Her life has been a hard one. She raises the children, walks half a mile to a well in rural Mexico to fetch water every day. When she leaves three days a week to serve as a domestic in a nearby motel, her oldest daughter, 11, looks after the children.

Maria makes tortillas every morning and boils the water for purification. Her hands are strong, her skin is leathery, the result of a lifetime of hard work and painful experiences. Her husband is working in the fields in California so she doesn't see him very often, but he sends her money through Western Union so she can pay the rent on their little home. He knows a baby is expected but the grape crops in California must be picked when they are ready, so he can't leave to come home and be with his wife. His back is permanently painful...
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