The Origin of the Ritual

There has been an ongoing battle in the DC area, including in Prince William County, Virginia, over laws targeting immigrants by attempting to curb their access to public services and increasing immigration enforcement by local police. You can read the latest chapter here.

Northern Virginia and the DC area in general has a large Latino population. There is an immigrant custom, which I thought was unique to the area, where skilled (or are they unskilled?) laborers congregate each workday at a public place, for example, in a 7-11 parking lot, so that contractors who need day labor can drive by and find the help they need.

In an effort to systemize this process in a more orderly and lawful way (i.e., help people find work, learn English and become part of the community. And, of course, let's not forget the more important issue of making sure the appropriate employment and income taxes get paid) and in response to local businesses complaints about the unsupervised gatherings (littering, unsightliness of large Latino crowds outside a particular business) many counties in the DC area have opened employment centers that offer a range of services to prospective day laborers.

For various reasons that I won't get into, many of these employment centers have been protested by right-wing conservative pigs. In jurisdictions where the local government has no spine or vision, the result has been the immigration policy reflected by PWC.

We have followed this battle closely for two reasons. First, because all issues immigrant are near and dear to Rebecca's heart. Second, because one of her main rivals in high school is currently a big-whig on the PWC Board of County Supervisors and is always getting his picture in the paper over his inane quotes.

Each day on the way to school, Maya, Jonah and I pass the same phenomenon. Dozens of men standing around on the street corners, ostensibly for work.

Each man displays, according to his trade, either a paintbrush and roller, dry-wall trowel, or plumbing apparatus.





























Here is a man and his plumbing apparatus.















And a closeup of some more apparatus.
















Today, for the first time, we saw some of these men get picked up for work. It was exhilarating. As we approached in our taxi, a truck pulled up and a dozen of the guys went running to it as if they were going to receive a free watermelon. Maya and Jonah each had their nose pressed to the taxi window to watch the show.

The truck drove away with four or five guys. It was heartening to see that this corner ritual is not just an excuse for the guys to get out of the house early in the morning to play cards and drink rum with their friends. They actually want to work.

There was visible dejection in the postures of those who did not get selected. Heads hung, no bounce to their step, paintbrushes slung just a little bit lower on their belts. I felt badly for them.

But, it is interesting to see that the method to find employment in Virginia, which I thought was required by circumstance (no papers + minimal English = day laborer work), has its beginnings here in Quito (and, I have to believe, in the other urban areas in Central and South America). It's a learned behavior that is imported to the States. It's interesting, but what would be more interesting is if someone would get it into their head to import chochos con tostados.