Grandma Juliana and grandson Bryan. Photo by Bea Gallardo.
From Bea Gallardo, a motion picture and television producer I have worked with in Guatemala, comes word of a very cool project she’s working on with Guatemalan director Luis Argueta: a documentary about the journey of a group of Guatemalan children who live in the United States, and who travel from the US to Guatemala to meet their grandparents for the first time.
Today in the United States there are 4.5 million US citizen children who have at least one undocumented parent. Even though they are entitled to the same rights and freedoms as all Americans, many of these children are growing up with the constant fear of familial separation. The lack of a familial context – never having met their grandparents or other family members – negatively impacts their welfare and that of society.
In the process of filming several of my most recent documentaries, I have witnessed the negative consequences of familial separation caused by a broken immigration system. The ones most affected by this separation are the children. During one of my trips to the Midwest, I met Lisa Kremer who told me about Abuelos y Nietos Juntos, a project of family reunification between the sons and daughters of Guatemalan immigrants in Worthington, Minnesota and their grandparents in San Marcos, Guatemala. I was inspired by the idea and decided to make a film about the trip of these kids and their families.
Abuelos y Nietos Juntos: Two Generations Together tells the story of the transformational journey of a group of US citizen children who travel 3,000 miles, from Minnesota to Guatemala, to visit their parents’ homeland and meet their grandparents for the first time. After being separated for nearly 2 decades, these families are able to share stories, strengthen cultural traditions and make memories.
My crew and I were able to document this emotional pilgrimage. By interviewing the children, parents and grandparents before, during, and after the trip we were able to capture the entire experience.
We are now hard at work editing the documentary and we need your help to finish it and share it with the world.
Here’s their Kickstarter: “Abuelos y Nietos Juntos: Two Generations Together
by Luis Argueta.”
Grandma Dolores with grandchildren Bradley & Yorli. Photo by Bea Gallardo.