My name is Heriberto “Natanael” Moreno. I am Hispanic, Chilean, and Mapuche indigenous.
My grandpa & dad’s names are Heriberto. I am 35 years old. I call Chile home, more specifically Temuco, Chile. Home means being connected to what is very familiar. I just think of roots, where I can be who I am. I mean Fairmont has some aspects of home. I lived in Fairmont from 2005 until 2009. Then, I moved up to the cities, finished my studies, and met my wife. We moved back to Fairmont in 2020, but now we’re leaving again. So, seven years in a sense. During those years between 2009 and 2013, I came back here in the summer and lived with mom–while still single. I worked as a Community Outreach Coordinator for the Fairmont School District. I am fluent in English and Spanish.
My childhood had many changes and was filled with adaptability and work. I was born in the north of Chile, but I moved to the south. I don’t remember that because I was 6 months old. In Temuco, we moved from one house to another house. That was very vivid for me. It sounds silly, but going from a place where we didn’t have a carpet to one where we did was like – wow this is the most amazing place. Another change for me was school. It was very wet because it rains a lot in Temuco. My school uniform was wet, and you could smell the smoke in the air. It was always filled with people. After we turned 7, we moved to the Bible Institute where my dad was the director, administrator, and a teacher. I remember people staying there all-year round. That Bible Institute was a place for families that were connected to the church. They would ask if they could stop and sleep there since it was in a very central place. The south of Chile is a place that a lot of people like to visit. We would have to help prepare things for the winter at the Bible Institute like getting wood and chopping it up. When you’re chopping wood, the asserín (wood shavings) would blow out. We would collect it and make sure we have enough for the winter. Also, we would take part in summer camps that have a very special place in my heart. It was close to the Andes. That was like the fun part of hanging out with friends. There were only a few trips that we took as a family. When I think about my childhood, I think there were many great memories. Sometimes, there are things you don’t want to remember. I think that those things happen to you for a reason and will shape who you are. One aspect of my childhood that I wasn’t grateful for, especially living in a rural town, was that my grandparents lived in a small, rural town. When we visited, I was like that is boring and lame. I just wanted to stay in the cities and play basketball. It’s ironic because now that is like the life that I wanted to have. My grandparents have a garden. My grandpa was a butcher. My grandmother made butter and jam. Now, there’s a huge inclination for people to live off the grid and collect water from the rain. I think I wasn’t grateful for what my mom was trying to show to me at the moment. I think basketball was a big aspect of growing up. During the summer, there would be tournaments and practices.
Growing up, I never went to a school that was 8am-3pm. I only went to a school that was only a couple hours a day. There were private schools that had the full program from 8-3pm, but my family could not afford that. Private education in Chile is expensive. Coming to the US, there was this sense of disadvantage because of the language. At the same time, I didn’t feel like Chile’s education was that far behind as far as math and science. I was able to do well. Then, I moved into college because that felt like the natural path. College was a rocky season for me because I had to stop taking classes when I was going to get married. Being an international student during that time. I wasn’t able to take loans so I had to pay out-of-pocket. During those years, my father became sick with cancer and passed away. I didn’t feel like it felt right to continue my education. Knowing my dad’s sickness brought a lot of debt because of healthcare bills, it didn’t feel right to go to a private school. I moved back to Fairmont to keep taking college classes (We came on a religious visa. When I started to think about college, I was encouraged to move over to an international visa. What we didn’t realize, most international students come from wealthy families.) I finished my college education in 2019. I graduated high school in 2006. You can do the math to see how many years it took to finish. There were many decisions we made as a family (as in my wife and I) like getting married and working. I couldn’t work right away because I didn’t have a working permit. I didn’t have enough money to pay for expenses and schools. Kids started coming into our lives, and they obviously can be expensive.
Similarities: It doesn’t matter where you go, there’s going to be drama. One thing might not be the same drama in each context or culture. I would say you will face discrimination whether it is how you look, your last name. In Chile, if you have an indigenous last name or look indigenous, people will make fun of you. Here, if you don’t speak the language, you will face adversities as far as people assuming certain things about you.
Differences: The weather is very different, obviously being in Minnesota vs. Chile. The long winters. This is kind of very obvious, but the difference is the pace of life. Here, you are on the go. It feels like you are doing one thing after the other. In Chile, because of cultural things, we are more focused on the collective and community. Production is not as important as communion.
Coming here to the US was a challenge. New culture. New language. Adapting to the new style of living. My parents obviously helped me to remember the important thing, doing my best and trusting God. At the same time, I don’t know if I did this intentionally but connecting with people who can help me with different things. For example, with college… I had no idea. The school counselor that I had wasn’t super helpful. I don’t know if it was language or if I was one of the students that fell through the cracks. I was very grateful for the friend in college who explained to me how the system works. I remember another friend who went around and asked people for money out of her own kindness because she knew we didn’t have the means. She raised donations so that I could take one class. My parents remind me of what's in front of me. The kindness of other people helped me in different areas like paying for school, navigating the system, life in general, correcting me when I stumbled over words in English, etc. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something. Personally, having goals and grit helped me through that. I wanted to make going to college possible somehow. I saw parents doing that for their kids, but my parents didn’t speak English or understand the system. I had to do that by myself by asking friends and older students for help, calling different colleges and going by myself. Another challenge I faced is when I lost my dad in a very crucial part of the year and crucial age that I was and during the end of school year/finals week.
With or without kids? Now, things have changed because of my kids. I like to host people and make food/drinks. I also like to build things like a garden, a chicken coop, or something for my girls. I’ll probably do that! It’s very hard for me to be like I’m just going to take a nap and read.
Because I’m a Christian, I have faith in God that people who know God and understand what he asks for people that identify as Christians. They will do the good work of loving people and loving their neighbor. Am I saying people that aren’t Christians can’t do that? No. People have common grace because we are made in God. We can do common actions. We need to see more people just love their neighbor. I know faith is something broad.
Family plays a big role in my life. Going back to my belief. After loving God, family is very important. It’s like #2 in my list of priorities. My wife and my kids. In the day to day, I am obviously working for my family to provide, cultivating a relationship with my kids so they can grow, and exercise the commandment of loving God with all your heart and soul. At the same time, I love my neighbors.
Definitely because of my faith, Easter is an important holiday to me. The way I celebrate it is by understanding more deeply the roots of how Christians in the early church celebrated it as close as possible to what we see in the Bible, remembering Good Friday or Holy Thursday. Christmas is celebrating and honoring the birth of Jesus because it is tied to our faith. We are centered on the person of Jesus instead of just gifts and stuff. We’re not against stuff like giving gifts. The other big ones are Chilean Independence Day. We make a lot of food, grilled meat, make empanadas, and play Cueca (the typical music). Hopefully, having friends and family that share the same Chilean roots. We used to celebrate New Years…I say used to because Minnesota makes it hard to celebrate New Years when it is -30. In Chile, it was more fun to celebrate it during the warm, summer. When I was younger, we had a church service and waited till midnight as a family. We went around and tried to visit as many families as possible. My values are faith, love, and truth.
Some of my favorite meals are breakfast, lunch, supper. Oh man. I think it would have to be an asado. Asado is like grilled meat, but it’s not just meat. You’re eating a good piece of meat, but there is conversation, a good time, and celebrating something. You are gathering to celebrate people like the national team just won, a birthday, etc.
Something from my culture that I hope to pass on to my children is ‘La once’, the third meal of the day or kind of like a “tea time”. In Chilean culture, we have bread with anything. La once is like tea or coffee with bread. There’s a spread of things like cheese, jam, avocados, sweet things, etc. It has a very special meaning in my life. I love English because of the word cozy. It’s very cozy. In winter, you can get some fried eggs and bread. That’ll do it. You can combine it with many things. Picarones. The best way to explain picarones is like a fried donut floating in like a syrup with orange peels and cinnamon sticks. Another thing is language. Spanish. And hopefully an admiration for soccer.
I think the short answer is yes, I have experienced racism/discrimination. I know you can say like learn more about different cultures, but obviously it’s hard if you haven’t immersed yourself in one. You can watch documentaries and read books, but it’s totally different when you immerse yourself. Go abroad. Like Point A to Point B and face the challenges of the place you are living. Obviously, not everyone can do that. Get to know people that are different from you. Just ask questions instead of assuming things. Learn a language. I think learning a second language will help you to open your eyes to different cultures and understand things better.
My experience moving through education was hard because of language, but there were systems in place in college that provided support. I can’t really say too much on that. I think what was hard was making it affordable. That’s what it is like wherever you go though. Systems aren’t perfect. There will be places that will accommodate people like me, immigrants, better than others because they see the value of seeing people from different countries and how that can enrich their schools. It all comes down to funding. Fairmont is trying to change things, but it is just hard to get people to come into rural communities. In general for rural schools, there is a perception that needs to be changed for students that don’t speak English.
Success to me, is being able to do the things that you love and are passionate about. I am passionate about my girls learning Spanish and the Chilean culture. I am passionate about food. Serving students who are immigrants is another passion of mine. My goal is to live for a short time in Chile with my family and/or overseas somewhere else.
My hope for the community is to become more of a rich community - rich in diversity. When immigrants come to a place and bring their own business, that makes it richer. The most obvious thing will be food. They will bring different flavors. I mean I love El Agave and Plaza Jalisco, but why not Vietnamese? Or an Indian restaurant? Be open to change. Fairmont is a community where the majority is elderly people. I’m not saying to kick them out. That’s not what I’m saying. Just think about bringing younger families and single people. They will bring more consumption and economy. They will be able to boost the economy here.
I enjoy the peacefulness of this community. I can be at ease if my kids are biking on the street or going to the pool. The proximity and how everything is so close is very nice. There is a group of people that want to have this community grow. They want to help people who are new to town. I like that. There are people that want to change things in the community.