Of the multiple ways out there that Latin@s sit on the brunt end of the economy, this one has probably got to be the worst. Many Latin@s want to send their loved ones back home after they die, and of course, funeral homes are more than willing to help; for a price:

Sending a body from Florida to Puerto Rico, for example, costs about $1,000 — a price that includes picking up the body, embalming, preparing legal documents and transporting the body to the airport, said Aracely Carmona, manager of Funeraria San Juan, a Hispanic-owned funeral home in Kissimmee.

The price of the casket is separate, as is the cost of the flight, she added.

Sending a body to Mexico from Orlando costs an average of $500, said an agent for Aeromexico.

At Robert Bryant Funeral & Cremation Chapel in Orlando, more Mexicans send their dead to their native homeland than any other ethnic group, said manager Mariela del Valle. Nationwide, an average 8,000 bodies are repatriated to Mexico from the United States each year, according to a 2006 estimate by the Mexican Congress.

What this means is that many Latin@a are starting to choose cremation rather than traditional embalming/burials because they simply can’t afford otherwise. I’m no fan of traditional embalming/burials (I want to be eaten by worms, not admired!) but I do think that it’s beyond wrong that any person doesn’t have the choice to take care of her dead loved ones in a way that respects and honors her dead loved one’s wishes. I’m not sure what makes me angrier, this or the outrageous long distance telephone charges that target Latin@ populations.