First Generation by Iaritza Menjivar

First Generation is a personal statement where I document the daily life of my family. My mother is an immigrant from Guatemala and my father from El Salvador. They arrived in the United States in the mid 1980s and early 1990s. In these photographs I represent the story of three generations— first generation immigrant, first generation American and second generation American.

As First Generation Americans, it is a privilege to be born into two different cultures, an unbearable pressure to be the ones to save our family in a world in which you are seen and treated as an outsider because of your color of skin. Nevertheless, our goal is to honor our family’s hard work to prove their worth. The loyalty and love we all have for each other is what will help us to move forward. Through this conversation, I want to express gratitude and devotion to my family and community.

Iaritza Menjivar (she/her/hers) is an artist living in Somerville, Massachusetts.
www.iaritza.com | @iaritzamenjivar