By Ashley D’Ambrosia

I always know when my grandfather is at my house, because I can hear the sound of the piano inside as I step into the garage. Music has always been an essential part of my grandfather’s life. As a child, when my grandparents would watch me, we would always be doing something musical together. Whether we were playing maracas, triangle, piano, marimba, or listening to Nicaraguan music, whenever I was with my grandparents, music was always involved. When my grandparents would come to Virginia to visit, my grandfather would always bring his keyboard. When I was a child, my grandfather wanted me to learn to play the piano, so we would sit together for hours playing the keyboard together while my grandmother sat and listened. 

My grandparents’ heritage has always been influential. My favorite dish my grandmother makes is cow’s tongue, but I did not realize this was the name of this dish until two years ago when I traveled to Costa Rica, and they were serving this exact dish. My first reaction upon hearing the name of this dish was, “Ew, why would I want to eat cow tongue?” My parents then responded, “You have been eating this since you were a baby; we’ve just been calling it soft meat.” My parents had been tricking me for 16 years to get me to eat this Hispanic delicacy, and it worked. Cow’s tongue, or as I like to call it, “soft meat,” has been my favorite dish of my grandmother’s for as long as I can remember.  

Growing up in two different parts of Nicaragua, living two completely different lives, my maternal grandmother and grandfather, Antonia Andrea Artola and Gersam Pastor Tuckler, have always been an essential part of my life. They met in the United States after immigrating here separately, seeking a different life and new opportunities.

Tuckler was born in 1938 in Managua, Nicaragua, to parents who were well known throughout the city. His mother was Concepción Hernández, better known as Doña Conchita, and his father was Gersam Tuckler Nogera. Tuckler had an older sister, Enriquetta, and a younger brother, Edgar. Doña Conchita owned the most famous pharmacies in the city: Botica Tuckler, located in El Mercado Central de Managua, and Farmacia 15 de Septiembre, located on 15 de Septiembre Street in Managua. His mother, the pharmacist, was the breadwinner of the family and worked long hours every day to provide for the family. His father, who originally studied law, ended up helping his wife run the pharmacies. When his father was not working, he collected books, antiques, and listened to music, and when he played music using his record player, he would play it loudly from their balcony for everyone in the city to hear. Not only did Nogera play music for everyone in the city to hear, but he also collected many antiques (he owned over 600), wrote poems, and owned more books than the Library of Managua. The people of Managua were intrigued by him. Articles were written about him in the local newspaper, La Prensa, and people would come to see his antiques, books, and listen to music. 

The Tuckler family was very wealthy by Nicaraguan standards of the time. Chipita, their servant, helped raise the kids and take care of the house. She cleaned, cooked, and watched the children, since Doña Conchita spent most of her time working. Tuckler and his siblings went to Instituto Pedagógico La Salle, a private school in Managua, where he learned to speak English. Since his mother played the piano and his father loved music, Tuckler and his siblings all took piano lessons. Tuckler was the one who enjoyed it the most and ended up with a passion for music. Tuckler’s passion for music led him to learn various other instruments, including the harmonica, accordion, and the marimba, and he would write his music as well. When Tuckler was in his early twenties, he played piano at bars in Managua, and his music was also played on the radio. 

Artola was born in 1937 to her two parents, who lived on a farm in Masaya, Nicaragua. When she was five years old, Artola and her siblings moved to live with their Aunt Maria in the city of Granada. Their aunt owned a clothing shop, so she was able to send her nieces and nephews to a Catholic school, Maria Auxilidora. When Artola got older, she would help her aunt sell goods at the shop, but as time went on, she wanted to find new experiences. 

When Tuckler was in his mid-twenties, he started working at an oil refinery in Managua, yet he quit after a death at the refinery made him concerned for his safety. He tried to find new jobs in Managua, and his parents always encouraged him to study law, medicine, or become a pharmacist, but all he wanted to do was play music. A friend of his who was familiar with the United States suggested that he move to New York to find a job and play his music. Through a lawyer in Nicaragua, Doña Cochinta got Tuckler a Green Card, or Permanent Resident Card, which would allow him to travel to the United States. Doña Cochinta had friends and family in the United States, which made her more comfortable sending him to New York. 

Upon arriving in the United States in 1965, at the age of 27, Tuckler found he was discriminated against, and it was hard for him to find a job due to his Latin American looks and his Hispanic accent when speaking English. However, finding friends was not difficult. Tuckler eventually joined the U.S. Army in 1969 and was stationed at Fort Dix in New Jersey, which is when he was granted his citizenship. 

When Tuckler first joined the Army, he was told he only had to serve for two years. Later on, he was told he needed to serve longer than that, and he felt cheated. He decided to fight for his rights and won. He never had to complete his full duty and was honorably discharged in 1971. After discharge, Tuckler was able to find small jobs through friends while he studied science at LaGuardia Community College, and graduated with an Associates Degree in Science in 1978. Once he received his degree, it provided him more job opportunities, and he eventually found a job at Bulova Watch Company. After 22 years of working at Bulova, he accepted an involuntary retirement and went to work as a security guard at a nursing home. 

Music was always an important part of Tuckler’s life. Through friends and the Latin American community in New York, Tuckler also had opportunities to play the piano and marimba at various events, such as weddings and parties. As soon as Tuckler could afford it, he purchased a piano in the early New York City days and played it all the time. My mom, Vanessa D’Ambrosia remembers, “Growing up, my father was always playing the piano.” 

Meanwhile, in 1964, his future wife Artola got a six-month vacation visa to New York. After staying for a few months with a family friend in New York, she decided she wanted to stay. She said, “I enjoyed my time vacationing, and I wanted to stay.” However, she could not get a job until she had a Green Card. Before her visa ran out, she applied for her Green Card and received it within three months, a process that was much quicker and simpler than it is today for immigrants arriving in the U.S. She said, “I went to the immigration office and applied for my Green Card. It was easy.” With a Green Card, she was able to find work at a jewelry-making factory in the city. She did not enjoy her new job, so through other friends, she found various jobs as a seamstress working at different factories in the Fashion District in Manhattan until she retired. After six months of living in New York, Artola was able to apply for her U.S. citizenship. Artola remembers, “The test was fairly easy. They asked me questions similar to who is the current president of the United States, and who was the first president of the United States. They even let me take the test in Spanish.”

Like Tuckler, finding friends was not difficult for Artola, and it helped both of them assimilate into life in New York. The Nicaraguan and Latin American communities were very welcoming, and Artola and Tuckler were able to meet through mutual friends in late 1965. Six months later, they got married and moved to Queens, New York, where most of their friends and family lived.

In 1968, my mother, Vanessa Tuckler D’Ambrosia, was born in Queens, New York, and the Tucklers tried to raise her as much as an American as possible. They spoke only in English to her, hoping this would help deter anti-Hispanic discrimination, so she could have the life they never did. They remembered what it was like when they first came to New York and how difficult it was when English was not their first language. This experience has been passed on to me and my sister, Olivia D. (’24). When we were young, my mother asked her parents to speak to us in Spanish, but Tuckler felt that it would hurt us, and therefore would only speak to us in English. 

One of Tuckler’s visions when coming to the States was to leave a mark on the world by sharing his stories and music. After Tuckler retired in the early 90s, he published four books: Poesías, Elegía y Narración (all of Nogera’s poems), Culpable por Asociación, Poemas y Canciones, and Los Pollos. To this day, he still loves playing the piano and is still writing music, which he hopes will one day get published. 

After living in Queens for over 40 years, my grandparents moved to Richmond in 2011 to be closer to my mom and my sister and I. Even though they moved to Richmond, and spend time with my family, their social life has been difficult, with a smaller Latin American community in the area. They have tried to integrate themselves through church and other activities but have struggled.

As immigrants in the 1960s, their path to citizenship was relatively easy; however, their integration into society was difficult. It was hard for them to find jobs due to the language barrier and discrimination. Many changes have been made to immigration laws and policies in the last 50 years, making it more difficult for immigrants to become citizens of the United States. 

Tuckler and Artola were fortunate that they immigrated to the United States when the immigration laws were not as strict. They received their visas, Green Cards, and citizenship without much hardship, unlike today, where immigrants struggle to gain legal entry to the United States. 

Most recently, in 2019, the Trump administration made many changes to immigration policies that would slow legal immigration and strengthen the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to enforce immigration laws. These new laws made by the Trump administration will be put into effect later this year. 

Some changes include raising the cost of the citizenship through naturalization application, changing the citizenship test, expanding the list of behaviors that would reflect an “absence of good moral character,” and creating new obstacles for obtaining a work permit for asylum seekers. 

Unlike today, my grandparents remember not having to pay a fee to apply for their citizenship. The current fee for citizenship is $1,170, up from $640, an 83% increase. The U.S. government also has begun charging asylum seekers $50 for their application, and $490 for a work permit, making the United States one of only four countries who charge for asylum.  USA Today defines “seeking asylum” as, “Someone is asking for political protection from another country because they cannot return to their own country.” Asylum is different from a visa, because people who come to the US with a visa are not trying to escape their own country and are only coming for vacation, to work, or go to school. 

Starting in December 2020, permanent residents who apply for citizenship will also face a more challenging test than in the past.  In contrast to Artola’s test in 1966, in this new test, immigrants must prove that they can read, write, and speak basic English and have essential knowledge of United States history and government. Revisions to the new test will include harder questions regarding government and history, as well as an oral examination. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also added 15 new behaviors to the list of behaviors that would reflect the absence of a “good moral character.” Some of those behaviors include bank fraud, failure to file or pay taxes, false claim to U.S. citizenship, insurance fraud, unlawful voting, and a few more.  

The most impactful thing that is stopping immigration is the new rule regarding asylum requests at the southern border. The new regulation allows the USCIS to forbid asylum applications from immigrants who traveled to another country before coming to the U.S. and failed to apply for asylum there. Previously, this was never a requirement for asylum seekers, and immigrants seeking asylum did not have to meet this prerequisite.  

In order to become a United States citizen today, specific requirements need to be met, and several steps that need to be taken to be granted citizenship. Some of the requirements include: 

• Being 18 at the age of applying
• Living in the United States for five continuous years
• Having a clean criminal record
• Being able to read, write and speak basic English
• Having knowledge of U.S. history and government

Once a candidate has applied, USCIS schedules a biometric services appointment in which the immigrant will get fingerprints, a photo, and a signature. 

Once this is completed, an interview and exam are to be held. To pass the civics exam, immigrants must correctly answer six out of the ten questions correctly and read and write out one of the three sentences given to them. 

Just recently, amid the coronavirus time, President Donald Trump has made a surprising announcement. He tweeted, “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States.” No one knows how long this order will last. Yet it will make an impact on immigration in the United States for years to come. 

Things have changed drastically since my grandparents immigrated to the US, and they have their own opinions on the immigration laws today. Atrola states, “I was able to gain legal status in the United States, and I think others should as well. I do not think it should be so hard to become a citizen, but I do not like how there are so many undocumented immigrants living in the United States today.” Tuckler has similar views. He states, “I do not think it is fair for undocumented immigrants to live in the United States without working and paying income taxes, but still using social benefits such as the public school system and the libraries. I knew many undocumented immigrants in New York that worked and did not pay taxes but used the schools and other things that were supported by taxes. I pay my taxes, and so should everyone else.” Tucker and Artola came to the United States legally and believed that others should do the same.

Like many immigrants, Artola and Tuckler came to the United States in search of new opportunities. They found jobs, made friends, got married, and had a family. They were able to accomplish the American dream, but they also faced many challenges. Although they have integrated into their American life, they did not leave their culture behind. To this day, my grandfather still plays Nicaraguan music, and my grandmother makes the most amazing Nicaraguan dishes. 

Read more from The Match about American Dream immigration stories:

Joseph Ascoli (’20) tells the tale of his Italian grandfather’s arrival in America.

Dalton Ruh (’16) recounts his grandparents’ arrival in Virginia from the Philippines.