Michael Cirlos

Eye on Texas: ‘Normal Life’ in a Border Colonia

400,000 Texans live in 'colonias,' unincorporated border communities that often lack basic services.

December 13, 2016, 12:56 PM, CST

A version of this story ran in the December 2016 issue.

Border Colonia, boy, pig — Victor Guzman, 6, feeds his pet pig at home in Pueblo Nuevo, a small colonia 15 miles east of Laredo. He and his mother, Iris, are among about 400,000 Texans who live in colonias — unincorporated border communities that often lack basic services such as water, electricity and sewage. In 2002, Iris made the journey to the United States by cargo train after ﬂeeing gang violence in Honduras. “It got to the point where I couldn’t walk to buy food without the fear of losing my life,” she says. “I made it here because I wanted my son to get an education and have the opportunity of a normal life.” Michael Cirlos

<div id="pico"><figure id="attachment_52065" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<p><figure id="attachment_52065" aria-labelledby="figcaption_attachment_52065" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 700px"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-52065 " src="https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-759x498.png" alt="Border Colonia, boy, pig" width="690" height="453" srcset="https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-759x498.png 759w, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-150x98.png 150w, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-360x236.png 360w, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-768x504.png 768w, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-100x66.png 100w, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-723x475.png 723w, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM-243x160.png 243w, https://www.texasobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-12.50.38-PM.png 1197w" sizes="(max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px" /><figcaption id="figcaption_attachment_52065" class="wp-caption-text">Victor Guzman, 6, feeds his pet pig at home in Pueblo Nuevo, a small colonia 15 miles east of Laredo. He and his mother, Iris, are among about 400,000 Texans who live in <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/colonias-drainage-valley/">colonias</a> — unincorporated border communities that often lack basic services such as water, electricity and sewage. In 2002, Iris made the journey to the United States by cargo train after ﬂeeing gang violence in Honduras. “It got to the point where I couldn’t walk to buy food without the fear of losing my life,” she says. “I made it here because I wanted my son to get an education and have the opportunity of a normal life.”<span class="image-credit">  Michael Cirlos</span></figcaption>
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