My family is all alike

We left for Puebla kind of late on Monday. Puebla is about an hour and a half away. Getting there you drive through a mountain range.

Driving through there reminded me of the Grapevine that separates Northern and Southern California on Interstate 5. The only real difference is you see nothing but lush greens in Mexico.

I feel asleep after that but woke up in Puebla, not far from my cousin Lupe’s house. She’s very friendly and very humorous. She reminded me of my sisters with the way she carried herself and the way she spoke; always going for a laugh.

She fed us then we went into the historical part of Puebla. It’s a city that was founded in the 16th century and has much of the architecture intact. The streets are cobblestone and are tight for more than one car. The streets are jam packed with cars at intersections.

Lupe was proud to show off her town, and why not? Puebla is the home of Cinco de Mayo. In the downtown area, there was plenty to look at and that included churches. The Cathedral of Puebla takes the appearance of a castle with a gate. On top of the gates were angels. Lupe told me the full name of Puebla is “La Puebla del Los Angeles.” Sound familiar? The cathedral, as you might have guessed, is spectacular inside. There was an altar and behind it was a tribute to the kings of Spain.

We walked to another church, Templo Conventual de San Miguel Archangel. The real beauty of the church was the chapel inside. It outshined the church with gold. The chapel had a functional purpose. If you didn’t have a rosary, you could walk around the church and at each angel, say a Hail Mary, just like the beads of a rosary. At the top of the altar were angels looking down. There were also angels in the back of the chapel where the music is played. Each angel held an instrument to appear as if they were playing along.

We left Puebla at about 7 p.m. Lupe, like all my relatives that I meet on the trip, said I was welcomed back anytime, with or without my dad.

I slept again on the drive back. I woke up on one of the bumpiest roads. Most of the roads in Mexico make potholes in the United States seem like simple cracks in the road. My cousin is a pretty aggressive driver, but he’s also very cautious. This time he was caught off guard and one of the bumps knocked off his rear view mirror.

When we got closer to his home, he called his son and told him to order some pizzas, then said that I requested it. They were thin crust pizzas and his son told me it was the preferred way.

The next morning, Tuesday, we went to my tia Amalia’s – Alejandro’s mother – house in northern Mexico City. My tia Chuy went with us as well.

From the moment I entered her house, my cousins Patti and Angelica made me feel like I was at home and with my sisters the way they talked to each other. They served us a late lunch and my dad talked with his sister Chuy and sister-in-law Amalia. When we left I was told that I was welcomed whenever I returned to Mexico City.

It was nice to see my Tia Chuy out again. She was so happy to be out with family she hardly sees because she’s always doing house work.

I started packing for home Tuesday night and finished on Wednesday after we got back from running errands with Alejandro. I bought some more Mexican candy, mostly Mazapan.

After a late breakfast, we headed out to the airport with a quick stop to see my tia Chuy one last time. She was sad to see us go as we were too. She told us she looked forward to us returning.

Alejandro, with his wife and daughter, took us to the airport and for the first time we didn’t have a surprise waiting for us by our airline.

On the flight home I had some thoughts about my 13 days in Mexico. I meet a lot of family and had the same prevailing thought, “If I only had more time here …” I wish I did have more time, I know my dad did.

He rushed a lot of family into 13 days in Mexico. The first couple of days were hard for me since I was waking up at 6 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, 8 a.m. Guadalajara and Mexico City time. It’s about three and a half hours earlier than I would have liked. But there really wasn’t time to spare.

I was more at ease in Mexico City because I had been there before and knew everyone. Plus, I had adjusted to the time a little better by then. My hope is when I go back to Guadalajara I’ll be more at ease with everyone. Hopefully, my Spanish will get better too.

So when will I go back? That’s a question asked of me several times. I know if it was just my dad, he’d go back as often as he could. My siblings, however, think it is best to have one of us with him, so it kind of limits how often he goes back.

I know when I book a flight again I’ll make sure I look into the company’s recent economic performance to make sure they won’t go out of business midway through my trip. I will say the distractions with Mexicana Airlines didn’t really hamper the trip at all. They added new elements, but never once did it cripple us. The funny thing is I was going to originally book everything a few days earlier. Had I done that, Mexicana would have suspended operations the day we would have flown back to Los Angeles.

But getting back to the question; it’s hard to say for any degree of certainty when I would go back and for how long. There is so many and so much I want to see. But I have to be in two places too. That’s what makes it so hard, trying to find a balance. Maybe one year I’ll be bold enough to take more than two weeks off and see all that I can.

I’d also be willing to go on my own too; however, I think my dad would want to come along too.

What I can say for sure is I can’t wait to go back and see everyone again. I know no matter where I go I’ll be welcomed in their home, just like with my family here.

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.