HOME > PHOTOALBUMS > MEXICO

G U A D A L A J A R A ,  M E X I C O

We were in Mexico twice in 2006, two weeks before leaving for Europe and for 3 months afterward. It had been 16 years since I had seen Alberto's family in Guadalajara. His sister Julia's children were now young adults. Jessica was 8, now 24, Fabiola was 7, now 23, Fernando the baby was 6, now 22 with three children of his own. And yet they remembered me so well. And I remembered them. Julia and her husband Jose Luis have done a great job raising them. 

They all live with Alberto's mother in a large house on a street that is swarming with family. Alberto's nephew King and his wife and baby live across the street (I am King's Padrino.) Cousin Japo and wife Chata and their 4 children and 1 grandchild live on the corner. Nephew Richard and his wife and 4 children own a grocery store on the opposite corner at the other end of the street. A sister Chela and her family live on the next block. Chela and Guicho, her husband, had already raised 3 children, but Paty , the middle child, was recently separated from her husband and lived there as well, along with her 3 children. Another daughter, Katrina, is incarcerated for two years, so they were also raising her 4 children, too.

Alberto has more family close by. He has 8 brothers and sisters and the oldest sister has 13 children, most of whom have 3 or 4 children.

Needless to say, there was a constant stream of people and children coming and going.

I will spare you the family tree of who belongs to whom in these pictures. Just know that we know each and every one of them were all at some point or another curled up in my lap, their arms wrapped around my shoulders. I am "Tio Cray" or "Tio Güero" (Whitey) who lives with Tio Alberto in El Norte and who came to visit with the magic electronic toys.

Guadalajara had changed also. A beautiful, clean Metro (subway) runs to the city center. The air is cleaner. All city buses run on natural gas instead of diesel and all the buses had mufflers. Thank goodness because in our previous trip, the stink and roar of the buses was deafening. The old mansions are being converted to restaurants and galleries. I was hard-pressed to tell the difference between East Los Angeles and Guadalajara. It is easy to find Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Starbucks, Sears, etc.

The heart of the city looks clean and busy. In the evenings, the symphony was playing in the city center plaza, and the city looked prosperous.