In 'Solito,' a child's harrowing solo migration is laid bare
Javier Zamora’s memoir follows a young child’s yearning to be with his parents in California as he makes the treacherous journey from El Salvador to the U.S. by himself.
Eva Recinos Sept. 7, 2022
In a fishing town in El Salvador, 9-year-old Javier Zamora lives with his grandparents. He enjoys gazing up at the stars with his Tía Mali and looking through photographs that show his parents’ lives in the United States. In one of them, his mom gazes at the camera, framed by the glimmering Golden Gate Bridge. At home, Javiercito helps his grandmother sell beverages like horchata and chan (a refreshing drink made from strawberry lemonade with chia seeds). He goes to a school where he’s taught by nuns, and once he even makes it to the national level of a grammar competition.
But his childhood has been shaped by the promise of the U.S., and now he must prepare to leave El Salvador for a long, difficult journey to reunite with his parents.
“I’m nine years old, but I can already jump the fence that separates our house from the neighbors’ pretty fast,” a young Zamora declares before he sets out. “And it’s made of barbwire.”
In heartbreaking detail, Javier Zamora’s Solito: A Memoir recounts the author’s unaccompanied journey to a new country, supported only by strangers and his steadfast determination to see his parents. Though Zamora left El Salvador decades ago, the present-day situation for immigrants is still dire; UNICEF USA reports that from March to November 2020, the U.S. deported approximately 13,000 children without parents or guardians back to Central America and Mexico. The BBC reports that in early May 2021, the U.S. was detaining approximately 22,500 unaccompanied children.
Solito traces Javiercito’s journey from the pre-planning stages to his official departure. Zamora puts us in the mind of his 9-year-old self with painstaking care. In a particularly touching scene, Javiercito invites his friends over to his home and gives them his finest toys, knowing he won’t be back any time soon. He knows he’s closing a chapter in his life; he is leaving in the hope of reaching the mythical land he daydreams about, a country he knows mostly through the photographs and toys his parents have sent him.
More:
https://www.hcn.org/articles/ideas-books-in-solito-a-childs-harrowing-solo-migration-is-laid-bare
Outstanding in his field.
