Yes, despite all of my normally serious postings, I actually manage to have a lot of fun down here in Tijuana. On June 4th, I saw "Los Tigres Del Norte" in concert (see picture at top-left). They are a legendary norteña music group that has been making music since the late 60's. Their songs strike at the heart of many people's lives; they talk about drug smugglers (i.e. "Contrabando y Traición"), Mexicans leaving their loved ones behind to work in the dUS (i.e. "La Sorpresa"), feeling trapped in the dUS (i.e. "Jaula de Oro"), about simple, unstoppable love (i.e. "La Puerta Negra"), and much more. Preceded by 6 other groups, they started playing around midnight, took a 45-min. break around 2am to sign autographs and then played until 5am. On top of that, every song that they played was suggested by audience members that wrote their dedications on slips of paper and passed them up to the stage. Now that is PUNK! It was probably one of the best concerts I've ever been to.
I also realize that I haven't written much about the work that I'm actually doing. Many of my days are spent cutting rebar, mixing concrete, digging ditches, passing buckets...or at least directing other people to do so. In the picture at left, taken by Kyla Lackie, you can see me in the foreground caught taking a turn scooping concrete out of "the canoe." I'm joined by (right to left) community members Ana Luisa, Angeles, and Lupe as well as my co-worker Graciela and her daughter Ana Laura. The smiles on their faces attest to the fact that we have a lot of fun working together. Furthermore, it portrays the typical female-dominated involvment in the community. Where are the men? Working in Tijuana, working in the dUS, or simply not there. The Esperanza program is empowering women. They are their own bosses and their own workers. I'm learning and re-learning many things from these women about the freedoms/powers I have: not needing to worry about $, being noticed/respected in a conversation without having to say a word, and having primary, secondary and higher education, to name a few.
In my time with Esperanza, ~5.5 months now, I have definitely made some good friends. Are they friends that I'll keep in touch with for the rest of my life? Some are. Do I know a lot about their personal lives? For most of them, not too much, but we have shared many smiles, dreams, and feelings. I value those experiences very much. They are the bread of my memories here.
In the picture at left, I'm hanging out with some of my adopted daughters ("mis hijas") who are telling me that their rabbit (also named "Marcel") must be sold to the pet store because their parents are afraid the dog will eat him. Good idea. Maybe I can keep the rabbit. But what do rabbit's eat? They begin to list off all of the things that rabbits can eat. I smile and tell them that I'm afraid that taking care of "Marcel" the rabbit is too complicated for me. It's better if they take him to the pet store.
