[Mesquite, Nevada] It’s 6 a.m. THE truck stop of Mesquite between night and day. Time for a truck ballet. Those who drive at night arrive to sleep. Those who ride during the day set off after the night break.
Behind the mountains, a sparkling orange bathes the landscape with a strange softness that seems to match the movement of the immense trucks which enter and exit surprisingly delicately from the parking lot.
Davis Dee left Denver, Colorado, and has to transport books to California. He has been driving trucks for 27 years. He is proud to tell me that his daughter is a doctor. His son died in dramatic circumstances. We won’t talk too much about it. But his granddaughter studies art history in Italy, and he finds that extraordinary.
Like the other daytime drivers, he stocked up on coffee. He took a shower. He’s ready to hit the road again.
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Davis Dee in front of his truck.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
Before he was a truck driver, Davis Dee was a soldier. A Vietnam veteran. He shows me his scars, many of them. On the head. On his arm and on one leg. His body is forever scarred by a war that deeply polarized American public opinion in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
On the highway of history, we tend to forget that there were many curves and crossroads before arriving at the present crossroads. Davis Dee’s political vision becomes clearer in light of this story. The man is politically disillusioned, but will vote for Donald Trump. I don’t think Kamala Harris has enough experience, he explains. He evokes what he considers to be a time of social disorder, of decline. There are too many illegal immigrants, too many homeless people, too many drug addicts. Our country is heading towards decay.
Davis must leave us. Every minute counts. I can’t be late, he said. Do I have time for one last question, quickly? Okay. I ask him what he absolutely must remember about his country. What should we know about this country? All of a sudden, the hourglass seems to have stopped. Davis Dee takes time to linger. The United States is beautiful. Utah, Colorado, Washington State, it’s magnificent. Driving in these landscapes is very meditative, we never tire of it. This is what we must remember about this country. Her beauty.
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You can find a little bit of everything inside the Mesquite truck stop.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
As a pale sun rises in the sky, truckers driving through the night make their way inside the truck stop of Mesquite. The employees are friendly and warm. It’s like they’re welcoming family members back after a long day. On the microphone, a male voice calls people in line for the showers: Shower number 5 is ready.
André Perron, our director, records ambient sound for the podcast that we will take from our trip. He is fascinated by the ton of caps there are for sale here. With eagles, wolves, bears. Obviously, there is the Trump model. André asks the cashier if there is one with Harris’ name on it too. No. We don’t have Harris caps, she replies, tersely.
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In the early morning, the restaurant prepares to welcome the truckers who arrive and others who leave.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
Sitting at the tables of the small restaurant which offers family cuisine to truckers, I eat a few French toasts chatting with Carlos in Spanish. Here, the Spanish language is heard more than English on the radio and in shops.
Moreover, before becoming an American territory, the region which includes Nevada was part of Mexico. It was ceded to the United States in 1848, following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War. This treaty allowed the United States to take possession of a vast swath of territory in the West, which included not only Nevada, but also neighboring California and Arizona.
Carlos is from El Salvador, but he became an American citizen a few years ago. I still have a house in El Salvador. I go there in the summer when it becomes unbearable here.
A trucker of Salvadoran origin comes forward and orders eggs, bacon and beans. We discuss politics in the smell of cinnamon French toasts. The driver is going to vote for Harris. He finds that Trump is racist. While Carlos is resolutely in favor of Trump. Harris will let illegal immigrants live off the population; I don’t like it.
The attempted insurrection at the Capitol, the issue of abortion, the ex-president’s erratic comments… All of this leaves Carlos indifferent. He shrugs. He left a messy country; he wants a country in order.
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Stefannia Vasquez in front of her truck,
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
I leave Carlos to join Stefannia Vasquez, 31 years old. The trucker of Mexican origin offered to take us with her to Utah and it was time for her to leave. She has to deliver food to Salt Lake City.
Wearing a cowboy hat, the young woman scans her Instagram account while waiting for us. The inside of his truck smells good. It’s tidy. As she leaves, she places her phone on a stand. Can I film you? she asks André and me as we get into the cabin. Despite living in the United States for three years now, she doesn’t feel very comfortable with English and asks us if we can chat in Spanish.
As we leave Eagle Landing, Stefannia Vasquez smiles happily at the thought of getting back on the road. This delights me. The road enchants me. I feel like I’m in control of my life when I’m on the road, in this truck.
Stefannia tells me a little about her life. She has a master’s degree in business administration, but she was making a living in Mexico. That’s why she now works seven days a week behind the wheel of her behemoth. My dream is to become an airplane pilot. I’m scraping together my money to get there.
Chance, sometimes, is worthy of mention. The young woman tells me about her ambitions as we pass through one of the film’s filming locations Thelma et Louise. A canyon called Beaver Dam. Released in 1991, this cult film tells the brief journey of two women taking control of their destiny at the wheel of a convertible and denounces harassment, rape as well as the psychological and physical violence that women suffer.
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Stefannia Vasquez had to fight to get behind the wheel.
Photo : Radio-Canada / IVANOH DEMERS
To the sound of lively music, Stefannia explains to me with a smile that, as a woman, she has never had any problems in the United States. His fellow truckers are very respectful. She is never afraid at rest stops and transport companies do not discriminate against women. Quite the contrary. I could never have experienced this in Mexico, she points out. Mexico is still a very macho country. In the United States, I can do whatever I want. I’m living my American dream.
By 2023, 8% to 10% of commercial truck drivers were women in the United States. Although this figure seems low, it represents growth compared to previous years, when women were almost non-existent in this field just a few years ago.
Woman, young, educated, ambitious, Latin American and feminist. I suspect Stefannia favors the Democrats. Well no. The American dream is: you work hard and you reap what you sow. I don’t want to pay for illegal immigrants who are delinquents. So, I would vote for Trump if I could vote, but I’m not a citizen yet.
Stefannia fought to be behind that wheel. She is proud of it. His Instagram account bears witness to this. May my Mexican compatriots do like me: follow the legal process and pay taxes in the USA, she said without empathy for the asylum seekers, before dropping us off on the side of the road, a few kilometers after the border. between Arizona and Utah.
Before hitting the road again towards Salt Lake City, she asks us to pose for a selfie in front of her white truck, and she rushes to post it on Instagram.
