The reasons for immigrating to the United States vary from person to person. Often, those who make the trip decide to leave everything behind in their home countries, in search of better opportunities, but the cost paid is also high. For Andrés Felipe Martínez, the Colombian actor who gave life to Malcolm Rios in the telenovela Pasión de gavilanes, that engine was his children. At the age of 60, he left acting on a small plane, while immigrating to the American soil with a clear goal.

In an interview published by Caracol Televisión via its YouTube channel, the artist’s followers witnessed his radical change. Andrés Felipe Martínez started his career on the small screen. However, it was not excluded from the realities of Latin America and was overtaken by economics. Looking at the scenario, he decides that his children deserve better opportunities. A year ago, by his own account, he sold all his belongings and set off on the journey. “I came here first to settle locally, I already have Social Security, I already have a work permit. I got a lawyer to apply for a special talent or ability visa.”

I agree with you US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), this visa is for people who excel in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, and who have demonstrated a record of achievement in those sectors. “As I say, I have neither talent nor special abilitiesBut yeah, 40 years of experience and that has served me well,” the actor shared.

In his testimony, he asserted that his economic situation had not been the best in the past two years. That was, upon his arrival in the United States, he tried everything to survive, Even clean homes. Today he works for a shipping company, where he did the interview with the above medium.

Homelessness is a common feeling among immigrants

When Andrés returned home in his car, he said he had moments of doubt, which are no stranger to those who struggle with the migration phenomenon: “I say to myself: ‘What am I doing here? “It’s like being on Mars, it’s like being on the moon. If I go back, the lack of my kids is terrible and there are moments of very deep crisis. I’m doing it for them.”

The popular series actor is so clear about his purpose that he knows it’s also a drive to overcome adversity: “If I didn’t have my kids, I would be in Colombia. Here you suffer a lot, the conditions are very difficult, but there is a big difference. While I was doing something like I did last year He wouldn’t give me anything to eat, here he is. And not just for that, but for sending money to my kids and also for saving.”

Sleep on the floor

Regarding the routine, he hints that the house he lives in is shared with other people, but it doesn’t seem to matter to him: “I had to sleep on the floor sometimes, because I preferred to stay in a certain place and not go back to my house, why is that It cost me time and dollars“, pointed out.

And so, one day he ended up at a station in downtown Miami, until his “guardian angel,” as he called him, recognized him and paid for his ticket. No matter if he had to walk home in the heat of hell or storms, there was a phrase tattooed on his mind: “MYour children, my childrenFollow Martinez.

“When I talk to them, The greatest isolation is that they are right there in Colombia. My son, who is in Spain, says to me: “Dad, I need you.” That my little boy tells me it breaks my heart. It makes me feel like I lack strength“.

Despite the fact that every day is a challenge, acting in it is almost like Gene and has managed to do theater on several occasions. In addition, at this time he wrote scripts. He stressed that he hopes that these sacrifices for his family will be worth it.