Dear President Obama,

I am writing to express gratitude for you having extending an invitation to Maná to the White House on Cinco de Mayo. […] My grandfather and parents came to the United States of America as Mexican immigrants to offer me the opportunity of a better life and I am beyond grateful for their sacrifices. Their sacrifices allowed me to obtain a high school education, which none of them were given the opportunity to do so. Upon graduating high school, I was awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship that allowed me to cultivate my education and earn two bachelors degrees. Last summer, I moved from the west coast to the DC area, and I am currently earning a masters of public health in global environmental health at The George Washington University with the help of the Gates Millennium scholarship. I am sharing this because I hope that my experience shows how Mexicans are not bring problems to the United States of America, but instead are contributing in a myriad of beneficial ways. My story is only one. We have many stories of our contributions to the United States of America, and Maná is a beautiful representation of such contributions. Thus, through you having extended an invitation to Maná, I feel as if the rest of us have also been invited to celebrate the contributions of Mexicans to this country at the White House.

Thank you,

Brenda Trejo