Meet Luis David Anduray-Escoto

Luis David, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Of course, let’s start with the basics. But some may know me as “Louie V”. I am a twenty-year-old Latino immigrant and currently a junior at Arizona State University. My story starts in the country of Honduras, where I was born in 97′ — I know a young buck. At the age of three, my mother made the decision of moving to the United States as a result of us needing to escape toxic, and emotionally abusive situations. This is then where my story moves over to The 305, Miami, FL. Soon after, Miami became forever my home and is where I grew up and spent a majority of my youth.

Fast-forward to my early teens, my brother was no longer in the picture as he tasked with conquering his dreams and left off to California. My sister was assuming her identity as a young adult trying to navigate her way through high school. I went through my elementary, middle and started my high school years in Miami, then fast-forward another couple years and my story then moves over to Buckeye, Arizona, where my mother, sister and I are reunited with my brother and my nephews. This is when I started to mature and grow and realize the truths and reality of this world. I began to understand and finally got the answer to why as an undocumented immigrants we were forced to jump through fences, and swim through oceans just to receive the same opportunities as someone else who was lucky enough to be born in the U.S. I went through high school hidden, trying to blend in as much as possible, trying to keep that side of my life as private as I could. I didn’t want anyone to know I was undocumented, that I was on DACA or even the slightest thing like that I couldn’t get my license because even I was convinced that it was something to be ashamed of. It was during my last semester of high school that I started to find my passion. I found a love for advocating and for social justice. I found a fire for helping those who need it and teaching others through my mistakes and struggles so that they won’t have to live it.

Fast forward another couple years, receiving my permanent residency, two near-death-should’ve-been-dead experiences, countless dances with depression, pledging the most Honorable fraternity (Sigma Lambda Beta int.), and adding a major in social work, we get to where I am today. My story has to lead to the newest of chapters and I find myself trying to build a platform of many means to be able to advocate and educate for a better world through my learning and experience.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Mmmmm, the rocky roads are always the best. We’ll begin with when my family moved to Miami, keeping my family and home country situation confidential. So, at this point, we stepped into the role of first-generation immigrants. This, however, caused my storyline to skip the exposition and get right to the rising action. Coming to the U.S as an undocumented immigrant definitely put us in for a ride that none of us could have prepared for.

My mother, Linda, an eternal Queen, and sole-provider to my brother, sister, and I showed her unquestionable love as she sacrificed everything for us. My mother started up her own personal cleaning business where she would spend countless hours, seven days a week, visiting different locations maintaining and servicing houses and offices. We couldn’t afford a car so my mom relied on the public bus for transportation. She would then have to carry all of her supplies, mops, brooms, buckets, everywhere she went. Being low-income brought upon struggles that are still very alive and well today. I can recall times where we would question if we were going to starve another night, and times when we all would all have to press together to share a single futon in the studio. We remained struggling and helpless, due to our legal status. We weren’t allowed to apply for and governmental aid or get a steady job because we were still undocumented.

My mother inspired me and helped my story continue, by prospering through all the tribulations we were put through and demonstrating how courageous she was. Moving to my early teens, I became the only man of the house and had to assume the role. I started trying to do all I could to be the man since no one else was, I taught myself and became my own person. I started selling candy at my school, trying to do anything I could to get some income to help my mother with bills and put food on the table.

Moving onto my adolescence, when I would force myself to be someone I wasn’t, I found myself starting to have more internal struggles through my growth of understanding of the world and just how cruel it could be. One of the realizations that showed me came at the most abrupt times. A little after, around my senior year, I started hearing about going to college and higher education options but paid them absolutely no attention.

I didn’t believe I could go to college because as a DACAmented student I wasn’t eligible to receive any federal aid, FASFA, loans, grants or national or federal scholarships. I didn’t believe that college was a privilege I was entitled to. Luckily, I decided to apply for a private scholarship I stumbled upon called theDream.US, that was for DACA recipients only and that seemed way too good to be true. Halfway through summer, I received a call that let me know that I had the option of attending ASU with a full-tuition scholarship that I won. This turned something that was a mere idea into a reality.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Fansy Photography | Kinaesthetic

As I continue to write my story and bring about new chapters, I find myself relying on two separate pillars for not only support — but the energy, waves, and love. Devon Rodriguez owner and creator of Kinaesthetic, one of the pillars. I have the privilege of calling this man my brother. Got connected when he moved out to Arizona and been working with him ever since. Kinaesthetic is more than just a line, its a movement. With this new chapter of trying to create a presence and a platform for me to be able t0 achieve my dream of realizing human rights and dignity, Kinaesthetic inspired me to get into Modeling and motivate and advocate through photography. Got the honor of doing my first shoot rockin’ the Kinaesthetic gear and got to jumpstart a new goal of mine and truly be the best person I could be.

Stephanie Rosa and Fansy Photography

Where to begin? Undoubtedly a huge pillar for me to lean and rely on. In this chapter, I have had Stephanie there to help create and capture my dreams through her brilliance and a keen eye. While she has blessed me with the magic she works with her lens’, the real magic and blessings are what she does off camera. Stephanie and Fansy Photography have been helping me with the obstacles and challenges I have been faced with as an immigrant. I have had the opportunity of collating with her for a couple projects already, with some more big ones to come down the road. These pillars are forever, so we’re always gonna have something to look forward to.

What were you like growing up?
Naive, and ignorant, but I was definitely living blissfully. Very active and extroverted. I put my time and effort into playing sports and being socially active. Was never one to be by myself.

Contact Info:

• Email: LuisD.Anduray@hotmail.com
• Instagram: Louieve_
• Twitter: LuisAnduray_

Image Credit:
Stephanie Rosa

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