Mario was born in El Salvador and emigrated from El Salvador to the US at 7 years of age in October of 1981. He crossed the US-Mexican border on foot with a “coyote” as an undocumented immigrant 24 hours after his Mother and Brother crossed on foot themselves, also with a “coyote”. The “coyote-in-chief” promised Mario’s mother that he would be driven across, in fact, that did not happen. Mario ran across, approximately 12 hours, around Tijuana airport and the desert. He has memories of running night and day across the desert, hiding and sleeping in desert trees and shrubs in order to take cover from helicopter surveillance.
He ran incessantly with a “coyote” who helped him on his journey across the border, and the coyote carrying him when he was too fatigued to keep running. Mario has told this story many times in various settings, and has always thought of the coyote as a guide and not as a smuggler. After all, the journey across borders was a search for a better life; running for his life with his family’s lives directly threatened in El Salvador. The coyote helped guide Mario through his border crossing from one life to the next, and he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. Mario came here for a better life, his mother wanted more for her sons; she wanted them to be safe, to live. It wasn’t until recently when Mario was telling his story to a group of physicians, that someone reacted to his use of the term “guide” and corrected it: “You mean a smuggler?”
Mario’s mother was a teacher at the time in El Salvador, and she was part of a group of teachers who advocated for better salaries and work environment, much like a teacher’s union. The government did not allow people to organize and deemed these teachers “communist”, and told his mother that they would kill her and her sons if she did not leave the country. She was 38 years old at the time, Mario’s older brother was 15 years old, and Mario was 7 years old. Mario remember bits and pieces of life in El Salvador, his memory remains hazy from that period. He recollects taking a bus from El Salvador to Mexico, which is where his family split up, in Guadalajara.
He arrived in Los Angeles, CA and subsequently flew to NYC, where he attended English as a Second Language (ESL) from 2nd through 4th grades.
His Mother served as the family glue, and provided direction, guidance, love, and strength early on in the US. As the only source of income for the family unit, his Mother set an example of resilience and work ethic. She cut meat in the freezer of a local supermarket in the Bronx for the first year in the US; his Mother was previously a teacher in El Salvador who fought for equal rights and pay for her fellow teachers. The Salvadoran government labeled her group’s work “communist”, and was consequently threatened to be killed along with Mario and his Brother if they did not flee the country. Upon arriving in New York City, his Mother quickly secured her own apartment in the Bronx, within 12 months; they initially stayed with close family friends that were also fellow Salvadoran teachers. Both Mario and his Brother started working at an early age (12 yrs. old for Mario) and quickly learned the value of the dollar. The family never requested nor received public aid, Mario’s Mother refused it early on; after the supermarket job and a series of other labor intensive jobs, she was blessed to work as the housekeeper of a multimillionaire in NYC and took care of cleaning their house for 20 years.
Mario’s Mother sacrificed her entire life with faith and with hope of a bright future for her two sons. Mario will be eternally grateful and in awe of his mother's sacrifice; she continues to be one of his closest friends and advisers. He received his early education within the New York City public school system; he finished the first half of high school in the Bronx and the latter half on Long Island. Mario’s family became eligible for a “green card” during the late 1980s through amnesty (IRCA of 1986 under President Reagan), and was undocumented up until that time; Mario became a naturalized citizen in the early 2000s. His mentors have played a significant role in his life since middle school and continue to be a major life presence.
Dr. Mendoza earned his BS degree in chemistry from SUNY College at Old Westbury, and an MS in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also earned his M.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. He is an Anesthesiologist by training and resides in NYC.
