A designer created a heartfelt gesture for his first-generation immigrant father by including a photo of him with his first American car on a t-shirt range for Walmart.
Ignacio Guerra, 68, from Los Angeles, California, was moved to tears by the gesture when his son surprised him with the range hitting shop floors across the country.
Ignacio moved to the United States in 1974, and the first car he purchased was a sporty 1968 Dodge Charger.
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From time to time, Ignacio’s son, David, would look through old family photobooks with his mother, and during one such search, he found an image of Ignacio sitting on top of his beloved Charger.
David is a designer with Latin-owned clothing brand Wish Me Luck, who was approached by Walmart and Complex about a project for Hispanic Heritage Month.
The project would see a line of clothing featured in Walmart stores, and David thought this would be the perfect opportunity to pay homage to those who built the foundation for him to be a designer.
He selected the cool-looking image of his father sitting on his Dodge, underneath which he wrote, “Since 1974,” the year Ignacio came to America.
The collection was dubbed “Dreamers From The Motherland,” and on September 25, it was time for David to show his dad the finished work.
Walking into a Walmart in Burbank, California, David headed to the aisle where his clothing range was featured, asking for the moment to be captured on video.
When Ignacio saw his roughly five-decades-old photo, he couldn’t help but beam with pride.
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David said: “After some thinking, I thought it would be the perfect moment to pay homage to the people who built the foundation for us to do what we do – which, in this case, is my parents.
“I told him I would take him to see the t-shirt in person, but I did not tell him where it was located.
“He was confused when we arrived at Walmart, but I had the chance to inform him about the collaboration and its meaning there.
“I felt fulfilled. It is interesting how you can anticipate a feeling the whole time, but it is a totally different experience during the actual moment.”