Manuel Jesus Cordova Soboranes was beaming as he gazed at the press and officials from the United States and Mexico when they gathered Dec. 4 at the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales. The last time the 26-year-old Mexican national crossed the border he was in the company of U.S. Border Patrol agents who returned him to Sonora as an undocumented entrant on Nov 23.

Manuel Jesus Cordova Soboranes, third from left, basks in international attention at a Dec. 4 ceremony at the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales. From left: Manuel Ruiz, chairman of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors; Ruben Reyes, aide to U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.); Cordova; and Beatriz Lopez Gargallo, Mexican consul general for Nogales, Ariz.

But, what Cordova did while illegally in the United States was the reason for an international ceremony in his honor.

In search of work

On Thanksgiving night, he was walking along a remote road northwest of Nogales, headed north in hopes of finding work. Cordova encountered a frightened 9-year-old boy, Christopher Buchleitner, and a dog. Cordova followed the boy down an embankment and found the boy's mother pinned in the family's overturned van.

When he couldn't free her, Cordova abandoned his plans and took Christopher up to the road to wait for help. He built a fire and comforted the English-speaking boy through the night. In the morning, he flagged down a pair of hunters who called 911. Rescuers found Christopher's mother, Dawn Alice Tomko, dead in the vehicle.

"The desert has a way of rearranging priorities," said Beatriz Lopez Gargallo, Mexican consul general in Nogales, Ariz., at the ceremony. "This hero (Cordova) did what all men of honor do."

Recovery

Rio Rico Fire Chief Mike Foster, whose team recovered the vehicle from the canyon off Forest Road 39, said his men expressed two wishes: to reunite Christopher with his two dogs, including the injured one they rescued, and to see recognition for Cordova.

Foster projected a photo onto a screen that showed Christopher' dogs greeting him in a hospital room in Tucson, where he was taken for observation, Foster said.

"We don't know what would have happened to Christopher," said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada. "He was lost in an area where there was no help. Then Manuel Jesus shows up - his guardian angel."

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manuel Ruiz described Cordova as "a young man who gave up his dream of helping his family to help a young man." He addressed Cordova's mother, Alma Lydia Soberanes, in Spanish and commended her for raising such a compassionate son.

Big thanks

"Thank you for saving the life of this boy," said Ruben Reyes, district aide for U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.). "You remind us of the decency, humanity and goodwill that many immigrants bring to this country."

Reyes delivered the most welcomed piece of news for Cordova: Grijalva had received so many calls and letters in support of Cordova that he pledged to introduce a bill in Congress to grant Cordova the right to work legally in the United States. Currently, Cordova is supporting his four children and helping support his girlfriend's three children in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora.

Cordova stood for hugs, handshakes and plaques of recognition, and joined Lopez at the podium and to say a few words of thanks. Lopez repeated what Cordova had said when they first met: "I did whatever a person would do in that situation."

Accounts

Foster announced that two accounts are now open at Wells Fargo Bank for donations to aid Christopher and Cordova. Christopher's account number is 7885327044, while Cordova's is 7089731785.