Of Women and Salt

(Ana, Irapuato, 2018)

Ana struggles to fit into Mexico. Although her Spanish becomes stronger, her native dialect differs, which makes it obvious to others that she’s an outsider; moreover, Mexicans complain about the gente de afuera (people from outside), just as Americans complain about undocumented immigrants. Gloria promises that they’ll return to the US, but it’s already been four years, and Ana is beginning to doubt that they’ll ever return. Gloria and Ana work as housekeepers for an American woman, Nancy, who married a wealthy Mexican man, Roberto. They got the jobs through a cousin of Gloria’s who lives in Irauato shortly after being dropped off in Mexico. Although only Gloria technically works for Nancy, Ana helps so much that she eventually convinces Nancy to pay her as well.

Ana gets to know Nancy better than Roberto knows her, as she believes one “[learns] these kinds of things about people […] when you [work] for them” (112). Some things are small, like Nancy’s habit of dripping water post-shower or sneaking cigarettes; others are big, like Ana catching Nancy kissing her Spanish teacher, or the fact that Nancy keeps a stack of cash hidden beneath a floorboard.