Maria by the Numbers

6: Years old when she began working as a street vendor in her small village outside San Salvador to make money for the family.

11: Siblings. As the oldest daughter, she watched the babies while selling cut fruit near the bus station.

18: Years old when she left El Salvador.

2: Borders crossed on foot through Guatemala to Mexico to escape the civil war.

7: Children born.

4: Children who survived infancy.

26: Years spent living in Oaxaca, Mexico, running a bar and restaurant.

1: Border crossed by bus to California to escape poverty and anti–Central American sentiments in Mexico.