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This is fresh air.

I'm Terry Gross.

If you're not familiar with the comedy of my guest,

Cristella Alonzo, I think the best way of introducing her is with a clip. But first, I should set it up.

Christella is Mexican-American, the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her mother was living in Texas,

undocumented, and pregnant with Christella, her fourth child, when she left

her abusive husband and raised her four children on her own. Christella grew up in a Texas border town.

This clip, like much of Christella's comedy, is autobiographical.

My family, we're from South Texas, you know? We're from Mexico.

That's South Texas.

It's South Texas?

It's kind of South Texas?

It's like South Texas.

I grew up in a mixed status family.

If you guys don't know what that is, that means that half of us were documented.

Half of us were undocumented. And we're not telling you which one's which. Guess what? We all look alike.

We didn't have a lot of money growing up, you know.

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