en la radio de nuevo

Today we recorded a program that will air Friday July 2 at 10am on 102.3FM (you can stream live at www.ladecolor.com) with two abuelas who have participated in my study and who I invited to be in servicio jesuita de migrantes’ radio program "La Mochila Viajera". Doñas Marbeya y Angela came to the studio of Radio Universidad at the UCA and shared their emotionally-moving testimonies as grandmothers raising children of mother migrants. There were several moments where their voices choked up with tears, as they described feeling the loss of their daugthers and the double-cargo of raising their grandchildren. They also talked about witnessing their grandchildren’s sadness at not having their mothers close, and how "this sadness passes to us". Often, when grandmothers in migrant-sending households are mentioned at all (in academic or public discourse), they are referred to as solely or primarily interested in receiving the financial remittances sent by migrants. Our radio program showed the other side of the experiences of transnational families, the way migrants’ absence leaves feelings of loss that, in Doña Angela’s words, "aren’t replaced by money". This story most certainly will be central to my dissertation...