My grandpas name is Inocensio Samano he’s a 67 year old man that has lived a hard life with many obstacles he’s felt life at his highest and at his lowest. To me his life is like an endless story. My grandfather said when he was 16 he still lived in Mexico. At the time it was 1960’s to 1970 the president was a man named Gustavo Diaz Ordaz. My grandpa explained to me that he wasn't very fond of him because he took the lives of many students that were on strike because of the high prices on local busses. He told me that Diaz Ordaz sent soldiers and those soldiers killed about 500 students. Including the governor's son. When my grandpa was talking about when he was 16 it made me curious as to what is life was when he was even younger. My grandfather was very unfortunate growing up because he didn’t have much of an education. He told me he got up to 3rd grade. He also mentioned being in agriculture school.






I wanted to know what his daily schedule was as a third grader. He said “ we have to wake up at 7 in the morning, go to the field to work, get off at 8, go to school and get off at 3 and go back to the field until it got dark, then go home, everyday.” When he told me this I imagined him working tirelessly in the fields, I imaged the sun beating down on him, then having a sense of relief when it was time to go to school.





After I learned a little more about when he was younger, I was desperate to know more about when he was older so I asked. He said after he turned 18 he started to learn how to play the accordion and got into relationships. He told me how he would play his accordion and make little money. He also said he enjoyed paying other music groups so he can share a dance with his girlfriend. He also shared with me that he married a woman named Socorro when he was 19 and also had a daughter with her named Aurora.

My grandpa wanted what most people want, to be somebody, he wanted to be very well known in this world. When he moved to the California he had started a group and his group became well known in many night clubs. This was the closet my grandpa came to fulfilling his dreams.

He said, “my dreams were to be someone in life, be a little bit better than the rest of the people around me.”- growing up he was surrounded by people that were comfortable earning little to no money but surviving on their farms.

At the time when my grandpa had this dream to be someone in music and make it his career he thought we wouldn’t be famous because he didn’t have a studio. Now a days people don’t need a studio to develop music, but at the time that’s what kept my grandpa from believing he could make it.

“I also dreamed to have only one wife and a family, but my bad luck don’t help me. I married four times”

If you knew my grandpa you wouldn’t even have to ask if he’s afraid of anything. He would laugh at you if you asked. Although my grandpa brags about being fearless he admits that there was time when he got truly scared. “Here in California in the 1994 earthquake was the only time I've been scared, never before.“I was sleeping when that happen, 3 nights after I couldn’t sleep not even one hour.” He told me that this was the only time he felt true fear in his life. I'm afraid of nothing my life. I walk in the middle of the night without a flashlight and you can’t see your hand in your face, dark.” I do believe my grandpa when he says that he isn’t afraid of anything because I always try scaring him, everytime I try he doesn’t flinch even a little bit. He says he’s gone through so much in his life that he doesn’t get scared easily.

From this interview with my grandpa, Inocensio Samano I came to the conclusion that his American dream is to have a healthy family with one wife and to be somebody with his music.