The final weekend

I’m in the final turn for home on this vacation. It looks like it really cooled off back in Long Beach.

On Saturday morning my dad and I headed to Tia Chuy’s house for a while. I left my dad behind with his sisters and ran an errand with my cousin Alejandro before we headed out his almost all of his family to National Autonomous University of Mexico. The university is located on the other side of the city. It is sort of like driving from Hollywood to Irvine.

UNAM is huge. I think it is even bigger than UCLA. We parked next to the Estadio Olympico, the site of the opening/closing ceremonies as well as other events of the 1968 Summer Olympics. I took some picture and walked on the campus.

We only had time to walk around a portion of the campus. It is spacious with plenty of yards and athletic courts for its students and the public. I also discovered the school has an American football team that plays in a league with other universities in Mexico.

We headed back and I had lunch with Alejandro’s family before catching up with my dad at my tia’s house. We stayed for a little bit then walked to Alejandro’s job so he could take us back to his place for the night.

On Sunday the original plan was to go to a museum with my cousin Rigo. That didn’t happen but at the same time it didn’t matter.

My father and I went to my aunt’s house. He waited around and talked with family. My cousin Felipe asked if I wanted to go with him to the local open air market with him to pick up chicken for dinner that night. It’s more like a flea market combined with a farmers market where stuff is sold along side with fruits, vegetables and meats. The other thing is they close down several street blocks; busy streets too.

When we got back, my dad and I waited for my cousin. We got antsy and walked to another flea market down the road. We walked up a few blocks before we walked back. We were gone for more than an hour.

When we returned we found out that our cousin and his mother, my Tia Irene, went to the museum. My father and I didn’t mind. We stayed around and my dad talked to Chuy and others.

More family showed up, my cousin Betty and her husband Simon from Puebla. I met her last year and at first I shut the door on her. I heard the door knock and opened the door and saw no one was there and closed it. I guess I should have popped my head out and looked around.

I got my computer from Alejandro’s house, which wasn’t easy because of a flea market. I located one of my sisters and they talked to her on Skype. I also got a hold of my cousin, who is Chuy’s daughter, and her children in Canada. A lot of family members reunited over the computer on Sunday.

We talked some more and people slowly left. When my dad and I finally left, we walked out with Irene and Rigo as they were going back home to Guadalajara. Chuy was sad to see them go but my dad and his sister comforted her.

All four of us walked towards Alejandro’s restaurant. We actually saw Alejandro driving towards us. We stopped him and we went back to his business. Chuy and Rigo said goodbyes there too and we tried our best to hail a cab. Once we did, they loaded in and took went to the bus station.

We returned home and, after a while, my dad went to bed once Alejandro got back from work. After my dad went to bed, I asked them if they wanted to see any of my DVDs. They looked through and picked ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.’ It’s almost three hours long and they started it right after midnight.

Tomorrow we are going on a day trip to Puebla, the home of more family and Cinco de Mayo.

The worst nap of my life

Well Mexicana Airlines will not be causing me anymore problems.

I woke up more tired than usual as my dad kept me up at night with his snoring. I don’t remember it being that bad when we went to Las Vegas.

Once we got going we went to my Tia Chuy’s house where Tia Irene was waiting for us with her son Rigo. After talking, we headed out to La Basilica de Guadalupe in a full van joined by Alejandro and his wife and daughter.

It was nice to see my Tia Chuy outside of her house. When I was here last year, she stayed home the entire time. My father is trying to get her to go to Puebla on Monday.

My Tia Irene loves churches and especially this one. She watched a mass with almost everyone in our group; Rigo, Alejandro and I looked around. When we left there was a Native dance troop performing in the Basilica’s square. They were well choreographed.

We had lunch at Alejandro’s restaurant: Pozoleria Jalisco, Las Planchas. I had chicken enchiladas and they were great. My family had a good time talking.

Alejandro took everyone back to his place to show our aunts around since they had never been there. Later we all went back to Tia Chuy’s house.

As Alejandro was preparing to leave he asked if I wanted to go back to his place to rest. I said sure, I could use a nap while my father talks to his sisters.

I was really looking forward to that nap.

I barely got out the door when I got a text message from a co-worker asking me what airline I used. I thought he was just joking until I got a message on facebook when another friend asked me if I had heard what happened with Mexicana.

So after a brief inquiry I learned Mexicana would cease operations the next day, Saturday. I knew at that point I needed to make some calls while at the same time trying to limit international ones. My first thought was to call the Mexicana office in Mexico City. I had my cousin do that and he was directed to the website for a refund.

I texted one of my brother-in-laws for help and instant messaged one of my sisters. I even got help from one of my friends to make calls.

After thinking it over I decided to contact the company I purchased my tickets from, Orbitz. Unfortunately they didn’t have a toll-free international number. They did have an online chat to help out. So I gave it a shot.

The person on the other end didn’t know that Mexicana had folded but after looking into it he told me what I needed to do to get a refund. He told me to call Orbitz directly and gave me the international number that was not toll free. Beggars can’t be choosers.

So I called them up and of course they didn’t know what was going on. After getting caught up to speed she helped me get a refund for the cancelled flight. I won’t see it for two billing cycles by the earliest, but I’ll get it back.

The next part was finding a new flight home that was both cost and time efficient. The original journey home was supposed to be a two-part layover departing from Mexico City at 1 p.m. (11 a.m. PDT) and arriving in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. (PDT).

It was too expensive for a direct flight so I needed to do a two-parter. There were several candidates, one included flying into an airport where a dying tropical depression was projected to hit. I decided to go with an hour and a half layover in Phoenix. It’s a good thing my dad and I will have our papers with us.

After I get the refund, it is projected to cost $150 more but now we have a secure flight on an airline, U.S. Airways, which made money last quarter.

I spent almost three hours looking for a solution so for the rest of the night I was just burned out. I couldn’t sleep either. I just stayed up with my cousin’s children as they watched television and played with my PSP.

Saturday morning I’m setting up a Skype video call for my Tia Chuy so she can talk to her daughter that lives in Canada. After that, maybe we’ll go to a museum.

I just know I don’t have to worry about my flight home anymore.

Mexico Trip, Part II

Have I mentioned to you not to fly Mexicana Airlines?

On my last full day in Guadalajara, I went with my cousin Luz and her daughter Daphne to the U.S. Embassy to get information. Daphne was born in the United States 19 years ago; Long Beach, Calif. to be exact. They both moved back to Mexico before Daphne was a year old.

We arrived at the gate where two guards helped us, fortunately for me, one spoke English. They both gave us information and directed us to the website to where she needs to fill out forms and make an appointment. The guards said as long as she has the proper documents, it shouldn’t be a problem for her to get a U.S. passport. But also, bring in all documents supporting her proof that she was born in the U.S.

After a trip to the embassy, we walked nearby to the University of Guadalajara. Inside one of the lecture halls was another mural of Jose Clemente Orozco. He was the same artist that painted the old statehouse of Jalisco. He did the wall and the top of the dome.

On another side of the building was an art exhibit of Filemon Santiago. The first artwork you saw walking in was titled ‘Beyond Madness’ and it was aptly titled. All his artwork was visually stunning. Some of his artwork was humorous; some of it was a bit frightening. Overall, it captured your attention. I loved the Beyond Madness piece.

We visited a church nearby with beautiful architecture then took a taxi to the historical center of Guadalajara. We entered another building with more murals of Orozco. He was very proficient, not only in Guadalajara but also all of Mexico. I’m just amazed of all the work he did on the ceilings of the buildings.

We went back home and I met up with my dad once again. After lunch, my cousin’s wife Laura took us to visit a new and expensive mall completed about three years ago. It felt like I was walking in an outdoor mall in the ritzy parts of Southern California so I felt at home at the Cinnabon.

It was also the most modern parking garage too. Not only did it tell you how many spots were open on any given level, but it also told you if a spot was open at a glance down an aisle. There were red and green light above a group of spots to let you know, instead of driving down an aisle for nothing. Well, I think it’s cool.

Laura’s daughter Laurita picked us up from there with her son as well. We drove through the city talking. She pointed to the building where her sister Nina works then asked if we wanted to look at the view from her company on the 20th floor?

My dad and I said we’d like a view. It reminded me of when I worked on the 14th floor in Long Beach. The offices had less of an obstructed view than the ARCO Center. I took some wonderful shots of Guadalajara from there.

We got back from our excursion and picked up my Tia Irene and went to my father’s favorite church, La Basilica de Zapopan. We met Laurita’s husband there and talked for a bit and took pictures. We had dinner at a taco stand then took one last tour of Guadalajara as we went by Estadio Jalisco.

I’ve never been to Wrigley Field, but I’d like to say it had that feel to it. When we drove down a residential street, I was told there was the stadium on the right. I looked and, at first, wasn’t impressed. It was too dark to see anything. Then I started to notice this huge stadium just appear in the middle of this neighborhood.

We came home and packed.

The next morning we said some goodbyes and headed out to the airport. I’ll see Tia Irene again this weekend as she is coming with her son Rigo to Mexico City.

Before I left I made sure there were going to be no surprises from Mexicana airlines online and there wasn’t.

When I got there, it was another story.

I looked at the departure board it said our connecting flight to Acapulco was cancelled. We walked to the ticket booth and, after a few minutes, were rescheduled to a direct flight to Mexico City.

Our original flight out was due out by 11:45 a.m. We were pushed back to 3 p.m., but it was good news for my dad. Not only did we get placed on a direct flight, but we had time to see more family quickly.

We got to the airport almost two hours early for our flight, but we were not going to take any chances. There were no problems and we were on our way.

When we arrived at Mexico City, we were easily defeated by another obstacle, the Mexico City Airport. Trying to find where to pick up your luggage was a pain. There were signs pointing one way and other signs contradicting that. I may take a bus to Mexico City next time.

My cousin Alejandro picked me and my dad up and took us to his house. When my dad and I stayed in Mexico City last year we were with my Tia Chuy. We had dinner at his house then visited my Tia Chuy. My father gave her some gifts and to his nieces and nephews.

They caught up with what was going on with each other and the family. I walked outside to see what my cousin was doing on the roof. Turns out he is raising chickens up there. It is a nice set up.

We came back home and my father talked with Alejandro’s family as he had to go to his restaurant nearby to finish up. My father waited up until he got back home and we walked up to our room and saw a tremendous view of the city from there.

Today we will head out to another church, La Basilica de Guadalupe. In case you didn’t read about it last year, it is the most visited Catholic Church in North America. Tia Irene should be in town by there and maybe Tia Chuy will go with us too. From there, we’ll see where the day takes us.

The family I never met

Sorry for the delay in writing. My father has worn me out.

On Saturday morning my dad and I headed out with my cousin Rigo to visit more churches and museums around Guadalajara before we drove out to Sahuayo where we would meet, you guessed it, more family.

We went to the historical center of Guadalajara to visit more churches that surrounded the main cathedral. In case you had forgotten, Mexico is strong Catholic nation.

The next stop was the old statehouse of Jalisco. The beauty of this building is the artwork. Walking up to the second floor of the statehouse there is a huge mural covering the stairwell. There was also a mural inside the statehouse. Both were visually stunning, dramatic and passionate and if I were to describe it beyond that with detail it would not do it justice. Let's just say it served as a reminder to legislators where Mexico came from and to always be fair.

We later walked to the Regional Museum of Jalisco. The first level is archeological finds within the state. The second level is art work created by artists from the state of Jalisco. Many of the artists whose work was in the museum were enshrined at the nearby Rotunda of Illustrious, a sort of walk of fame except here people’s accomplishments aren’t stepped on.

We left for Sahuayo in the afternoon. Unlike the United States, there is no true freeway system in Mexico. They are more like traditional highways, think Route 66. To prevent people from speeding through town, there are speed bumps right before you enter to slow you down.

After a few stops we arrived in Sahuayo at 8 p.m. There I met my half-brother’s family.

Only a handful of my friends knew that I had half-siblings – a total of four. When my childhood friend saw pictures I posted on Facebook he wondered if I had made a mistake. For the longest time I never knew I had half-siblings. It’s one of the things I didn’t find out until later.

What I also never thought about that I had more nieces and nephews than I thought, 14 more. Add that to the 13 I always talk about and I have 27 now.

Family welcomed me with open arms. As I walked into the house where the dinner was, they looked at me and were surprised about how tall I was. A nephew would tell me later that I looked like a baseball player then followed that up by saying I had the size of Fernando Valenzuela.

Later that night I was in the back of my nephew’s house and found a Rubik’s Cube. He saw me pick it up and said, “No one ever solves these things.” In about two minutes I finished it. He grabbed it from my hand and showed the family. The first thing one of them said was, “He took it apart.” My nephew said, “No I saw him.” So I did it again while another nephew was recording me on his cell phone. I got a round of applause.

The next morning (Sunday) I woke up and we went down to the market to see where my family works. My nephew has a shop where they sell varieties of chilies and other produce. One of my brothers has a jewelry store outside of the marketplace. We thanked them for their hospitality and headed out.

On the way to my mother’s hometown of Mazamitla we drove through some of the greenest hills I’d ever seen. I’ve never been to Ireland, known for its greenery, but this was a very beautiful drive.

Mazamitla is located in the mountains of Jalisco, south of Lake Chapala. From what my relatives were telling me, it has become sort of a tourist town. I had the feeling that I was in Gold Rush country of California to be honest.

My father doesn’t remember too much of where my mom grew up. He pointed me over to a general direction, but that is all he knew. We walked over to the town’s square and checked out the sites before we moved on to my father’s home town of Conception of Buenos Aires.

We arrived to see my father’s cousin who is a few years younger than my dad, who is 80. We met his family and moved on to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. It was picturesque and very holy place as most things are that revolve around religion in Mexico. In case you are wondering, my mother’s parents are buried in Tracy.

The next stop was a store run by one of my cousins. Unlike the United States, your next door neighbor in Mexico could be a mom and pop type convenience store denoted usually by the Coca-Cola sign. We stopped in for a bit but we knew we’d see them again at the family get together nearby.

We got to the gathering and I meet plenty of people that only knew of my by word of mouth thanks to my parents when they would visit. They were all happy to see and meet me finally. My Tia Porfidia was there, I hadn’t seen her since I graduated from 8th grade. She saw me and was glad to see me. My father talked to his nephews and nieces and had a good time catching up with everyone.

We arrived back in Guadalajara at about 9 that night. We were all so tired.

On Monday, my father took me to one of his favorite churches, La Basilica de Zapopan. After that we headed to the church where my cousin is a priest at. He’s been at that church for several years and has remodeled it since then. After we had lunch with him, he showed us not only around there and to an almost completed chapel nearby. Everything was carefully planned and he couldn’t have asked for more from the results.

We then when to see more family nearby and went home.

Tuesday was my mother’s birthday. My original hope was to go to my mother’s hometown that day, but due to limitations, we couldn’t. Instead we went to see her cousins that live in Guadalajara. We picked up one of her cousins, Antonio, and drove to where her cousin Rafael lived with his wife. Two of the children also greeted us: Gustavo, nicknamed Goose, and Mari. I hadn’t seen them in years. I think the last time I saw them was my first trip to Disneyland when I was 8 I think. They lived in El Monte at the time. They recognized me and were amazed how tall I was.

My father and I came back to my Tia Irene’s house and for the rest of the day we stayed at home for the most part. We had a quick trip to a tourist trap. It was beautiful however and had two more churches; surprise, surprise.

On our last full day in Guadalajara, there are only a few things planned. I also need to get souvenirs.

Placer de encontrarle

I’m out of the dry heat of Southern California and into the humidity of Guadalajara.

One of the worst fears I had with all the schedule changes was another one at the last minute. I was scared too when the counter agent could find me and my dad in the computer.

After a few minutes, she was able to locate us. The one thing I did notice with all the schedule changes was they bumped us up to business class on the flight out. When she took our checked luggage, she also gave us passes to the business class lounge telling us there would be no meal on the flight so eat there.

Business class is an experience everyone should have at least once. The lounge comfortable and clean with all the food and drinks you want.

Part of the reason why our flights were moved was the airline was doing its best to fill up their flights. Our flight was under half full with just three total people in business. I could only imagine how full they were before.

We stretched out in our wider seats and I played the movie ‘Blazing Saddles’ with the audio in Spanish so my dad could enjoy the genius of Mel Brooks. During the flight I was noticing something outside, flashes of lighting. I told my dad and he said it’s the summer storms in the mountains and get used to it. It was a beautiful sight and frightening at the same time. The closer we got, but not directly through it, the more we saw. My father told me, if you look at the other side you’ll notice it is clear.

We arrived at the airport and were greeted by my cousins who were happy to see us. As we walked to the car, there was a huge flash followed by the loudest roar of thunder less I’d ever heard a second later. They turned to me and said: “Bienvenido a Guadalajara.”

After a tour of my cousin Rigo’s house, he took me to my Tia Irene’s house. It had been a long day and I just wanted to sleep. It was a little difficult since it was a bit humid but my exhaustion was overpowering.

I woke up to the sound of church bells. I got up and there was family already at the house. It was the start of me meeting a whole lot of family in a short amount of time. Watching them interact with each other and my father made me feel like home. They like to make fun of each other reminded me of my siblings.

My father gets the open arms treatment from the family with everyone coming over wanting to know how he’s been. It’s pretty cool to see that.

While my father and I were left alone for a few minutes as my aunt and others walked to pick up some menudo for breakfast. During that time he reminded me that this was the house my mother died in. He relived what happened and told me a lot in a short amount of time.

After a while, my father and I left with my cousin Daphne for a quick tour of the city’s cathedral and surrounding area. I remembered from the night before I was no longer in the United States because everyone didn’t buckle up in the car. The taxi we took had no seat belts in the back of the car.

We walked around the cathedral and went to the business district nearby as my father needed to change dollars into pesos. After a trip down to the shopping district, we headed back home.

I took a nap since I only had a total of 10 hours of sleep the past two nights. When I woke up, the house was full. I met a lot of people and tried to keep up with them the best I could over the next few hours.

After dinner, I walked to the nearby convenience store with Daphne for some ice cream. Not long after we got back there was a roving bakery that stopped off and everyone from the neighborhood came out for some baked goods. Roving sales are common. Earlier in the day my Tia bought a kilo of tortillas from a salesman who rode up on his bike.

Rigo will return in the morning and take me and my dad around Guadalajara during the early part of the day then we are heading to Sahuayo and spending the night there. On Sunday, we are heading to my hometowns of my parents before an impromptu family reunion before returning to Guadalajara.

I don’t think I’ll have an Internet connection until I get back Sunday night.

Leaving on a jet plane …

Oh yeah, after a long break, I’m back. Sorry to the handful of people that read this on a consistent basis.

I’m heading back to Mexico for the second time in less than 11 months tonight. I’ll be there until Sept. 1. My father and I will arrive first in Guadalajara then on to Mexico City.

My trip has already had a huge stumbling block, Mexicana Airlines.

If there is anything I’ve learned about travel, without actually traveling, it is for the rest of my life I’ll always research the financial stability of an airline before I book with them, especially an international flight.

Since I purchased the tickets in June, I’ve had a stopover added and have had my flight out moved back from 11:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.

Of course, if I was a wise traveler, I would have checked to see if the company was fit to travel with. I’ve learned it really isn’t.

Mexicana Airlines filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection and briefly stopped booking new flights earlier this month. Since then, they have been able to move flights or straight up cancel them. If you’ve already booked with them, you have no choice but to accept it.

No matter how much trouble the airline has given me over the past month, it will be small and trivial compared to the wonderful time I’m about to experience.

I promised my parents, long ago, I would always visit my family in Mexico. I began that promise last year by going to Mexico City and seeing my cousins and my aunts there. However, not all my family is located within the Federal District.

Now I’ll be completing the second half of that promise as I fly into Guadalajara tonight at 1 a.m. local time.

I’ve meet many family members over the years, most of them I’ve never seen in person – the wonders of Facebook. It’ll be wonderful to see many in 3-D and hear their voice as opposed to an IM.

I’ll also be going to my parents’ home pueblos and see where they grew up this coming weekend. My mother’s birthday is August 24 and she would have been 70 this year so it makes this pilgrimage special to me.

I’m nervous in a way because of the unknown, which also makes it exciting. I don’t know what to expect for the most part.

I had a wonderful time last year and look for an equally terrific time over the next 12 days. You can follow along too; meet who I meet and experience what I experience.

Except for any change of plans by Mexicana Airlines, those are mine.