under the same moon

I think the mother had to leave the little boy so they could both have a chance at a better quality of life. She worked two jobs a day and left her son with his grand-mother until she could raise enough money to support both her and her son in America. I think it was very difficult for the mother to leave her son. That was evident when she began to cry in the beginning of the movie when she was talking to him on the phone and her son was asking her when they would be together again. It was also evident when she would talk about him to her her friends. She talked a lot about how she wanted to be with him and then how later in the movie she thought about going back to Mexico so she could be with him.

Some of the difficulties the mother faced were hiding from the police so she wouldn't be sent back to Mexico. She faced emotional distress from being away from her son. She also had to get up very early every morning and go to two diffferent jobs just to try to save money. I could imagine someone in her position would also feel a sense of hopelessness because she had already been away from her son for four years and still didn't have enough money to bring him to America.

I think the separation was difficult on the boy too because he had not seen his mother in four years, he never knew his father and he probably felt a sense of rejection from this. He clearly missed his mother because he would ask her when they would be together again. He would look at the moon at night time when he missed her, because his mother told him they were under the same moon and when he looked at it, she would be looking at it too. This was a way for them to feel close to one another. He escaped to America on his own risking kidnapping and death just to try to see his mother again. I think the little boy was faced to grow up fast because of his familial circumstances.

You can see some cultural aspects come into play when the little boy prays the "Our Father" in the van. You can also see the value they have on family when the boy's grand-mother says she "would kill them first," when the boy is afraid his aunt and uncle are going to take him away. It's also evident in the way that the boy takes care of his ill grfand-mother. You can also see the important Catholic culture when the boys grand-mother dies and the god-father of the woman takes care of the grand-mother's funeral arrangements.

I don't think this was an easy decision for the mother. She wanted a better life for her and her child, so I think she did what she thought was best.