A truckload of men in Pajacuarán are on their way to harvest red onions in a nearby field. Farm wages of about $8 a day are part of the reason about a third of Pajacuarán's population is in the United States working at any given time. If people choose to go north to work illegally they need two things: enough money to pay a human smuggler to get them across the border, and a contact once they get here. Villagers without this help or financial backing will seek it from workers home in Mexico fo the Christmas holidays. Word gets around fast about who is doing well and who has connections to good jobs in el norte.