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I moved to the United States with my two daughters three years ago. I came from Ecuador. The day I left my country, I remember feeling nostalgic and sad because my parents and my youngest brother kept waiting until my daughters and I went to the counter for the check-in and then entered the waiting area. The day I left my country, I remember the smell of my mom’s perfume. It was a floral fragrance.

When I came to the U.S., we brought our clothes, some shoes, some family pictures, a couple of books, a large can of Ecuadorian tuna, my little daughter’s favorite teddy bear, some Ambato bread, and chocolate. On arriving, I felt overwhelmed, nervous, scared, and worried due to the uncertainty of being in a foreign country, and also because I did not know at that time if I would get used to living in a new place where there are many people from different countries, with different customs.

When I lived in Ecuador, there were some big celebrations all year, but I think the biggest one was the Año Viejo. It is celebrated on the last day of the year, December 31st. The tradition on this day is to build rag dolls called monigotes. The monigotes are placed on a stage with music and signs describing what they represent. Monigotes also represent the year that is ending. On the night of the Año Viejo, it is a tradition for men to dress as women. They are the widows of the monigotes that will be burned at midnight. All monigotes are burned at midnight to say goodbye to the year that has finished and to welcome the new year. On this day, my family and I usually ate baked pork shoulder with boiled white corn, llapingachos, and salad. After dinner, we used to walk all around the neighborhood and look at the monigotes. 

I really miss my country and being there for Año Viejo because New Year’s Eve is very different here in New York. Last year, I stayed home with my husband and daughters, and we just ate food from Popeyes. I wish I could have traveled to Ecuador and enjoyed this celebration along with my family and friends, but unfortunately, we could not do it. The happiness and emotion I felt when celebrating the Año Viejo in my country vanished like the monigote when it is burned.

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Grace Fierro studies at the Center for Immigrant Education and Training of CUNY’s LaGuardia College. Her teacher is Christina Nieder, and Paula DaSilva-Michelin is the director. Grace Fierro writes: “I was born in Ambato, Ecuador. I’m a Spanish speaker. I arrived in the U.S. in 2018. Since I was a teenager, I wanted to learn English. Another thing I really love is to cook, and I would like to take cooking classes.”