We Had Our Reasons: Poems by Ricardo Ruiz and Other Hardworking Mexicans from Eastern Washington

by Ricardo Ruiz

We Had Our Reasons is a collection of poems created by Ricardo Ruiz in collaboration with other members of his Mexican farm community in Eastern Washington.

The poems, vivid and pointed, guide the reader through the thoughts and struggles that come with the decision to leave one’s home in Mexico, and travel to this remote, rural community of the United States. Through the book access is provided to readers; stories that have gone untold for generations are now shared, evoking conversation at home and within the community due to the commonality of experiences.

A glimpse into the multi-generational effects of migration is seen through the recounting of the stories of both parents and their children - both documented and undocumented. Ricardo’s raw and unapologetic style cuts right into the emotions of each moment divulged in short, punching, powerful pieces.

Biographies and transcripts follow the poems, showcasing the origins of the stories and the people in the book.

Genres: Poetry

Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2022

Reviews

[Nicholas Trandahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book from a place of privilege in the United States, a white male living in the American West. It should be required reading for people like myself. Brutally honest and real, heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. Ricardo Ruiz’s phenomenal and accessible poetry, paired alongside his guest poets, Mexican immigrant workers from his own community, presents a poetry collection like none I’ve ever read, in substance and format. What a creative and unique way to publish a poetry collection! And the concluding bios of Ruiz’s guest poets were equally as enthralling and authentic as their poetry, co-written with Ruiz. I, like Ruiz, am an Army veteran of deployment to the Middle East, and those desert juxtapositions to the crossing of migrants in the Southwest United States were so succinct. Ruiz’s presentation of poetry and statements from the viewpoints of ICE agents was, I feel, also necessary and important to this collection.
I have lived in El Paso, in the middle of this dusty ocean of struggle and suffering endured by migrants trying to survive in this world, but I was blind to it in my life of privilege. I thank Ruiz and his guest poets in “We Had Our Reasons” for opening my eyes forever.
Again, this is essential reading for all 21st century Americans.

[Lenora Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not often read a book that in my opinion should be mandatory reading and with discussion prior to receiving a high school diploma. This is one of those books. (The other three are: The Absolutly True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; Caste: The Origins of our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson; and, Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm). Too few of us have any genuine knowledge of people with different backgrounds who live, work, and contribute to our country. It’s time we learned, and not only accept them, but embrace them and the cultures they bring and contribute to our country.

The first thing I noticed about Ruiz’s book was the bi-lingual nature. The even numbered pages are in English, the odd numbered pages are in Spanish. The second thing I noticed is these poems are honest. The tell of pain, of fear, of good times and of bad. The opening poem, “A Sleeping Bag and a Semi” is part of Centavo’s story. “I came from Mexicali across the border. // “I was born in California, / so I could have walked but I didn’t know. / I was bound up in not knowing.”

“Lost in the Desert” is the longest poem in the book, with one of the voices of David, brother of Ricardo, and Salvador and Ramiro. It tells the story of crossing the desert, the hardships, the pains, and a friendly Border Patrol Agent. “The way in the desert is long, and lonely.” “My nephew, my sister, and I were left / while we slept.” “We drank water from an animal trough.” “The truth is, you play a lot with your life in the desert…”

The biographies of the collaborating poets are fascinating. Can you imagine going to work in the fields when you are five years old? Expected to contribute your earnings to the household? I can’t, either. But I have a much better understanding of that lifestyle now than I did before I read the book. Can you imagine your whole family living in a single room? Parents, younger siblings, possibly aunts and uncles? I can’t.

Did you know if you eat food grown in Eastern Washington, chances are it was harvested by Mexicans, perhaps processed by Mexicans, and there is even a possibility one of those hardworking Mexicans owns the dirt upon which the produce was grown!

Buy this book. Read this book. Learn from and enjoy this book. And, just for grins, hire out and spend a month working and living with them in the next harvest season. It will change you in ways you didn’t know possible.

[Jyotsna Sreenivasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Had Our Reasons is a book of poems based on true stories. Ricardo Ruiz is a Mexican-American poet born and raised in Othello, Washington. His parents were farm workers at first, but once they became permanent residents of the U.S., they were able to find jobs in a potato factory. Ruiz spoke to me recently about what inspired him to write the book, and how he put it together.

Ruiz’s children, ages 13 and 14, provided one inspiration for the book. His children live in Texas with their mother, who is not Mexican-American. They don’t speak Spanish. Ruiz wanted to tell them not only his own stories, but also the stories of other Mexican-Americans. Another inspiration for the book was William Wordsworth’s preface to Lyrical Ballads. “Wordsworth wanted to write poems for the average man in the average tongue,” Ruiz told me. “I thought, why not do this? Poetry in its original form was a form of storytelling.”

He conducted interviews with 13 Mexican-Americans, including his older brother, who happens to work for ICE. He then selected the stories which had poetic potential, wrote poems based on those stories as well as his own stories, and chose 48 poems for the book. Each poem was then translated into Spanish by Brianna Salinas. The English poems are printed on the left-hand page, and the Spanish translations on the right. Ruiz tried to reflect in each poem the language of the teller. He points out that the poems tend to be short. “I wanted to tell a story with a lot of emotion, and with speed and quickness,” he says, “for the short attention span of my kids.”

For my complete review, see: https://secondgenstories.com/we-had-o...

[Kelli Reinhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s difficult to describe the way these poems really capture the experience of the writer(s), and how that moved me as a reader. Truly, the words are pointed and powerful - made even more so by the short biographies at the end of the volume. I cried multiple times out of heartbreak and gratitude for their labor and experience.
CW: descriptions of dangerous border crossing/travel; depictions of extreme poverty; discussion of drug trade, violence, and gangs; references to military service, firearms, PTSD, and suicide; reference to ICE/deportation

[Marianne Mersereau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of narrative poetry will especially enjoy this powerfully written collaborative collection of poems about the achievements and struggles of the Mexican migrant workers and their families. I had the pleasure of meeting Ricardo Ruiz at the National Conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) held in Seattle in 2023 and highly recommend this book. All of the poems are written in both English and Spanish.

[Dulce · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to hear about immigration and the reasons why people decide to leave everything and risk their lives, this is a good book to learn. You will see that not all the stories came with the same view, but in the end, all have similar reasons.

[Abigail Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is damn good poetry. Such a moving debut collection from an extremely talented poet.

[Jessica Balsam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book of narrative poetry written collectively by a group of people from the Yakima valley in Washington.

[Vincent Antonio Rendoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insanely creative bilingual collaboration between poet and subject that deserves far, far more attention.

[Allison Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's truly beautiful

[Charissa Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love a book with some Eastern Washington rep, although it was sad

[Melissa Boles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each piece in this collection tells a powerful story, whether it’s written by one poet or two (or even three!). These poems paint a picture of powerful communities that are the backbone of many rural farming communities — in Washington and all over the country — but aren’t given the support they deserve from this country. Ruiz’s book is a must-read for anyone who knows someone who has immigrated to this country from Mexico or anyone who wants to know more about what that experience is like (and what their life is like once they get here).

[Rinku · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a moving book, it gave a rare glimpse of first hand accounts of what it is like to be an immigrant in America. The child labor stories touched me especially with the need for them to work but reading how hard their work coordination's were like.

[Bookreadersclub · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a collection of heart-wrenching poems written by the poet in collaboration with other Mexicans who have their own stories and experiences to narrate. 

Translated from Spanish, the poets have expressed their journey, their struggles, pain, and survival amidst the challenges they were facing in the US and Mexico. Divided into 5 chapters, they cover themes of their reasons, arrival, working on the fields, deportation and joining one gang or the other.

The reader can feel the fear, hunger, poverty, and problems immigrants face, which the poems communicate effectively. The language is easy, in free verse, and full of emotional occurences. Some of them which I really loved were - 'You really get treated like a criminal' , 'What a girl wants' and 'Eight year old boy does a beer run'.

In the end, a brief life history of each of the poets have been provided, which touches the heart of the reader and makes one understand where they are coming from.

Coming from separated families, fighters of depression and addictions, facing identity crisis, working hard on apple orchards, and trying to build a better life for themselves. Authenticity adds immense value to the narrative. A glossary of terms also helps to understand their culture and words in a holistic manner.

To conclude, a few words that gave me goosebumps and would maybe persuade you to read this one: 

(In the context of a kid doing a beer-run)

Technically it’s illegal, but
Technically, you can say 
So am I.

[Katiealiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ricardo Ruiz wrote one of the most eye opening, beautifully written, painfully honest, deeply moving and important books of our time. Everyone should read this, I know there is so much left for me to understand, so much privilege I never even noticed having. What brought me to tears when reading was the stories of people who have suffered just to come to America to become oppressed in different ways than their home country, and who, to be completely honest, deserve so much more than they have received in this life. I have so much love and respect for these people, who are the hardest workers and some of the kindest people I have ever had the privilege of meeting and knowing. While reading this, you see through their eyes, the obstacles they have overcame, and the true meaning of what it has taken for these people to live here in America. Even though they work from sun up till sun down, in terrible conditions, sometimes not even being paid due to lack of protection, and they still defy the odds. This should be a book that everyone in America reads especially those who are not educated on immigration. This book is so eye opening and will change your life for the better. I am so thankful that Ricardo Ruiz wrote this and gave people a platform to share their experiences so we could understand them. This was profound and haunting, definitely heartbreaking, and something everyone should take the time to read/reflect on.

[Chris Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, thought-provoking, and at times heartbreaking, these poems deserve a wide audience. Well-done and easy to read.