Humans of Downey – Magaly

"I believe that I am the same as everybody because I have feelings, I love others and I can get upset. I love all kinds of music, Cuban music, rhythm music, classical music. I get angry when people talk about other people or when they judge what other people are like based on how they look, when they don’t like someone just based on how they look. I love to walk down the street and smile at people to make them feel good because that’s how I feel when they smile at me.

"I am unique because when I was 9 years old, Castro took power in my country of Cuba and life became very hard for me and my family. After 8 years, my father decided to leave Cuba and immigrate to America. When he submitted his forms, my mom, my sister, and myself were sent to work on a government farm that was like a concentration camp while my father was sent to a different farm. Our family had a number around 33,000 and we had to wait until they reached our number. We worked on this farm and were separated for 4 years until our number finally came up and we were allowed to come to America as a family. This is why I get so upset with people who come to America illegally. I’m so glad my father decided to make the sacrifice and request to immigrate. It has been worth the hard work and pain we went through to live here. This is now my country. This is the country I would die for."

~ Magaly