Another movie that I have had to watch for my Hispanic Cinema class is Maria Full of Grace, or Maria, llena eres de gracia. The movie follows a seventeen-year-old Columbian girl, Maria, who is tired of her job working in the flower plantation. She is unhappy with doing the same thing every day and how her boss treats her. As a result, she quits. However, she must immediately find another job as she is the provider for her family. She becomes desperate and will take whatever job she can. At a party, she meets Juan, a boy who says he knows a way she can make the equivalent of thousands of dollars in a few days. In Columbia, this is enough to buy a house. She decides to take the job without really knowing what she is getting herself into.
The job involves smuggling drugs from Columbia into the United States. Maria trains herself to swallow a large amount of the drug that is encapsulated in latex. She plans on quickly flying to New York, delivering the drugs, and coming home. However, after arriving in New York and meeting another Columbian who had moved there, Maria sees this trip as an opportunity to escape the horrors and poverty she faces in Columbia. In addition, Maria finds out she is pregnant. The movie ends with Maria delivering the drugs, collecting her money, and boarding the plane back to Columbia. However, at the last second, she decides to leave the plane and stay in the United States. When asked why by her friend, Maria says it is her best chance for her future child to live a life with more opportunities. So, even though she may never see her family again and has to make her own way in New York alone and pregnant, she stays.
Overall, Maria’s story is a perfect example of those immigrating to the United States, especially New York, hoping to achieve a better life for themselves and their future kids. This version of the American Dream is represented perfectly by Maria. Even though she wants nothing more than to return to her familiar life in Columbia, she takes the risk of staying. This risk is something so many people take to achieve their American Dreams.