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains. With gritty determination and a deep longing to be by his mother's side, Enrique travels through hostile, unknown worlds. Each step of the way through Mexico, he and other migrants, many of them children, are hunted like animals. Gangsters control the tops of the trains. Bandits rob and kill migrants up and down the tracks. Corrupt cops all along the route are out to fleece and deport them. To evade Mexican police and immigration authorities, they must jump onto and off the moving boxcars they call El Tren de la Muerte- The Train of Death. Enrique pushes forward using his wit, courage, and hope - and the kindness of strangers. It is an epic journey, one thousands of immigrant children make each year to find their mothers in the United States. Based on the Los Angeles Times newspaper series that won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for feature writing and another for feature photography, Enrique's Journey is the timeless story of families torn apart, the yearning to be together again, and a boy who will risk his life to find the mother he loves.

The Boy Left Behind

The boy does not understand. His mother is not talking to him. She will not even look at him. Enrique has no hint of what she is going to do. Lourdes knows. She understands, as only a mother can, the terror she is about to inflict, the ache Enrique will feel, and fi­nally the emptiness. What will become of him? Already he will not let anyone else feed or bathe him. He loves her deeply, as only a son can. With Lourdes, he is openly affectionate. "Dame pico, mami. Give me a kiss, Mom," he pleads, over and over, pursing his lips. With Lourdes, he is a chatterbox. "Mira, mami. Look, Mom," he says softly, asking her questions about everything he sees. With­out her, he is so shy it is crushing. Slowly, she walks out onto the porch. Enrique clings to her pant leg. Beside her, he is tiny. Lourdes loves him so much she cannot bring herself to say a word. She cannot carry his pic­ture. It would melt her resolve. She cannot hug him. He is five years old...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

• "Beyond the Book" articles
• Free books to read and review (US only)
• Find books by time period, setting & theme
• Read-alike suggestions by book and author
• Book club discussions
• and much more!
• Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
• More about membership!

Media Reviews

Reader reviews, bookbrowse review.

Few would disagree that illegal immigration is a problem for the USA and for other Western countries, but it's all too easy to think of it as a statistical problem, not the human problem that it is. At the end of the day Enrique's Journey is not about illegal immigration or people stealing jobs from USA workers, it's about families, and the desperately hard choices that too many have to make... continued

Full Review (306 words) This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access, become a member today .

(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team ).

Write your own review!

Beyond the Book

Quick Facts (from Enrique's Journey )

• About 700,000 immigrants enter the United States illegally each year. In recent years the demographics have changed with many more single mothers arriving.
• Nearly three-quarters of the 48,000 children who migrate alone to "el Norte" through Central America and Mexico each year are in search of a single mother who has left them behind. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the median age of child migrants is 15; the majority are male; some are as young as 7 years.
• In Los Angeles, 82% of live-in nannies and one in four housecleaners are mothers who have at least one child in their home country.
• According to the Center for Immigration Studies, illegal workers donate $6.4 billion ...

This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.

Read-Alikes

• Genres & Themes

If you liked Enrique's Journey, try these:

We Are Not from Here

by Jenny Torres Sanchez

Published 2021

About this book

More by this author

Winner of the 2020 BookBrowse Award for Best Young Adult Novel A poignant novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border, inspired by current events.

A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves

by Jason DeParle

Published 2020

The definitive chronicle of our new age of global migration, told through the multi-generational saga of a Filipino family, by a veteran New York Times reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Books with similar themes

BookBrowse Book Club

Members Recommend

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

Discover the bestselling Japanese novel celebrating the healing power of cats.

Solve this clue:

K U with T J

and be entered to win..

Book Club Giveaway!

Before the Mango Ripens by Afabwaje Kurian

Both epic and intimate, this debut announces a brilliant new talent for readers of Imbolo Mbue and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

• study guides
• lesson plans
• homework help

Enrique's Journey Summary & Study Guide

Enrique's Journey Summary & Study Guide Description

Enrique's Journey is a tale of risk, courage, love and danger. Enrique's mother, Lourdes, leaves him and his sister, Belky, behind in Honduras in order to go to the United States. Lourdes leaves her children because she needs to make money to feed them and allow them to finish school.

Over the next several years, Enrique bounces from relative to relative. He begins sniffing glue and finds a girlfriend, Maria Isabel, who eventually gives birth to a daughter, Jasmin. All the while, Enrique dreams of following his mother to the United States. He loves her and misses her and he feels abandoned. Finally, at 17 years old, Enrique leaves Honduras to travel across Mexico on top of trains. Aside from the risks of jumping onto and off of moving trains, Enrique comes up against gangsters, bandits and corrupt law enforcement officials. Along the way, gang members beat him and he goes through periods of not being able to find enough food. He's deported several times across the Mexican border, but every time, he tries again.

Finally, Enrique makes it to Nuevo Laredo, which sits on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. He can see Texas across the river -- as well as American immigration agents who will send him right back to Mexico if they catch him crossing illegally into the United States.

Enrique lives in Nuevo Laredo for weeks and works washing cars to earn enough money to contact his family in Honduras. He's lost his mother's phone number and has no way to find her without it. When he finally reaches his mother, she arranges to pay a smuggler to get Enrique to Orlando, Florida, where her boyfriend picks him up and drives him back to his and Lourdes' home in North Carolina.

During her years in the United States, Lourdes has given birth to a third child with a man who has since disappeared. She's moved from Los Angeles to North Carolina and she lives with her boyfriend, daughter Diana and six others in a trailer. Enrique and his mother are happy to see each other, but in time their relationship deteriorates. He still resents her for leaving and she's angry because she doesn't feel he's paying her enough respect. They fight often and eventually Enrique moves out on his own.

The family eventually moves to Florida. Enrique goes back to North Carolina for a while before moving back to Florida. He pays for a smuggler to bring Maria Isabel to the United States, and a few months later, they bring Jasmin to live with them.

Enrique can't shake his drug and drinking habits, which lead to his arrest and near deportation. His daughter testifies in a trial about a crime she witnessed and receives a U Visa, which allows her and her family to stay legally in the United States.

Author Sonia Nazario chose Enrique as her subject because he represents the typical teen making the trek from Central America to the United States in search of their mothers. Nazario's goal in writing the book was to discourage mothers from leaving their children and also to discourage children from following their mothers, due to the danger. The book explores the issues behind the mothers' need to leave in the first place and possible solutions. There aren't enough jobs in their home countries that allow them to provide the most basic necessities for their children -- food, clothing, shelter and school. Going to the United States to work and send money back home is the only solution they can think of.

Poverty is the main theme in this book. It is what drives the actions of almost all the players. Mothers, and in some cases fathers, leave their children because they need to find a way to feed them. There is a stark, sharp difference between the haves and have nots in Honduras and very few opportunities for those who have little to improve their financial situations. Women have to choose between staying with men who abuse them or cheat on them and leaving and not being able to care for their children. The situation often requires children to leave school in order to work with their mothers just so they can eat.

So the mothers leave and the children left behind live a slightly better life than their peers. But the children feel abandoned and they resent their mothers. Several times in the book, someone says that there is no replacement for a mother's love. However, the people who say this are people who didn't have to spend a significant or memorable part of their lives without enough food. Some even finished school and started their own businesses thanks to their mothers' money.

Poverty is also a large factor in young men joining gangs and attacking and robbing the migrants trying to get through Mexico. Local officials resort to the same behavior in order to give their own families a better life. It seems that all negative behavior is a consequence of someone not having enough.

Drugs play a vital role in Enrique's life from early on. The glue sniffing is his way of coping and he doesn't have the emotional tools to try anything else. His mother has left him and then his father chooses a woman over his own son. Enrique has a lot of pain and abandonment in his life, so he looks for an escape.

But even once Enrique is with his mother again, when he has a girlfriend and child he loves, he can't stop the drinking and drugs. He still holds onto his hurt and rebellious nature, and by now he has developed a physical addiction. While he languished on the banks of the Rio Grande, the glue sniffing helped him feel less hungry when he couldn't get food. That and alcohol helped him forget how helpless he often felt while trying to raise enough money to reach his mother and hopefully get a smuggler so he could get to the United States. When Enrique felt alone, the drugs were always there for him.

In the book's prologue, author Sonia Nazario compares her family's legal immigration from Argentina to the United States with the illegal immigration of the people who are the book's subject. Her experience was much different from her subjects'. Nazario's family arrived on an airplane and there was no danger in the move. In contrast, Enrique and his family risked their lives to get to the United States and lived in fear of deportation from the time they arrived.

Nazario explores many facets of illegal immigration. There are pros and cons both for the immigrants and the country they've moved to. United States citizens are divided about what they want to see happen with this issue. Some are for full amnesty, seeing the immigrants as an asset to the country. Others believe they are a drain and lawbreakers and are in favor of the immigrants being deported. Even the immigrants themselves can't agree on which is the right answer. At one point, Enrique says if he were a citizen, he wouldn't want illegal immigrants in the country, but then he changes his mind and says they provide a service the country's citizens can't or won't.

There are statistics to support both sides -- from the immigrants being particularly hard workers that are assets to businesses to the cost of educating them or providing them with public assistance because they make so little money. Regardless of whether the immigrants are good or bad for the United States, they continue coming. They need to do so in order to provide for their families back home. Lourdes says she likes the United States and will never return to Honduras. It's cleaner and safer in the United States.

Read more from the Study Guide

FOLLOW BOOKRAGS:

Enrique's Journey

39 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-5

Chapter 6-Epilogue

Key Figures

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Immigration and Family Separation

Enrique’s Journey addresses the impact of immigration on families. Thus, it provides an alternative to common immigration narratives, which focus on ideological talking points designed to win political arguments. Studies show that an increasing number of unaccompanied minors are crossing the US-Mexico border. Like Enrique , many of these children undertake the trip north to find their mothers. Poverty and high divorce rates in Central America and Mexico leave many women unable to provide for their children. These women face hard choices: They can either remain in their home countries and watch their children suffer or immigrate to the US and send money home to support them.

Featured Collections

Books on U.S. History

View Collection

Contemporary Books on Social Justice

Immigrants & Refugees

Inspiring Biographies

Politics & Government

Required Reading Lists

Enrique's Journey

By sonia nazario, enrique's journey summary and analysis of seeking mercy.

Near a small rail side town in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, Enrique hobbles up towards a field hand. He is severely beaten, and dressed only in his underwear. The field hand gives him clothes and water, while women from the town give him money. A mayor from a neighboring town arrives in a pickup truck, and takes Enrique to a local hospital. Though the task irks him, the mayor knows it costs more to bury a dead migrant than to pay the $60 county fee to have him treated by a doctor. The mayor has already buried eight migrants in the last eighteen months.

Enrique agrees to go to the hospital, but recoils when he sees the mayor’s driver, whom he recognizes as someone who robbed him the day before. Nazario explains that the Mexican judicial police routinely stop trains in order to rob and beat migrants. Corrupt police have even been known to kidnap migrants, and hold them for ransom from family in the United States.

Nazario rewinds her narrative to explain how Enrique ended up here. Enrique has now made six attempts to cross through Mexico towards the United States. His first attempt was explained in the previous section - he and his friend Jóse were apprehended by la migra (Mexican immigration authorities) after thirty-one days of travel and then deported on what they call the El Bus de Lágrimos (Bus of Tears). Over 100,000 migrants ride this bus annually when being returned to the border with Guatemala.

On his second attempt, Enrique was caught on the trains and deported. His third attempt was ceded after only two days in Mexico. On his fourth attempt, he was caught sleeping on top of a mausoleum in a graveyard.

His fifth attempt was also short lived - he was caught only a week into his journey. His sixth was almost successful. Enrique traveled 1,564 miles to reach the Rio Grande, which marks the border between Mexico and the U.S. He was eating alone next to the railroad tracks when la migra found him and sent him to a Mexican detention center called El Corralón.

Each time he is deported, Enrique knows he must quickly reenter Mexico to avoid the dangers of the lawless Guatemalan border towns. Enrique prefers to cross the river in El Carmen , which he does on his seventh attempt. He reaches the trains and begins to ride, but is soon attacked by six men at night. They rob him of his clothes and money, and savagely beat him.

One of the men strangles him with the sleeve of a jacket, while another beats him with a club. As he is being accosted, Enrique sees the slip of paper with his mother’s number flutter away. When the man strangling him slips, Enrique stands quickly and flees them, jumping from the top of the train to a lower level, and then off the train altogether. He crawls to the safety of a mango tree, where he sleeps for twelve hours.

Enrique is taken to a medical facility, where his injuries are treated. His left eye lid is damaged and may never recover. His back is bruised, and there are several lesions on his right leg. Three teeth are broken, and he has an open wound on his head. The doctor tells Enrique that he is lucky. Every month, ten migrants fall from the train or are beaten by gangsters and are then treated at this facility. Other migrants are mutilated by the train, losing their limbs in the process.

Enrique leaves the hospital after one day of care. As he hobbles down the street, headed back to the trains, men and women give him pesos out of pity. Enrique flags down a car and asks for a ride, but the driver proves to be an immigration officer and Enrique soon finds himself on the bus back to Guatemala. Although he has failed again, Enrique remains determined to reach the United States.

Back in Honduras, María Isabel waits for Enrique to return. She blames herself for his departure and grows thin and ill, wondering whether she is really pregnant. María Isabel quits her job and decides to also brave the journey north with a friend, in search of Enrique.

Cruelty and suffering are underlying motifs of the story, and are particularly notable in this chapter. The cruelty of the gangsters, the bandits, la migra , and others are recognized by the migrants, even though they discuss these issues in hushed tones. Not only do they need to fear these forces, but they also have to fear retaliation if they complain too loudly. Their bodies and spirits are battered by this journey, and ultimately, they are alone for its duration. Any friends made on the trip could betray them or get lost on the journey. And if injured, a migrant might fall by the wayside and not be found for days.

One might expect a work of this sort to focus on institutions, but Nazario gives equal focus to the bandits who exploit the migration trend for their own benefit. She uses great detail in describing the attack upon Enrique, and notes that the men would have killed him even after robbing him had he not escaped. Their violence and cruelty is unjustified, and reflects darker impulses than simply greed and poverty. Perhaps the most upsetting fact about Enrique's attack is what he learns in the clinic: he should consider himself lucky, since many would have died in his circumstances.

When Central American migrants are injured in Mexico, they have no recourse but charity. They recover at the mercy of the hospitals or the Red Cross, all of which is a problem because of limited resources. These institutions often lack necessary funds, medicine, or trained physicians to properly treat the extensive injury the migrants suffer. Some, even those who have lost limbs, are released from the hospital much too soon. Enrique is evidence of this. There are also private institutions - one example Nazario will later explore is The Shelter of Jesus the Good Shepherd, run by Olga Sánchez Martinez.

The suffering and deaths of these migrants are commemorated along the railways by a plethora of border art. A form of activism, the art usually includes images of the cross, which symbolize martyrdom and death. More political messages attacking immigration authorities and corrupt police are painted across coffins, along walls, and even on the trains. Border art murals extend as far inland as California. In many ways, the art also gives a voice to these many immigrant who die alone, and have little recourse to individuality while struggling through this journey. Their trek requires them to be alone for its duration, and so small gestures like this art attempt to remind them that their lives are being acknowledged.

Enrique continues to be a protagonist with which the reader can empathize. Certainly, he is not perfect, as his behavior in Honduras revealed, but he shows his heroic perseverance in this chapter. Despite his injuries and the daunting prospect of having to attempt the journey for the eighth time, Enrique maintains hope of his success. Hope, a dominant theme within the text, serves Enrique well. Even while aboard the Bus of Tears - a name with clear symbolic quality - he declares he will not give up. His last ride on the Bus of Tears serves as a type of a climax to this first act of the story - our protagonist has faced a severe beating, but recommits himself. Even tears cannot stop him. He must go it alone, but he is ready for that.

Despite his injuries, or perhaps because of them, he feels more determined than ever to get to the United States. Many migrants express their desire to persevere despite overwhelming odds, which characterizes the true extent of their suffering back home.

Enrique’s Journey Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Enrique’s Journey is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

WHAT IS ENRIQUE FORCCED TO DO UPON RINALY REACHING THE AMERICAN SIDE OF THE RIO GRANDE

In order to remain undetected, Enrique and the others must wait for an hour in a half in a freezing creek into which a sewage treatment plant dumps refuse.

Why is crossing the river so difficult?

For Enrique, crossing the river by himself is dangerous. He cannot swim and if he's caught, he will be deported.

They are put in detention centers and sent back. The detention centers ar cramped full of crooks and people that exploit them.

Study Guide for Enrique’s Journey

Enrique's Journey study guide contains a biography of Sonia Nazario, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Enrique's Journey
• Enrique's Journey Summary
• Character List

Essays for Enrique’s Journey

Enrique's Journey essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario.

• Criticism, Sympathy, and Encouragement: Depicting the American Dream in 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Enrique's Journey'

Lesson Plan for Enrique’s Journey

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Enrique's Journey
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Enrique's Journey Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Enrique’s Journey

• Introduction

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

Enrique’s Journey

Sonia nazario.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.