The start to Izcan Ordaz鈥檚 freshman year of college at The University of Texas at Austin isn鈥檛 what he originally envisioned. The 18-year-old thought he would be on campus. Instead, he鈥檚 taking classes virtually from home.
Staying home also means spending more time with parents 鈥� and for him, that has been a silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic. Ordaz has been helping his father tend to the family鈥檚 garden in the backyard of their Fort Worth, Texas, home. His dad has taught him how to use a shovel and pickax. The younger Ordaz has also helped his dad carry bags of soil and build raised garden beds.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 this age coming to a new country [and] I don鈥檛 know English 鈥� I鈥檓 like, 鈥楬ow could I do that?鈥� It was just always so hard for me to imagine that for myself. But I always did that. It would get me up in the morning.鈥�Izcan Ordaz
These moments have been an opportunity for father and son to bond. Ordaz has been learning more of his father鈥檚 story immigrating from Mexico to the US in the early 1990s. His father, Simon Ordaz, faced many challenges, such as not knowing English when he arrived in the US. He was 16 years old then, even younger than his son is now.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 this age coming to a new country [and] I don鈥檛 know English 鈥� I鈥檓 like, 鈥楬ow could I do that?鈥欌�� Izcan Ordaz said of his father. 鈥淚t was just always so hard for me to imagine that for myself. But I always did that. It would get me up in the morning.鈥�
Izcan Ordaz is part of a new generation of Latino voters who were born in the US, but whose parents or grandparents came from other countries. Their elder relatives鈥� immigration stories and experiences are passed down and can help shape their political views.
He pays attention to how President Donald Trump talks about immigrants and his policies on immigration. Still, he considers himself more conservative than his parents. Before the Texas primary election, he considered voting for former Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Now, he plans to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden. But he said he still has concerns about how Biden would handle the economy.
The family garden is especially important for Simon Ordaz, who grew up in a rural town in Mexico where everyone knew how to work the fields.
鈥淚 think it was at age 9, you know, all my classmates, they would finish school and then they went to work in the field helping out,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, everyone knew how to use a shovel and how to do all this physical work.鈥�
Over the past few months of the pandemic, he鈥檚 planted more than two dozen vegetables, herbs and flowers. That includes Mexican zinnias 鈥� 鈥渢hey鈥檙e just a flower machine ... producing flowers the entire season,鈥� he said 鈥� along with carrots, lemongrass and rosemary.
For Simon Ordaz and his wife, Xochitl Ortiz, the garden is not only a way to eat healthier, but it鈥檚 also a reminder of their cultural roots and visits to Mexico. Ortiz was born and raised in Chicago, but her parents are from Mexico.
Ortiz points to a couple of fruit trees.
鈥淏oth of my grandmas had a lime tree,鈥� she said. 鈥淣one of them had the pomegranate tree, but those are two things that ... I have that connection, that memory.鈥�
Izcan Ordaz said hearing his parents鈥� stories is humbling 鈥� especially when he considers how far his father has come.
鈥淚t was always something to keep me in check, to get me back to the books if I saw myself slipping up or going on my phone,鈥� Izcan Ordaz said. 鈥淎nd it was something that would motivate me. [If] I don鈥檛 want to get up. I鈥檓 like, 鈥楬ey, it doesn鈥檛 matter. Look at what he did.鈥欌��
鈥淚 saw my dad coming from humble beginnings. He was a very smart person, but he wasn鈥檛 able to find a lot of opportunities because he did not have an education.鈥�Izcan Ordaz
While growing up in Mexico, the elder Ordaz says his biggest dream was to study and become a working professional. But he couldn't afford to pay for college, so he decided to move to the U.S.
鈥淚 saw my dad coming from humble beginnings,鈥� Izcan Ordaz said. 鈥淗e was a very smart person, but he wasn鈥檛 able to find a lot of opportunities because he did not have an education.鈥�
Simon Ordaz worked as a busboy in restaurants and bars in the Chicago area. He鈥檇 finish his shift at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., then wake up at 6 a.m. to catch a bus to go to high school.
鈥淢y shifts were, you know, 14 to 16 hours a day,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was hard.鈥�
In his first apartment, he lived with more than a dozen other men, all of whom were single and also from Mexico. Eventually, he made it to college and now works as an electrical engineer.
Izcan Ordaz heard these stories growing up. Sitting across the kitchen table one recent Saturday morning, he told his dad what that has meant to him.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a picture that I remember seeing when I was little. We had it out in the old house. It was right at the top of the stairs. You took me to the zoo and your eyes were all red,鈥� the son said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize it when I was young until I got older. Um ... that鈥檚 when I realized that you ... that you did it all for us.鈥�
The younger Ordaz said he鈥檚 holding on to these life lessons 鈥� especially now, as he navigates college life during a pandemic with so much uncertainty ahead.
This story is part of The World's "" project, a collaborative public media reporting project tracing the young Latino electorate leading up to the 2020 presidential election and beyond.
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