This story is about a friend named Juan, and his family’s struggles to get to where they are now. It all starts with his parents, Luz and Juan. Luz and Juan were born in Columbia, a beautiful country in northern South America. From elementary school through college, their formative years were spent with their respective families learning about Colombian culture and growing up what would be their way of life.

After meeting and getting married in their mid 20s, the natural step for them was to start a family. But at this point in time, Columbia was having some trouble. It was the mid 1990s, and the Colombian Conflict was raging on. The Cold War and the War on Drugs had destabilized the country, and all kinds of groups were vying for power. From the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left guerrilla groups, everyone was fighting each other to increase their influence in Colombian territory. Not to mention the influences from foreign interests like multinational corporations, the drug trafficking industry, the US, and Cuba.

It was a dangerous and scary time to be a Columbian, so Luz and Juan decided the only way for them to comfortably have a family would be to move somewhere safe. They packed up with some of their family and found refuge in the United States, eventually ending up in New York. It was difficult beyond belief to leave some of their family behind, but they knew they couldn’t have stayed. After settling for a few years, becoming citizens, and getting integrated into American culture, they decided to have a child. In the middle of 2001, Juan was born. Being born around New York City, Juan grew up in a place larger than life, a city boy through and through. From the NY Metro to bodegas, he quickly got used to the big life. Unfortunately, however, it didn’t last long. Juan’s father had an appealing job opportunity which required them to move. After much deliberation, at age 6, Juan and his family moved to Minnesota to start their life again.

Moving from the big city to sprawling suburbia was a big change for Juan. No longer was everything just a short walk or train ride away. Soon after, some of his family also decided to move to be closer with them. Being closer with his extended family helped immensely as Columbian families tend to be very tight knit. The culture and climate in Minnesota were drastically different from Columbia for Luz and Juan, but that didn’t deter them. Over the years they ended up learning almost fluent English and to this day are still able to celebrate their Columbian culture with family and friends around the twin cities.