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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's Friday, which is when we hear from StoryCorps. Emma Torres and her husband, Rogelio, both grew up in migrant farmworker families. They met in the early 1980s near Yuma, Ariz., and love was the last thing on their minds. She reached out to him because she needed a pickup truck, and he had access to one. More than 40 years later, they came to StoryCorps to talk about their love story.
ROGELIO TORRES: You were not the type of woman I was looking for.
EMMA TORRES: And you were not my type of man either.
(LAUGHTER)
E TORRES: The last person I would look at, it was you. But we started being friends. Then I saw that you were very good with kids, and I had two kids.
R TORRES: Yeah. You used me as a babysitter (laughter).
E TORRES: That was my first interest in you (laughter). You know, when I was in my 20s, my first husband died of leukemia. I was so angry, so upset at life. I was afraid that if I married you, you would die, also. And then I would be a widow again, and I would have to go through the same cycle. But I just thought, when life hits you like this, you have to be strong. You have to stand up.
I dropped school in sixth grade. So my goal was just to speak English and get my GED, and then I would have achieved more education than my family ever had. And the more I would go into night classes and learning, the more I saw the value of education. That's why I kept telling you, come on, go to school. Learn to speak English. You know, education is what breaks the cycle of the poverty that we're in.
R TORRES: You know, as soon as I finished my elementary school, I start working full time. And I do love to work in the fields. But for me it was an obstacle, because if I go to school, I stop working, and in our family, we were proud that we never go to unemployment.
E TORRES: So that was a hard conversation, but (speaking Spanish). You understood.
R TORRES: The most important part for me is that you realize your dreams, and they become my dreams too.
E TORRES: After pursuing a bachelor's and then a master's degree in social work, which was beyond my wildest dreams, we decided to serve our farmworker families and help them improve their lives.
R TORRES: And life is to serve others, help others. You know, I admire you as a woman, as a mother, as a leader. You got your pants on (laughter).
E TORRES: (Speaking Spanish).
R TORRES: Yeah.
E TORRES: As we had agreed, before anything, we would be always friends, and I think that's - that has worked.
R TORRES: We are very fortunate to have each other.
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INSKEEP: Wow. Rogelio and Emma Torres in Yuma, Ariz. They've been married for nearly 40 years and have dedicated their lives to fellow farmworkers at the border. Their conversation is archived at the Library of Congress. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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