The Girl Immigrant

By: Patricia Ruiz Steele

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Across the miles of Spain, through the flowers of Hawaii and into the state of California, a little girl followed her family and found a life unimagined and a man to share it with. Hawaii! It was 1911. They left everything they knew — sometimes even everyone they loved — to start a new life in a faraway land called Hawaii and later in America. Their immigration story is epic, filled with tragedy, triumph, adversity and love. Loss and promise. Studying Spanish history and the massive immigration resources helped paint a rich portrait of the people who came here and the the lives they created. This is their immigration story. Manuela, the oldest daughter of a poor family from Fuentesauco in the Province of Zamora in northern Spain, makes their way south to La Linea at the Rock of Gibraltar and the immigrant ship, the SS Orteric* with her extended family. Excited, but frightened, she looks forward to the adventure, Hawaii and from there, America, the Promised Land. Although reluctant to leave her grandmother, she adjusts to life on the ship, SS Orteric, but wishes she was back on land. As actual historical events move the plot, they influence her thoughts, maturity, and future. This is the author's grandmother's story where she makes Spain and Hawaii come alive.