Since February 2020, Adolfo Luna has not worked. The COVID pandemic – 19 ended his presentations with his northern group, of which three families lived, his own and those of his two married children.
“2020 was the worst year of my life economically and morally. Due to my immigration status, I am not entitled to unemployment or any benefits. Nor have I received the economic stimulus checks. ”
Adolfo emigrated from Guadalajara, Mexico to Riverside County in the year 2000 with his wife, and their three older children. Already settled in this country, they had a fourth child who is now 18 years old. His eldest daughter of 32 achieved US citizenship, his children of 29 and 26 years are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Only Adolfo and his wife live in the shadows in the city of Hemet, California.
Musician by profession, Adolfo founded in the 2007 the northern group “Desespera2” from which his family and that of his children lived 29 and 26 years, since they are both married.
“My three sons and I played in the group. My wife was in charge of the contracts and administrative matters. ”
When the 2020 started, she says they saw it as her year to excel as a group and succeed.
“We were doing very well, we had work on weekends until the pandemic hit and everything changed. As soon as the coronavirus was known, people began to cancel us and to date they do not call us. The truth is that we are also very scared because people under the influence of alcohol approach you and do not respect social distance. ”
His fear of catching COVID grew even more when the manager of his group died due to the pandemic.
Adolfo says that his children with DACA have had to look for work in construction to support their families. “Not always, sometimes it works out, other times it doesn’t.”
But he, without work and income, entered a much more difficult situation. “The first thing I did was sell the instruments and the musical equipment.”
Later he and his wife began to sell tejuino con snow – a traditional drink from Guadalajara, Mexico – and began to do well economically, although not for long.
“A person beat us to the permit of the City in the place where we sold, and the police took us away and did not let us work. I am quite disappointed in the Riverside County government and authorities. It is easier to get a permit to sell marijuana than to sell food in a street stall ”, he says desperate for not finding a way to earn a living.
He says that undocumented immigrants in these times pandemic, have been the most mistreated. “We have no help from anyone. The only support we got was the $ 500 from Governor Newsom that they gave us through the TODEC Law Center of Riverside. ”
Of 52 years old, Adolfo says that due to his immigration status, he has not been able to get a job in another activity. “ We have managed to survive and pay the mortgage on the house with loans from relatives. My wife takes care until the last penny “.
And sometimes, she admits that she is sad to see that other families that have had access to government supporters for COVID, waste money on superfluous things while he and his wife struggle every day to put food on the table and pay their bills.
Without hesitation, he says that the pandemic has brought to his life much anguish and frustration.
However, in the midst of the drama of not having a job, he is encouraged by the possibility that President-elect Joe Biden will pass an immigration reform that will allow him to obtain the residence and a work permit. “It is a ray of hope that keeps us excited during the worst moment of our lives.”