Escaping Juárez: Part 2

There was no way Gloria could ever put the death of her parents behind her.  Instead, their deaths became the necessary air, the oxygen giving life to the growing fire within.  The loss of her father, while not tolerable, was manageable because of her mother's continued dependence.  Once they were both gone, the recurring thoughts of the circumstances which brought about their demise drove her passion and at the same time gave her a prolonged sense of their presence beyond their worldly existence.  She was not exactly certain of her path, her goals or the methods of obtaining them.  All she knew is that something had to change and she was going to be the catalyst.

It wasn't until after hiring a professional cleaner to remove all residual evidence of her mother's passing and a glass repairman to replace the broken window of the shop that she realized, "This is my store now."  It would remain vacant she decided, since she never had the desire to be there in the first place and no longer had her mother as a reason to keep it operational. She immediately put the store up for sale, all items and inventory included.  It was a successful business, relatively speaking, and it wouldn't be long before someone would solicit its purchase.  [A small "For Sale" sign hangs in the front window with a chain and lock across the front doors, securing the business.] 

Escaping Juárez: Part 1

Ciudad Juárez, México. El Paso del Norte, as the Spanish originally referred to it, has been a gateway through the southern Rocky Mountains for centuries. The first wood bridge crossing the Rio Grande in the 18th century handled local commerce, general foot traffic and the Spanish slave trade. [Spanish soldiers in uniform and local trader carrying a satchel of corn on his burro crossing the bridge.] It wasn't until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, establishing the border between the United States and México, that Ciudad Juárez and El Paso Norte would gain new importance.


Ever since there has been a border, there has been someone guarding it and for as long as there have been guards, there have been ways to get around them. Today, in our time, some cross the barren desert, risking dehydration. Others stow away inside refrigerated cargo trucks, suffering the threat of deep freeze. Many cross legally, with valid documentation, never to return to their homeland. What is it that drives them to risk their very lives? Are they simply reaching for a better future? No... that's not it. They're fleeing from the bloodbath they call, "home." [A small family staring into your eyes with a deep look of desperation, helplessness and death on their faces.]