FARMINGTON – A former Farmington resident and his family, who were forced to leave the country last year when their visas expired, saw their plans to return to the United States diverted due to COVID-19.
Mauricio Espinal, the former musical director of Sinai Assembly of God Temple in Farmington, and his wife and children left Farmington in June 2019 to return to their local Honduras. The Espinal had been in Farmington for five years on an R1 visa.
Espinal hoped to expand his circle of relatives by applying for an apartment visa, which would have allowed him to stay in the country for another 10 years. But his application was blocked with immigration officials when his R1 visa expired on June 3, 2019, so the family circle returned to Honduras. They hoped their residency visa application would be approved this summer, allowing them to return to Farmington.
This did not happen, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Espinal realizes that it will probably be some time before he can arrange to bring his circle of relatives back to the United States, so he sets up for an extended stay in his home country and seeks the help of his supporters here for a living. .
Espinal, a complete keyboardist, composer, music maker and sound engineer, hopes to build a small recording and production studio in the garden of his rented home in Honduras so that he can paint on projects for his clients in the United States. Farmington area resident and musician Sheldon Pickering helped organize a fundraising crusade on behalf of his friend, emailing on August 6 asking Espinal’s friends and affiliates to make a $4,000 contribution to the project.
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“He’s going to export his experience to me and others here, which is pretty good,” Pickering said of Espinal’s ability to paint on remote music projects if he can raise enough money to build the studio.
The task that spinal has in the brain is modest, with a plant of 13 to 9 feet. But he said it will be to accommodate up to 3 musicians at a time and will have everything mandatory for optimal operation.
He said he wanted the studio to print and thought he could build it within 30 days if he could raise the funds. Pickering stated that he had referred several American music clients to his friend, but if Espinal doesn’t have a studio to work from, he won’t be able to do this job.
“He wants that space, ” said Pickering. “There’s something about an artist and his space.”
Espinal has maintained the optimism of his feature films despite a number of private setbacks for more than a year. The economic situation in your local country was already poor and the COVID-19 pandemic made them even worse.
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He had discovered a task in a Honduran church of the same denomination as his church in Farmington and had worked there for 8 months, which allowed his family. But he was recently removed from the post for 120 days and he has a few months left before he can return to work.
To make matters worse, the Assembly of God of the Sinai Temple in Farmington, which sponsored his family, forced Espinal’s request to be suspended from returning to Etats-Unis. The length of his congregation was dramatically affected by the economic recession in San Juan County, and the paintings he had for Espinal when his planned return was eliminated.
“At the moment, our scenario in America is complicated,” Espinal said in an email. “I sense that the option would be for the church of the same denomination to ask us as a family. Another option is for a company or herbal user to want my musical skills and to be able to go to the government that they need me and can sponsor us. Even when everything is normalized, I don’t think the church that sponsored us in the afterlife is in an economic position to fund our return.”
Espinal said the effect of COVID-19 in Honduras was roughly the same as in the United States, with many other people dying and many others wasting their jobs.
“From my point of view, our government has done very little and treated the emergency impromptuly,” he said in the email. “In addition, the Honduran population is very unhappy about this and the corruption that spills into government officials.”
He said that even in general circumstances, the Honduran economy tended to have problems and feared that the economic benefits of the virus had still felt entirely in their home country.
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But he said his countrymen are resilient people and he believes they will face this challenge.
“The ultimate valuable resource in Honduras is Hondurans,” he said. “Hondurans are hardworking, artistic and persevering people. We look to the long term with eyes full of religion and hope, believing that each and every Honduran will put the most out of each and every one to advance this beautiful nation.”
Pickering echoed this appreciation, explaining that when he went to Honduras last fall to Espinal and performed a Get Advantage concert there, he discovered other very friendly, very friendly and highly educated people.
He encouraged Espinal’s friends in Farmington’s domain to contribute to the fundraising crusade for a study, adding that his confidence in him would be well placed.
“I would say, “Think of a moment when someone gave you a chance, ” he said. «… He’s a smart guy and he’s looking to do the right thing. He doesn’t ask for McMansion, he asks his family for an area. It’s a smart aspiration and a smart cause.
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Espinal hopes he and his circle of relatives can return to the United States, but is willing to make the most of things in Honduras if that doesn’t happen.
“We are other people who are open to replacing and new opportunities,” he said. “Our desire is to return in the right and legal way if the opportunity arises. Farmington has been our home for five years. Many of our lives and reports have been planted there. The Farmington network welcomed us as a family. However, Honduras is our land. If a new opportunity does not arise, I am sure that we will move forward guided by our God.”
You can contact Mike Easterling at 505-564-4610 or [email protected]. Support journalism with a virtual subscription.