La Americana

October 2000, Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Carmen Tapia, a young single mother, faces a life-changing tragedy when her nine-year-old daughter Carla is struck and run over by a bus, leaving Carla in a wheel chair, and Carmen with insurmountable medical expenses. Unable to pay for Carla’s hospital bills and specialized care, Carmen borrows money from friends and family to keep her daughter alive. With no opportunities to earn a sufficient living to support her daughter, Carmen tries in vain to get a visa to go to the United States. As her desperation grows, Carmen decides to leave Carla behind and make the dangerous journey to the U.S. After nearly suffocating in the trunk of a sedan crossing the Mexican border, Carmen heads to New York where she can give her daughter the chance to live a life with opportunity, despite her disability.

June 2006, New York City, U.S.A.

Living and working illegally cleaning houses and stores in the U.S, Carmen earns enough to support Carla from afar. Though Carmen is able to provide for her daughter’s medical needs, Carla does not understand why she must grow up without her mother. Carmen cannot visit Carla in Bolivia, as she knows she may not be able to cross back into the United States, on which their lives would depend.

Unable to get any working papers, Carmen watches in frustration as congress defeats a bill granting amnesty to long-term undocumented immigrants. But as six years of separation approaches, so does the date at which Carmen promised her daughter they would be together again: Carla’s quiceañera. After risking her life to come to the United States, Carmen must sacrifice everything once again to keep her word and be at her daughter’s side.

La Americana is Carmen’s story, and the story of thousands of illegal immigrants forced to leave their families behind in order to provide them a better life.