The brutal reality
Title
The brutal reality
Vtmbh article article file
Vtmbh article article order
3
Vtmbh article author
Javier Castaño
Vtmbh article blurb
María is from Mexico and has lived in the Bronx for six years, her husband Carlos works in construction. Together they bring in just $400 a month more than their monthly expenseswith which they must support their two children.
Vtmbh article body
Last week, I went into a coffee shop in Queens to try the Cuban sandwich advertised as the new menu sensation. It wasnt very good and I let the waitress, María, know.
María is from Mexico and has lived in the Bronx for six years. She speaks very little English, just enough to hold down her job at the restaurant. The money she earns there, $400 a week, goes to help support her husband and two children. Carlos, Marías husband, works in construction and brings home about $300 a week.
María and Carlos share an apartment with another Mexican family; their share of the rent is $800. Other expenses, like utilities, food, childcare and transportation add up to an additional $1,600 a month. This means that Carlos and Marías monthly expenses for the essentials needed to clothe and feed their family add up to $2,400 a month.
Of the $2,800 a month they earn, $400 is left over to buy clothing, rent Mexican movies when they are homesick, and buy toys and other extras for the children.
For this reason, it disgusts me when Mayor Bloomberg talks of budget cuts and tax increases while no one talks of raising the minimum wage or creating new social service organizations.
María is from Mexico and has lived in the Bronx for six years. She speaks very little English, just enough to hold down her job at the restaurant. The money she earns there, $400 a week, goes to help support her husband and two children. Carlos, Marías husband, works in construction and brings home about $300 a week.
María and Carlos share an apartment with another Mexican family; their share of the rent is $800. Other expenses, like utilities, food, childcare and transportation add up to an additional $1,600 a month. This means that Carlos and Marías monthly expenses for the essentials needed to clothe and feed their family add up to $2,400 a month.
Of the $2,800 a month they earn, $400 is left over to buy clothing, rent Mexican movies when they are homesick, and buy toys and other extras for the children.
For this reason, it disgusts me when Mayor Bloomberg talks of budget cuts and tax increases while no one talks of raising the minimum wage or creating new social service organizations.
Vtmbh article date
2002-11-15
Vtmbh article edition
42
Vtmbh article hit count
64
Vtmbh article keywords
Vtmbh article line breaks
1
Vtmbh article original language
Spanish
Vtmbh article publication
Hoy
Vtmbh article section
edits
Vtmbh article thumb
Vtmbh article title
The brutal reality
Vtmbh article translator
Hannah Emmerich
Source
born-digital
Media Type
article
Original Name
María is from Mexico and has lived in the Bronx for six years, her husband Carlos works in construct
Created by Author
yes
Described by Author
no
Date Entered
2002-11-15
Collection
Citation
“The brutal reality,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 1, 2026, https://911.dev.chnm.gmu.edu/items/1323/.