Coming of age in the Imperial Valley

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On this show , we'll hear about a new KPBS podcast from teens growing up in the Imperial Valley called voices del Valle. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. A new KPBS podcast series called Voices Del Valle uplifts the stories of teens growing up in the Imperial Valley. Over the course of the series , the teens tackle a wide breadth of topics and their coming of age stories like navigating teen pregnancy , growing up with grandparents , and even sharing what it's like to grow up in a rural border town community. They produced the series in partnership with KPBS at Central Union High School with teacher Thomas Starkey in El Centro. KPBS Andrew Bracken spoke with three of the students behind the podcast Dominick Ramos , Grace Estella Navarro and Evan Harper. Andrew started by asking Grace more about the Imperial Valley and what she feels makes it a special place to live.

S2: I think the Imperial Valley has a lot of different amazing things about it because it's such a small town. I think the way that we only have teens , only have a mall , a bowling alley , and a couple of fast food places here to hang out. There's not really much to do. It's kind of too hot outside to go out to the park or have a picnic. It's 110 degrees right now , I want to say. So I think the way that we all come together and the way we all can just have a small place to really connect with each other , is what makes the Imperial Valley special. Especially because even if you go to Calexico , El Centro , Imperial , Brawley , we're all kind of just max 30 minutes away from each other. So we're all really close here , and I think that's what makes it special.

S3:

S4: I was raised in. And I grew up here. I went to Lincoln , my elementary school. I made a lot of friends. Um , it wasn't that hard. Everyone is really nice around here. I went to central , and , um , you really know a lot of people because we all grew up the same , mostly. And everyone knows each other because the town is so small. But that's what makes it great.

S3: So Dominic was talking about , you know , graduating from central and that's , you know , where this podcast , you know , came about. It's from a class. So I just wanted to ask you , Dom , you know , what first got you interested in this class. And , you know , just the possibility of making this series that became voices del Valle.

S5: Well , uh , to begin with , it , it all started with , the electronic music class , and I saw a bunch of my friends were talking about the earlier years of like , like freshman and sophomore and junior , but I was like , I kind of want to save that until senior year. So I just kind of have a like a really chill one. So when I apply , like when I , when I chose that as one of my classes , I was expecting to just like make music and all that and why I , I tried I definitely try to make music , but uh , wasn't very good. Uh , Evan and Filipino all about it. They didn't. They didn't really like my music. Yeah.

S3: Yeah. What it sounded like.

S5: It just see the the the the website. He , uh , doctor tech he gives us is just like , he has so many , like , things to do. So I was just trying things , but , uh , it was never really that good. So.

S3: So then you turn to more the storytelling. You know the podcast , right ? Yeah.

S5: I asked about podcasting and it was like , oh , yeah , of course you can do a podcast. And , uh , we just , I like talking. I had two of my , like , really close friends in there and I was like , okay , well , I'll just do this. And after I think like a like a podcast we did and some voiceovers with Taki , he was like , oh , like , would you guys , uh , care to come with me to KPBS and do all this ? And I was like , you know , like , sure. Like I'm not doing anything else. Like , it's perfect. Like it gave me. Like it gave me purpose , basically. It was. It was nice.

S3: And , you know , one episode that you and Evan both worked on , it's called Generations Under One Roof. Dom , you know , talk about this episode and why it was important and in the story you wanted to tell here.

S5: I wanted to make aware of like , how , how , how often it is to like , live with grandparents , especially here in the Valley and in like Mexican culture. I think it's just it's just so common now. A lot of people that aren't from here don't know that. So when you tell them like , oh , like , oh , I grew up with my grandparents are like , oh , that's kind of weird. Like what ? What are they doing ? But it's just the circumstance , circumstances you're put here like , and I just wanted to make other people aware of that and well , me , Evan and Phil all just shared share that in comments though it's probably it was like really nice to be able to do so.

S3: Evan , you know you worked with Dominik on this episode.

S4: So they needed , you know , babysitting. So I had to stay with my grandparents. It was , uh , it was a little hard , but we eventually became more financially stable.

S3: And , Dominic , I mean , you're kind of making the point here. It sounds like a lot of your friends had a similar experience to you. Right. And I know another student that worked on this particular episode is among your best friends. Tell us about what that experience is like and his experience. And , you know , kind of how you all connected over this. Yeah.

S5: Yeah. So the thing it's a pretty similar story with Philippe , our third host. For that. He also had very hard working parents , and even to this day , it's probably like most hard working people I know. Like , his parents are just great. And , uh , as a kid , because he , he also grew up in , uh , I think Max like a little bit. So he would spend a lot of time over there , but still , like , live here. But I know that his both his parents been working so hard and , uh , I it made him just have to stay with his grandparents , too.

S3: You mentioned Mex there. I'm assuming you're talking about Mexico particularly like Mexicali , right ? And I know that plays a role in the series.

S2: I grew up in Calexico. So being close to the border , it was it was interesting because you see the different way people act. I guess you can say the way how people would cross the border and go to Walmart and use that as their go to store. And then you see people who lived here in Calexico or in the Imperial Valley and the way they like mixed with within each other. It really does make you realize how close everything is here and how close everything , how things could change so quickly just by crossing a border and then coming over here to El Centro. It was a different experience. It was seeing different things every day. It wasn't seeing as much as I would see people from crossing from the border over here. It was mainly over there in Calexico.

S3:

S5: It was it was like a bunch of tin that , like tinnitus or , uh , little stories. So you'd get a lot of , like , uh , people from Mexico , Mexicali come in with , like , old clothes and all that , and bringing it over here to the side and to , like , sell , sell around. And it was just this whole thing. It was I , I want to remember the names it was.

S2: And Santo Tomas. Yes.

S5: Yes. Oh my gosh , you got it. Yeah. And you get a lot of people crossing over here to me like , like make some money here. And , uh , I did grow up around there too because of my , my , my grandma , she she was , uh , her sister , like , worked in Santo Tomas , so she'd always , uh , we'd always just be around there. It was just , you get a , you get to see a lot of like , like traveling and all that.

S2: A lot of different things. You get to experience a lot of different people , and you get to see how people behave differently when they're across the border versus when they're not across the border. Yeah.

S5: Yeah.

S3: Grace , I want to turn now to the episode that you created for this series , and it tells the story of a teen mother and her experience , you know , at your high school. Tell us more about her story. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. So she was an eighth grader when she found out when she got pregnant and she was in PE class changing , and she noticed the stretch mark on her inside of her thigh , and she questioned it because she was like , I don't think I'm supposed to be having stretch marks at such a young age because she was a freshman and so she had contacted one of her family members and she asked like , hey , like , I have a stretch mark on the inside of my thigh. Like , what do you think this means ? And then her family member asked her , like , well , have you been sexually active ? Like , is there a possibility you could be pregnant ? And she was like , yeah , there could be a possibility. Turns out , I think a few months later , she found out she was pregnant. She kind of hid it for a while until people started , like noticing a change in her behavior and her actions or the way she would act. And she got fed up , and she announced it to everyone in the classroom. And it was the way she announced it to everyone in the classroom. That really was mind opening and surprising to me , because the way she explained it , it sounded intense and the way she did it was intense. She basically stood up on a chair and just announced to everyone like , I'm pregnant , and it is what it is like. Leave me alone about it. Like , you guys know it. You guys already are talking about it. Have assumptions about it. Like , here's the truth I am. I'm pregnant. And she ended up giving birth. And she had her kid. And who just graduated this past year with Evan and Dom.

S3: And Grace also. You know , Jessica later talks about ultimately how she was able to succeed in high school , even as a teen mother after this experience. And one thing that stood out to me is she talked about how , you know , the community helped her succeed. Even they had childcare on site. What did you take away ultimately from hearing Jessica's story ? Yes.

S2: So Miss Avilla actually ran that program where , um , two mothers would go and leave their kid there and they'd take care of them and help them and provide for them while they finish high school. Um , she was my freshman teacher , actually , for success 101 , and she would talk a little bit about it , but I never really understood what it was until Jessica was like , no , they helped. They they were a community. It was like a second home for those who had kids here , because maybe they didn't have the support at home. I know Jessica's dad didn't support the pregnancy , and it was basically her just proving to her dad , like , I can still do it even if I have this kid and what she did. She was very successful. She went to college , she graduated with honors. And yeah , I think the fact that central had that that program here , it wasn't just to motivate students to , oh , get pregnant. We're going to take care of your kid. No , I genuinely think it's like , here's a support system. This is a difficult time for maybe most teens , especially in that generation where that was , I want to say , normalized because there wasn't a lot of things to entertain them back then. How there is now. Back then they had partying , drinking , drugs and sex. That was the reality of it. Now we have social media , we have a little bit more technology , so we have more things to keep us entertained , but back then there wasn't much to keep them entertained. So the fact that central was so great to imply that , like extra help , it helped a lot of parents , dads and moms be successful in high school and build a future for themselves.

S3: You kind of mentioned that Jessica's story happened in an earlier generation , and then kind of calling back to Evan and Dominic's episode , also talking about connection to older generations.

S5: I'm about to be 19 in like a couple months. So it's just like it's it's way different and , um , like go going a little bit farther back than , uh , Jessica , my parents , where they went. They they went to school in Mex and they didn't really have like , help like that. So they just had to like , fight through. And especially since my dad could only live in Mex and my mom had to live here with us , it was just it was just a crazy struggle. I'd say things are a lot more accessible now. Like help and like help with with children and all that.

S2: I also think that the way our parents raised us is completely different to how they were raised , because they experienced all that. I don't want to say negativity , but they were around all of that different kind of exposure like pregnancy , drugs , drinking. So I feel like our parents raising us were more like , know , do the right thing. You're going to go to school , you're going to be good. And if it came down to the point where like , hey , teen pregnancy , for example , like I feel like they would want us to be open with them because they would know how to help us now.

S5: Also a bunch of like , like mental disorders now are a lot more. They can be like treated. You could say , like back then you didn't really have that. You were. They were just kind of like like boss up and they were like , get to it. So I'd say there's also a crazy difference that it was just a lot rougher back then.

S3: Evan , among the the different types of episodes and the subjects this series covers , you also talked with some celebrities , some well-known figures that came out of the Valley.

S4: And their experiences here in the Valley , uh , were very similar to ours. And so I thought I took inspiration from that because , you know , if you know , they they're big , I can become big. But it's not something I would want to do. Um , it's definitely inspirational , seeing as they come. They came from a small valley , uh , a little place where it's not really known , you know.

S3:

S4: I mean , again , everyone knew everyone. Back then , there wasn't as much social media , but there was ways to connect.

S3: Definitely Grace. We've talked about how the Imperial Valley and El Centro kind of are different a little bit. Growing up in a more rural space , kind of like what ? You know what Evan was just talking about. Everybody kind of knows everyone. I imagine that's probably both good and bad.

S2: There's a lot of rivalry here at central and against Brawley or like Imperial or there's a lot of rivals. I guess that can go in the negative way in high school. I guess you can say , because the sports or clubs that are very competitive. So knowing everyone and everyone being a part of something here , it kind of gets difficult. Because how do you stay friends with someone when you know they're on the opposite side and they take it in a negative way when your team does something or , you know. So I guess that can go into a negative way when everyone knows everyone here and everyone's friends here , and they're around with each other because everything's very competitive here and everything's very like , oh , I'm better , or I did this better , or it's you. You didn't deserve that. Well , I did. It's like , why are we fighting ? We're friends. Yes , we're we go to the opposite schools. But , I mean , let's be real. Like , let's just keep it fair. Let's keep it mutual. So I guess that can go into a negative way here. Everyone knowing each other in the Valley.

S3: There episode of the series you talk about is high school athletics and how important that is to the culture there. Dominic , I'm curious , do you have any thoughts on that.

S5: Like to the expectations you get from like being from a rural area is they can't really have these like big city dreams either. Like people expect you to be. I wouldn't say less , but they're probably like less valid. Like , oh , this kid from this place you don't know , like. Like they're just they just assume that being from this rural area , they're like , oh , like like whatever , like educations , whatever this is whatever. But we're still like , we got hard , like going back to athletics that you were just talking about. We in football , we did make it up into like bigger leagues and like we'd play against like Granite Hills , kind of certain. I think it's like the best football school. Like , like they , they , they messed us up , but we still like , made it there. You can't you can't say that about like , other , like , small town places. You know what I mean ? Yeah. So I kind of expected to not be as much as everybody else from like , LA or like these big cities. You know what I mean ? Like , man.

S2: I want to input on that. Yeah. For sure. I get what Dom is saying and I relate to that because being on varsity cheer since my freshman year , I mean , we were completely nowhere near where we're at now. I mean , I'm talking about we made it to state , but because we got invited because of the score , we got my freshman year and that was the first time central going to state ever for cheer. Then sophomore year they won state and CIF. Then my junior year we once they got second at nationals , won CIF and placed top 11 at another Nationals in Florida. And with a lot of that yeah we went against the school and they were really well known , very famous on social media too. And there are , I want to say , our divisions top like rivalry. And I know they would always talk like , oh , like they're from a nowhere town or we don't even know where that's at. Like , how good could they be ? They're really quiet. And every competition we beat them. So I think it's like , yeah , we are a small place. We are a small town that not a lot of people know about , but I think that's what makes it so special Because of how connected we could be together. And we have a lot of heart.

S3: I mean , we do it here on Midday Edition all the time. It's not always easy.

S2: I was scared. I was scared because I never really did interviews or podcasts or talking to adults. But I do like to talk a lot. And so when we started recording , I was a little shy. I was a little nervous , but after a while , it kind of just made me realize like , no , there's no reason to be shy. There is no reason to be nervous. Why ? Because these are our stories. These are our experiences. We're trying to get our point across to others so they can see what it's like , or the struggles that we go through and relate to us. For those who can't stand up for themselves or for those who are scared to speak about their stories. And it's like to let them know , like it's okay , you're not alone. So it's like , that gave me motivation. Motivation because it made me realize , like , I'm not doing this just for a class or I'm not doing this just for myself. I'm doing this. I'm voicing my stories. I'm voicing I'm helping others voice their stories by being super open to speaking , because it's like , if I can help others , then I am , I will. And I feel like being able to talk about our experiences will help others be able to feel free. Like , you know what ? I'm not alone. I can talk about what I'm going through , or I can talk about what I'm struggling with. And I think that's what motivated me the most and what made me open , well , open my eyes because it was just it was just something that I was once scared to talk about what I've gone through or my stories , or what I've experienced , and realizing that I can help others is what really motivated me and made me really open my eyes to allow myself not be , not to be shy and be scared.

S3: Dom , what do you ultimately want listeners to take away from voices ? Devi.

S5: I want them to take away that we're down here , basically. You know what I mean ? Like , we we're humans just bleed the same blood. Like , I feel like we're looked over a lot , and I think I just want to be known a little bit more. You know what I mean ? Like , they'll be like , Imperial. Yeah , yeah , I know , for , like , you know , like , that was probably the biggest takeaway I'd like to take from this because it's , uh , it's a hard working community. It's a great community at that. And it's just , like , genuinely just nice. It's just nice here. And I want people to know that. I want them to see past just the 100 degree weather and all that. It's just like , I want to be known to everybody and anybody out there.

S3: Like Grace says , I think in one episode it's about heat , hustle and heart. I like I love that grace.

S2: So there goes the hustle , there goes a heat and heart. I mean , you have to have heart to have passion for something.

S1: That was grace. Estelle Navarro , along with Evan Harper and Dominic Ramos from the new KPBS podcast voices. Del Valle speaking with KPBS Midday Edition producer Andrew Bracken. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.