SAN ANTONIO — The youngest of three children born to Mexican immigrants, Harlan High School football coach Eddie Salas doesn't ever remember his family talking about the American dream as he grew up in San Antonio.
"Looking back, I guess we just lived it," Salas said.
Maria and Juan Salas made sure of that, encouraging their daughter and two sons to embrace education and pursue a career. All three Salas children took their parents' counsel to heart, earning college degrees after graduating from San Antonio high schools.
"When I think of the American dream, I think of my parents not setting limits for us," Salas, 44, said. "Everything that they talked to us about, that anything is possible, I still remember and carry with me. I think my view is that it worked for us, worked for our family.
"When I look at my parents and what they did, just to cross over, and the opportunities that we have that we probably wouldn't have had in Mexico, it makes a huge difference. I think there are a lot of people like us, still, to this day."
Salas' parents, who both live in San Antonio, will be in the stands Friday night when the Hawks (4-0) play McCollum in their District 14-5A Division I opener at Harlandale Memorial Stadium.
While it's become fashionable these days for some Americans to bash immigrants, especially those from south of the border, the Salas family stands as a shining example of the American dream.
"It's been very offensive to me to hear people talk so bad about immigrants," Maria Salas said. "I have worked so hard to be what I am right now and to raise my kids and to give back to my community. I love helping people. It's very offensive and sad when that they say that everybody that comes from another country is a criminal.
"I know a lot of people who are like me. They come to this country to have an opportunity and work very hard, go to school and raise a family. They have a dream like everybody. This country was founded by immigrants."
Juan Salas also expressed strong feelings about the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has polarized the country.
"We come to this country to work and to contribute to it," he said. "The Mexican always has been a hard worker. It's very bad that people say that those who come to this country for an opportunity to have a better life are criminals."
Even after Eddie Salas' parents divorced when he was 9, they continued raising their children together. While they lived with their mother, the three Salas children rarely went a day without seeing their father or getting a phone call from him.
"My dad was always there for us," Salas said. "He always lived only minutes away from us and was always around. When you look at my parents and you put them together, it's a great combination.
"More than anything, I think they wanted us to keep growing. Education was very important to both of them. We always had their support. Even now after a game, my father tells me to keep moving forward. Success is expensive. You've got to put in the time. You've got to sacrifice."
Both born in Mexico, Maria and Juan Salas met in Nuevo Laredo and were married in Laredo 50 years ago. The eldest of their three children, Gloria, was born in Nuevo Laredo in 1971. Their first son, Juan Jr., now deceased, was born on Christmas Day 1972 in Laredo.
The family later moved to Chicago, where Eddie was born on July 22, 1975. He was a first-grader in 1981 when his family moved to San Antonio from Laredo, where they had lived after returning from Chicago in 1976.
Juan Salas, 70, remained a powerful influence in his children's lives long after he and his wife divorced.
"I never stopped seeing my children because they were the most important part of my life," Salas said. "I used to give them rides to school, cook for them and call them every day."
Eddie Salas' sister, Gloria Salas Rodriguez, graduated from UTSA and is an administrator with the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in the Houston area. Juan Salas Jr. earned a business degree from St. Mary's and was an entrepreneur. Gloria and Juan Jr. graduated from Edison High School.
"For me, my number one priority was for my children to get an education, so they could have a better life," Maria Salas said. "It was not a choice. They knew they had to go to college. We wanted to get out of being poor, living from check to check. You've got to have an education."
Maria Salas, 66, spoke very little English when she lived in Mexico, but a new world opened for her when she and her then-husband moved to the United States in the early 1970s.
"I learned English on my own," said Maria Salas, who was a nanny and housekeeper for two doctors while her children were growing up. Salas earned her GED in 1994, when Eddie was a senior at Jefferson High School, and started classes at Palo Alto College the same year.
Maria Salas enrolled in the nursing program at San Antonio College after getting her associate's degree in 1997, and graduated in December 1999. She has been a registered nurse for 20 years.
"You look at my mom's story and you're talking about somebody who grew up in a house with a dirt floor, a tin roof and no refrigeration (for food)," Eddie said. "To see her get her GED here in the States, to then get her degree in nursing, look at how far she's come."
Now retired, Juan Salas has his own success story. He worked in the hotel industry for 40 years and always took pride in his exemplary room service.
"Seeing my dad work hard and seeing how proud he was of doing what he did had a big impact on me," Eddie Salas said. "He always worked from 2 to 11 at night. Me hearing him take pride in his work always has manifested in the way I've worked and operate.
"His customer service, the way he treated people, was always great. I walked into his job one time and somebody asked, 'Oh, you're his son?' You would think he owned the hotel. They had so much respect and love for him. His younger co-workers would say, 'I wish he was my dad.' It made me feel good."
Eddie Salas was the head football coach at Holmes for four seasons (2013-16) before being named Harlan's first coach in December 2016. The newest high school in the Northside ISD, Harlan opened in August 2017.
The Hawks went 8-4 in their first varsity season last year, reaching the second round of the playoffs. They are favored to win the district title this season.
A 1994 Jefferson graduate, Salas played football at Sul Ross State in Alpine for one season before transferring to UTSA. Adept at math, he considered a career in computer science or engineering. But the combination of his passion for football and desire to work with high-school age kids landed him in the coaching profession.
The influence of his coaches at Jefferson, including head coach Marshall Fleener and assistant coach Orlando Vera, had a strong impact on Salas.
"I loved the way our coaches interacted with us," he said. "Marshall was big on his players becoming better men. Orlando Vera was my running backs my junior year. To this day, he texts me after every one of my games. Our trainer back then, Rick Canales, still keeps in touch, too."
But the greatest influence in Salas' life and career always has been the combination of his parents' love and guidance.
"Just their example of working hard and staying with it guides me every day," he said. "I think about them all the time."
Maria Salas leaves no doubt about her allegiance to the United States.
"We were so blessed to have the opportunity to move to this beautiful country," she said. "I love this country. This is my country. I'm Mexican and I'm proud of my culture, but this is my country.
"I don't consider Mexico my country anymore. This country opened its doors and allowed my children to have their dreams fulfilled."
The American dream is alive and well.