Blanca Alvarez immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1972. She crossed the border with her husband and son while she was pregnant with her daughter, Connie. When they arrived in the U.S., she and her husband worked hard to support their family.

Connie, now 33, came to StoryCorps with her mother to ask her about those early years.

Watch “The Icing on the Cake,” our animated short of Blanca’s story.

Originally aired March 3, 2006, on NPR’s Morning Edition.