Music prodigy, deported
Yerko DiFonis / Image source: NYdailynews.com
Yerko was born in Chile, blind and partially deaf. When his parents discovered his musical talent and grew frustrated with the lack of opportunities for their son in their native country, they sold everything and came to the United States. In New York, Yerko flourished. Fitted with special hearing aids and attending the prestigious La Guardia school of the performing arts, Yerko, an honor roll student, learned to be independent and spent his days pursuing his passion but in October of 2010, U.S. Immigration deported Yerko and his family.
Now living in Chile, Yerko continues with his music, but dreams of coming back to study in the United States some day.
To read more of Yerko’s inspiring story, or to make a donation which will go towards continuing his education, visit the Hear The World foundation.
Posted on June 8, 2011, in Corazón, immigration, kindness, música, politics. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
I loooove these type of stories amiga! Uplifting, where the human potential is taken beyond our own preconceptions… WOW! Gracias por compartirla!
Is there anyone trying to bring them back to the US or do you think maybe they can be happy now in Chile because Yerko has had huge leaps in his education? Interesting to see what happens!
Un abrazo!
Isn’t it so inspirational? All of them are so brave and I admire the parents so much.
Yerko does want to return to the United States to pursue his music studies and the link on the bottom of the post there is an organization that is trying to help him do that. I do not know if the parents are trying to return or not, but if Yerko returned and became a Citizen, depending on whether the parents have been banned or not, he could petition for them.
The parents are amazing! Love love luuuuvd it. :D
Ojalá Yerko pueda regresar. So much potential to explore still!
He’s so talented! Estoy seguro de que una buena academia chilena lo encontrará a él para que siga estudiando.
Estoy de acuerdo, Federico.
Wow…that’s a shame. This kid’s story is amazing though! =)
Really is – and I’m sure he’ll be a success wherever he goes – but it’s still sad and outrageous that he was deported.
WOW! What a talented young man! I would love to know where he ends up in 10 yrs. I am sure he will be doing amazing things!
Very talented!
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