Morning light paints contoured hills in Pajacuarán as Luis Martin Cruz, 21,
winds a scarf around his face against the dust and morning chill. He pours
the steaming milk through cheesecloth into cans before selling the milk
house-to-house on a donkey. "It's just enough to eat and get by," he said of
his earnings. "I have 11 cows, but not enough money to buy more." He has
considered going to the United States, but thought better of it: "You need
to have someone to back you, and the coyotes charge a lot of money. I have
no idea what it is like, I've heard good and bad stories, that people there
eat better and have more money. But I also hear it is very cold, and I'm
afraid of crossing the border. I'm afraid I could die."