A peso for your thoughts...

2011-01-26T08:25:00.002-07:00

I've just posted all my stories from borderbeat.net onto my blog, I guess just to have them here. But If you click on the titles it will take you to the actual story on the website, they really are much better there and some have multimedia attached also. Enjoy!

Angel's Home is in Prison

2011-01-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

The three-month-old baby boy is wrapped in a blue blanket. He wears a Winnie the Pooh beanie on his head and draws attention from the many women surrounding him. Angel Alejandro Beltrán is healthy. There is nothing unusual about him, but despite his clean record he lives behind prison walls in Mexico.

At the Women's Federal Prison in Nogales, Sonora, babies are allowed to stay with their mothers until the age of four. Currently, there are only two toddlers keeping their mother’s company as they serve time. This is a sight not uncommon to prisons just south of the border.

It has been almost a year-long roller coaster for Angel’s mom, Cynthia Anahi Beltrán Cabrera, 21, since she was first arrested last April in Santa Ana, Sonora. Beltrán was indicted for holding weapons and ammo inside a vehicle on her property. According to the Mexican Secretary of Public Security Website, authorities confiscated a .50 mm caliber Browning machine gun, a .30 caliber machine gun, a .50 caliber Barret Rifle and 249 rounds of ammunition for AK-47 assault rifles and other items.

The 21-year-old claims innocence and says that she doesn’t know anything about whose vehicle it was and how it got there. Her arrest was highly publicized because she shares the Beltrán name with Arturo and Alfredo Beltrán Leyva - leaders for one of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico. Beltrán says authorities performed a DNA test to try and prove a family relation between them but didn’t find a connection.

“I was about a month-and-a-half pregnant when everything was happening,” Beltrán said in Spanish. “I was scared I would lose him [Angel] and doctors had told me I was at high risk of having a miscarriage. I thought the stress of it all would for sure prevent his birth.”

Because of Beltrán’s risk of miscarriage she was transferred to Hermosillo, Sonora, to give birth in a hospital. Once both she and the baby were stable she was transferred back to Nogales.

The prison she’s currently in does have individual rooms in a building that seven inmates share. There, she and Angel live in a space that is big enough for a twin size mattress and a few personal items. Beltrán says Angel lives a life as normal as any other child.

“He has toys,” says Beltrán. “He has a lot of stuffed animals and his favorite is probably a stuffed dog that he’s always talking to.”

Angel’s grandparents come and visit almost every weekend and bring necessities for the pair. They constantly deliver diapers which prevent Angel from running out. While Beltrán’s parents would like to have them both back in Santa Ana, she says they tell her that it is better for him to be with her.

With teary eyes and a broken voice Beltrán continued, “I named him Angel because that’s how I felt - like he was my guardian angel through it all.”

Beltrán watches as the rest of the inmates hold her son and caress his face.

“They tell me that when I leave it’ll be different for them too. They say he gives them peace.”

Although she says she doesn’t feel like Angel is in any kind of danger when being around the rest of the women in the prison, Beltrán suggested that it is because she doesn’t deny him to any of them.

“Perhaps if I did keep him to myself they might think I feel like I’m better than them, and then they might try to do something bad to him. I wouldn’t want to subject him to that,” said Beltrán.

Angel is Beltrán’s first child. She says it makes her feel sad to think that she was not able to experience her first pregnancy like most people. She didn’t have a baby shower and her close friends and family weren’t able to rub her stomach in hopes of feeling him kick.

“I spent the whole time in here, worrying about everything and what would happen.”

Beltrán has high hopes of being released in the next couple months. She says she strongly believes that with new arrests related to the case and evidence presented by her lawyer, her name will finally be cleared and she can go back to her parents' house.

According to Beltrán, she has had no contact with her husband since the arrest. Although her in-laws come and visit, she says he hasn’t attempted to contact her.

“I didn’t know anything about it [the vehicle], and if I didn’t that means my husband did. I’m angry and confused. I didn’t think he would be involved in something like that. Often I think that things happen for a reason and that God always tries to teach people lessons. But I just don’t think it’s fair that I have to pay for someone else’s mistakes,” says Beltrán.

Angel’s mother admits that prison isn’t a place for a child to be in, but says she cannot imagine dealing with her arrest on her own.

“I’m sure I’ll tell him about his first few months when he gets older,” Beltrán wipes her tears. “He’ll know one way or another.”

Taste the Mango- 100% Real Fruit

2011-01-26T08:19:00.001-07:00

South Tucson, Ariz. is usually the place to find great Mexican food and traditional eateries, but one businessman headed north to start his in the Tucson Mall and has been successfully selling edible culture to patrons of all ethnicities for seven years.

Originally from Michoacan, Mex., Alex Santoyo, 47, was raised in Chicago, Ill. After he moved to Tucson, he and his wife went to get a raspado on the Southside and says he waited for 30 minutes to consume a mediocre product.

“I know how to do it better so I came to the Tucson Mall and said ‘You know what? I want to open one in here.'” said Santoyo. "And I did."

Paradise Aguas Frescas Raspados is so popular that people often crowd around the menu and create a blockage for those walking by. They stand in line and purchase not only fruit raspados but also different snacks like Tostitos with verdura, queso de nachos, jalapeños or even cacahuates y serpentinas. His newest addition is a menu of different large tortas to compliment his aguas frescas.

Santoyo says that about 60 percent of his visitors are Hispanic, but believes that the other 40 percent is a mixture of races.

Often times snow cones are made with artificial flavoring, but those that Santoyo sell are made slightly different.

“(Our) raspados, it’s fruit, it is one hundred percent fruit,” said Santoyo. “It's why it is very delicious. If you taste a strawberry snow cone, it’s strawberry! If you taste a mango snow cone, it’s mango!”

By carefully choosing each fruit, Santoyo can create his masterpieces. According to him and his clients, it is the quality that keeps them coming back.

“One thing that I learned from my business… (when) you taste something, even if you are way far, you’ll come back again,” said Santoyo.

“It reminds me of home,” says Lupe Valadez, 28, from Guanajuato, Mex., who has lived in Tucson for about five years and says she stops by almost every Saturday to at least one of Santoyo's restaurants. “I like them all but the strawberry is the one I order the most.”

Today, Santoyo's idea of placing an ethnic eatery in a typical American commercial area has led to a long-term hit and the opening of two other locations. Michoacán, on Prince and Flowing Wells, is a mixture of a longer list of food items and his raspados.

Paradise Mexican Fruit, opened two months ago in the Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe, Ariz., has had such demand that Santoyo needs three cash registers to operate it.

“I sell a lot of raspados, a lot.” says Santoyo.

Award-Winning Nails in South Tucson

2011-01-26T08:14:00.002-07:00

A male working as a nail technician on the Southside of Tucson draws attention but it is his award-winning skills and unique salon experience that have given him a well-established clientele. This ever-growing clientele has put Max Estrada on the map in the world of nails with Exclusive Nails Couture, 723 West Irvington Road.

Madonna dances on the flat screen television as Estrada, 22, wearing a baby pink apron, puts away some small blue rhinestones he uses on his clients. The room is decorated with Hello-Kitty gear and has a glamorous glass chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling with bright pink walls surrounding his work area. Another difference from other local nail salons is his waiting room, which holds a trophy shelf of all the awards he has accumulated since beginning his career almost five years ago.

The artists on T.V. alternate, the music is still loud, the phone rings, and a woman patiently waits for his attention. Estrada is in high demand. Not only is he constantly being discovered by locals, but when his artwork on someone’s hands requires a rhinestone decor fixing he’s happy to help.

“I started coming to Estrada about four months ago,” said Jenice Madrid, 26. “Now I wouldn’t go anywhere else,” she continued, her hand resting on a fluffy pink pillow as Max perfected her nails.

Madrid’s nails are a reflection of what most of his clients ask for: a dazzling, shiny design.

"People always want the same things," Estrada said. "Everyone always wants bright colors with animal prints or something like that.”

A graduate of the Arizona Academy of Beauty, Estrada entered his first nail competition through Nail Pro Magazine in 2005. According to Estrada it is usually the same people who enter the nationwide competition but there are also a lot of overseas competitors. Estrada has won several awards in the U.S., one in Korea, and a world record for the fastest full set of nails at 12 minutes and seven seconds.

“I didn’t win awards to become famous - you don’t win because you’re lucky,” said Estrada. “You win because you work really hard. It is the materialization of my efforts.”

Estrada says he grew up in the industry and because his mother was a nail technician as well, it was natural for him to get into the field. Before Exclusive Nails Couture, he worked at a salon where he says he became very unhappy.

“I got to the point where I was getting depressed. So I really wanted to open up my own salon and have a creative outlet for me to express myself through.”

At 20, he fulfilled his needs with the intentions of creating a “girly” atmosphere. He purchased an old home that was commercially zoned and used it to design his own “dollhouse”. Though he likes the traditional resort and spa feel for this type of business, he says it’s simply not him.

At $30 for a full set of nails, different designs can cost up to $100. Depending on a person’s taste, it can take Estrada one to two hours to complete.

“This is what I love to do,” Estrada assures. “A lot of people, when they wake up in the morning, they hate going to work. Me? I love it! I love working with people - I would never do anything else.”

Agua Prieta Health Clinic

2011-01-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

The family of three walked through the doors around 10 a.m. They signed in and patiently waited to be called by the students offering free health care for people in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.

At this clinic, a 12-year-old was there because of a toothache. She went first, then her sister, and finally her mother - who is diabetic. One of the students from the Flying Samaritans struggled to use a tool to measure blood sugar.

“It’s not working again,” she said.

After the fourth attempt she was finally able to prick the woman’s finger to measure the blood sugar. They were asked to wait for the doctor. Later, the family picked up prescriptions in the section the students call the pharmacy. There are books explaining some of the medications given out and if there are questions or doubts, they can turn a page to verify their facts.

“It’s all about making sure that the people are taken care of as far as medical service goes,” said Maria Ortiz who has been working to put these health clinics on since 2004.

This family wasn’t able to get all the medication needed there, but a few blocks away, there is a pharmacy that saves the bill for the organization so that those who attended the health clinic can still pick up their items at no cost to them.

Sometimes they have five doctors who volunteer, but this time around they struggled to find physicians to treat patients. At the last minute, the group recruited a doctor in Agua Prieta to see their patients, but the doctor was off-site, treating his own patients simultaneously. Students drove the patients across town to the doctor’s clinic in order to be able to provide a free service for them.

“Sí, sí vamos a regresar,” the mom said. “Mis hijas son muy enfermosas, y todo es gratis aquí, a veces no tenemos dinero para ir al doctor.”

Translated, she said that they will come back as her daughters get sick often and because everything is free there and sometimes they don’t have money to see a doctor. Four hours later they began walking home. This was a similar story for most of the 35 patients who were treated that day. After two hours people began to get impatient, asking Alexis Smith, vice president of the club. How much longer it would be before they got to see the doctor?

“If you wait just a little while longer you’ll be able to receive a consultation,” Smith said in an empathetic voice in Spanish.

They talked among themselves and debated leaving, but for most, the long wait was worth the free health advice and medication. Only seven of those who signed in weren’t seen by the doctor or the nurse practitioner.

Watch what the day was like as the Flying Samaritans ran the clinic for the other 28 patients who got treated. Nikki Helms reports.

Another patient brought in her 9-year-old girl because she had an earache. Once her daughter was finished with the nurse practitioner, it was her turn to speak about her diabetes.

She wasn’t taking medication to lower her blood sugar, and when she was asked why, she responded by saying that she couldn’t afford it.

The club has done a lot for those in need but the members still wish that there was more they could do.

“We don't have all the resources necessary, yet,” said Ortiz. "I hope someday we could."

Vision Lost At An Early Age, St. Andrew's Clinic Helps Cope

2011-01-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Vision lost at early age, has been attending clinic for a while. The 13 year-old boy sat in the corner of the St. Andrew’s church pew, awaiting his turn with the volunteers. He listened to the voices around him occasionally turning his head towards something that interested him. His sister sat at the other end just watching and keeping him company.

I asked him what his name was.

“Jose Zepeda,” he answered in a firm and confident voice.

He made fun of how I stumbled on certain words in Spanish. He laughed with me and asked what my name and age was. He told me about a game he plays with schoolmates who are also blind. He reminisced about a bicycle he used to ride before it got a flat tire that he has not been able to fix. He told me that while he doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up, he does like to sing. Then he moved on to a more serious discussion.

“I’d like an appointment,” he says to me in Spanish.

I don’t exactly know how to respond as I realized that he probably thinks I’m a volunteer, and so I said nothing.

“My eyes are hurting me. Every time I move them up my sockets ache,” said Jose.

At about the age of six all the boy knew was a small bedroom where he sat in a dark room in the corner and listened to the outside world. He was invited to attend the St. Andrew’s Clinic by Ted Estrada, now retiring Executive Director for the program, an experience that has forever changed his life.

“He wasn’t always blind” said his sister Alejandra Zepeda, 16, who skips classes once a month to help her mother bring her two siblings to the clinic.

“He was born premature [in Nogales, Son. Mexico], and they had him in an incubator to keep him alive but they never wrapped bandages on his eyes to protect his vision. He slowly started loosing it,” Alejandra said.

Jose has been visiting St. Andrews for about seven years. He has learned to read, to socialize and even to cook. Last week he learned how to make hamburgers. This time around they told him if there was enough time that they would teach him how to make chicken.

Estrada says Jose refers to him as his uncle. ‘Tio’ is the word in Spanish.

While there are many underprivileged children at the clinic, there are a few who he seems to be closer to. Jose is one of them.

“If it weren’t for us, Jose would be in hopeless despair. He would be illiterate and still sitting in a room alone,” said Estrada.

Estrada said he has asked him what he would like, as in what else the clinic could do for him.

“He tells me ‘Tio, what I would really like, whenever it’s translated into Spanish brail, is Harry Potter.’ That’s it,” said Estrada.

“So I told him ‘the minute I find it’s out I’ll buy it for you’.”

Listen to Jose

Why Can't They...

2010-04-13T11:09:00.005-07:00

“Excuse me,” he said to me.

A man walked up to me the other day clearly pin pointing me out from the other girls at work.

“I have a question. It’s a little personal I guess, but maybe not,” he continued.

Hesitantly I agreed to answer his question thinking that it would pertain to my personal life as far as if I was single or what I was doing after work, or if I liked my job.

“Why do illegal immigrants who cross the border- why can’t they just get a shopping visa and then stay in the country illegally as opposed to risking their lives in the desert?”

I wondered to myself if I should be offended that he specifically wanted to ask me this interesting question. But then thinking about how I should answer blurred my negative feelings towards the man.

I’m not sure. Why not? I thought to myself.

While still I’m unable to answer the question I do often think about the amazing necessity that drives people to go through nearly unbearable conditions for an opportunity for a possible job. In Nogales, I lived in area that was surrounded by mountains, hills, and desert. As a result the traffic for illegal immigration was constant and my encounters with those who attempted the journey were too many to count. Though most have been embedded in my brain there are those unforgettable stories that I often think are simply to tragic to share in common conversation.
I remember walking over to a friends house to study for an exam. It was dark and from the darkness I saw a leg next to the carport, I thought maybe it was her at first. It most definitely wasn’t.

A group of men were on their way to Phoenix. After traveling for days ( they couldn’t tell us how many ), the coyote finally stopped in the middle of the desert and asked them to get off the car. They held them at gun point, shot and killed one of the men traveling, took their money that they had saved up to begin their new life, took their watches, the one cell phone one of them carried, and then left them stranded with no water and no food.

They thought about going back. At times they also hoped that they would get caught by the Border Patrol . Once they reached civilization all they wanted was to continue. They were fed, they drank water, and finally made a phone call. By the morning they were gone.

Last year there was a huge increase in Chinese illegal immigration. Yes, Chinese (I feel it is a misconception to believe that Mexicans are the only illegal immigrants residing in the U.S.)Speaking to a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security they told me that Chinese will around $40,000 to get smuggled into the U.S.. Because they weren’t used to the desert terrain it was extra difficult to complete the long journey.

My guess is that as Americans we don’t think about how difficult or how lengthy the process to apply for a Visa is. When the opportunity is presented to have it all in just a few days it almost makes sense that someone would choose the path that is a little more dangerous.

In the book Mexican Enough by Stephanie Elizondo Griest the author talks about how in small villages men will illegally cross back and forth into the U.S. regularly. They will come here, work, save, and head back home only to do it again. Of course this within months- but nonetheless, regularly.

I have a vision of a bright Sunday afternoon on my way to a restaurant, I looked over my shoulder and saw a young 19 year-old looking guy lifting half his body outside of a sewer. He wore a black t shirt, dark denim jeans, and his hair spike with highlights. I knew that once the second part of his body was out he would walk the streets just like I would.

More about us...

2010-04-06T11:37:00.003-07:00

As my job requirement, I constantly speak to people from all over the world. I’m the only person who can speak Spanish although there are other women I work with that look like they might, they don’t. Something I also learned in Tucson is that the color of someone’s skin or what they look like can definitely be deceiving. In Nogales, I could almost bet my life that if someone looked Mexican, 99.9% of the time they were, and even if they didn’t, still they spoke Spanish (sometimes no English at all). Here and anywhere other than a border town, my assumptions are only that. The percentage that I am right that a person who looks Mexican is and can speak Spanish, is much closer to being wrong then to being right.

So when people from Mexico visit and inquire they automatically walk up to a person who might look like they could communicate it with them and start their conversation in Spanish. Usually they choose the wrong person and I’m always called to the rescue. For some reason I feel like it is happening less and less, like maybe they are beginning to understand bigger cities and the further from the border the further from the culture.

I like shopping at ethnic places like Food City because for the time that I’m there things are normal in my world. I shop for items for Sopa de Tortilla like the tortillitas that are already pre-made so I don’t have to struggle and the Chile Verdes that are already roasted over a fire (even more convenient). Then I can easily choose the types of cheese I’d like purchase without having to pay a million dollars because it simply doesn’t belong at that store. My preference is usually a pack of Queso Oaxaca, Queso Fresco, and strips of Mozzarella. I’ve visited different locations in Tucson and found that the location of a store will definitely have an impact of the people who work there and what they are use to. Food City on Irvington and I10 I’m sure is used to people speaking only Spanish (located on the South side of Tucson which is an area highly populated by the Latin community). There is also one on St. Mary’s and Grande, and Ft. Lowell and 1st Ave.

The St.Mary’s location while the surroundings aren’t completely populated by a Latin community I think they still have that feel to it and are used to that. However, apparently the location on Ft. Lowell, not so much. Here’s an anecdote:

I walk into Food City, and carefully choose all my Tortilla soup items. The only thing missing are my strips. So I walk around the store a couple times before finally deciding that my stubbornness is cutting into my cooking time and I should ask for help.

So I spot a young girl walking towards me wearing a uniform. She has darker skin, and long black hair loosely pulled back into a ponytail.

“Disculpe, no tiene las tortillitas que ya estan echas para la sopa de tortilla?”

She stares at me and I begin to question my description….

“Sabe? Son tortillas que ya vienen cortadas en pedasos largos y ya vienen listas como para ponerlas en la sopa?”

She keeps staring at me and looks around. I begin to question my Spanish, then maybe if I’m even speaking a language.

After a little more rambling. She stops me.

“I’m sorry,” she says with overdone hand gestures expressing just that.

I sigh….. “I’m looking for tortilla strips, there usually long and thin, but I don’t see them.”

“I think we’re out.”

U.S.Always in Mexico

2010-03-30T11:28:00.003-07:00

Over spring break I took a trip down to Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point). It had been an extremely long time since I had been down there so I sort of went into observation mode throughout. I went with three of my friends and our very first evening walked down what seemed to be the tourist street, with many bars, restaurants and shops. We ate at a sit down place with very Americanized menus advertising “Spring Break Specials” and once we were done we just walked down the strip for a few moments. I looked up and for a second thought that Starbucks was just around the corner. It wasn’t so much excitement as it was a sudden interest that made me do a double take and then realized that where “Starbucks” would be written, the word “Santana” replaced it, and the usual logo that it carries turned into a Che Guevarra look-a-like. “Hmm…. “ I thought to myself.

Throughout the Curios in Nogales, Mex. you see so many different knock offs of well-recognized American company logos or names. The one that always comes to mind for me are the all mighty McDonald’s golden arches. It never fails that I walk past one of the small shops and hanging from their ceiling for an eye appealer is a sweater or a poncho, with those same Golden Arches, but instead of McDonald’s it spells out “Marijuana”. Nice. Interesting at the very least.

Not long after we stopped at a convenience shop and on of the girls mentions how the name always makes her laugh. Regi’s 8/12. I thought to myself “ I guess that is sort of funny, Regi isn’t a common name,” then it killed me, so I had to ask and forfeit my coolness for a moment.

“I don’t get it, why does it make you laught?”

“Dude! Regi’s 8/12….7/11!”

Ah, finally it made sense. A play off- while I’m not sure if there is such a thing as copyright infringement in Mexico, or that it would matter if it was. I wondered if they thought that it would draw more attention if they didn’t name it the overused name of 7/11, but wanted their business success enough to come up with a name based on that. Maybe it was a joke. Maybe they never really thought about it as much as I have. But either way, I had discuss this on here.

For reasons like such, it makes me wish I had a bigger audience so that I may open up this discussion and people can’t post all the different play-offs that Mexico has come up with. For now, I’ll post pictures of the two that have brought to this very blog.

Behind Prison Walls South of the Border, Part II

2010-03-22T21:15:00.004-07:00

I met Angel before I met her. He was being passed around like he was brought in for show and tell to a classroom. The women made faces at him trying to amuse him and continuously caressed his cheek. He was bundled up in a blanket and his eyes displayed being more tired than entertained.

After having met the three-month old she finally sneaked in the room and stood there. At first I wasn't sure she was an inmate at all. After reconsidering my thoughts (why would someone who isn't an inmate be in prison) I simply figured she was observing the rest of the women. But it was her, she was the mother.

I introduced myself realizing that she was much younger than anticipated. We walked out of the room together and I asked if she wanted to sit somewhere to chat. She agreed and so we sat around the corner in front of a fence looking into a courtyard.

A first time mother, she was arrested during her third month of pregnancy. At certain points in the conversation she couldn't help but get tears in her eyes.

She told me why she was arrested but it wasn't the focus of the conversation. She proceeded her story telling me that she regretted not being able to have a true pregnancy. She spent her nine months fighting for her freedom while simultaneously being the center of attention throughout Mexico. Allegedly, she was involved with one of the biggest drug cartels and as a 21-year-old, made big headlines.

A video in Spanish from El Universal TV in Mexico when Beltrán was first arrested back in April. Take a look at the weapons she was allegedly guarding for the drug cartels.

Behind Prison Walls South of the Border, Part I

2010-03-02T00:47:00.007-07:00

It was hard for me to explain my reasoning for going to the Women’s Federal Prison in Nogales, Son. Mexico when my friend Erikah asked me why the hell I would in a nice way. But after a few moments of my own thoughts I realized that it isn’t somewhere that people end up, and by that I mean it isn’t exactly a museum or an art gallery. Yet, it is still a point of interest to many. While I don’t usually sit in class and think “I should take a trip to prison just to see what its like,” I’d still like to know. I would get the chance to see real criminals behind bars, and it was almost exciting. On I19 just past Tubac, Ariz. I realized that I was really nervous and had butterflies in my stomach. I hoped they couldn’t smell fear.

When we got there, the security at the entrance held his big rifle, saw the usual people in the vehicle, and manually lifted the bar to let us on to the prison property. I immediately played out a scene in my head where the highly trained snipers just shot him and walked on in there to get an inmate of their choosing. I’m not sure how much it would take to pull that off, but I hoped people just didn’t want to do it that day.

Security at the entrance took my American license and placed in a drawer with all the Mexican identifications. He stamped my hand with fresh ink which made the picture on my wrist run. I could only really see a little of the word “visitor”, definitely not the picture. On the guest book was a JW Marriott pen. Interesting. There was no padding of my body, they didn’t even ask me to open my coat. He just yelled to someone across the door and they came in and opened it up.

I was confused when going through the doorway I could see people in sweaters and jeans just standing around. I wasn’t sure if this was the waiting room, or people visiting the inmates, but as it turns out it was the inmates themselves. T-shirts, bras, and underwear hung from the fence that surrounded their sleeping rooms. No jail cells… and it must have been laundry day.

All the women in there expected a hug and a kiss from me. Which is common in Mexico, but I had to let go of that part of me when I moved to Tucson and learned that most didn’t appreciate that at first time meetings. I miss that part of my culture, but I never expected that this was the place to begin the practice again.

My story was about babies in Prison, I was told women there could keep their child until they were four years of age. I was also told that because it didn’t pertain to my story, I shouldn’t ask why they were locked up. I didn’t forget I just didn’t listen, and by the second question of the interview the inmate was answering how she found herself arrested. She was hesitant, but she still shared.

(READ PART II FOR THE INMATE INTERVIEW-COMING SOON)

From a distance I could see a child who seemed to be five years old. She wore pigtails and was surrounded by the women. One combed her hair back as they all had conversations. I asked the girl I was interviewing who the little girl was. Apparently she was the child of one of the guards, the guard blended in with the inmates. She wore a polo and jeans, after a while I finally noticed the difference- Her shirt had an official logo on it.

Photo by Matilde Cantero

“People here have their own businesses, or there own ways to make money,” the inmate said in Spanish. “Some sell candies, others bracelets, and one lady even rents out her washer machine.”

At the end of my two hours, one of them offered to take a picture with me and the girl I interviewed.

“Diez pesos…” and she took it with her digital camera, and she left. I don’t expect to see a print copy, or one at all.

It was time to leave, they opened the gates and asked us to raise our wrists.
“Pasale, pasale” they said after verifying our legitimacy by looking at our smeared stamp.

Agua Prieta Health Clinic

2010-02-22T23:01:00.007-07:00

This past Saturday I went with a classmate to go cover a health clinic set up by the Flying Samaritans, a club at the University of Arizona. It was held in Agua Prieta, Son. Mexico, at the Centro Comunitario. Basically the club asks for people in the medical field---doctors and nurses---- to volunteer their time in order to treat different patients who attend the clinic. The club fundraises money to purchase medicine for the patients to take advantage of, which is also a privilege of attending the clinic. UA students take the patient’s blood pressure, measure their heart rate, and ask preliminary health questions before they go see the physician. Blood Sugar is measured for those who have diabetes or those who think they might have it. If the patient is prescribed medication, they take their prescriptions to the “pharmacy” which is located in a separate room. There UA students and volunteers give out whatever was prescribed. Their collection of medication ranged from Tylenol to high blood pressure medication.

Yuriko Lee talks to her patients at the health clinic in Agua Prieta, Son. Mex. at the Centro Comunitario

For this specific clinic, one of the volunteers was a nurse practitioner. Yuriko Lee treated patients and wrote up prescriptions for things like common colds, coughs, and high blood pressure. She treated older women in their 30’s and 40’s, children, and even a pregnant woman who was having pains. It was interesting being able to watch her work. She says her Spanish is rough. She hesitated saying some things to her patients in fear of misleading them or giving them the wrong information. But she said that the hardest parts of volunteering for her were the lack of resources and lack of medical history. This was her second time participating in the clinic and still those things didn’t get easier.

The "pharmacy" within the health clinic

There’s a few interesting things about this situation. While I think it is generous to devote time to a cause that is obviously needed in a specific area, I’m not sure how efficient it really is. For most students that volunteered this was their first time and it seemed as though they were knowledgeable in the information they were taking some of their tools weren’t being very helpful. The strips used to measure blood sugar were scarce and the machine to prick a person’s finger malfunctioned a few times.

The final prick to measure blood sugar on a patients finger

The volunteers at the pharmacy had books relating to medical drugs so that they knew what it was they were giving out and for what. There were patients who waited for about four hours to finish the process, but everything was free of cost for them including their medication.

One lady who was diabetic told Yuriko that she didn’t take the medication that she should be taking daily because often times she just didn’t have the funds for it. She said she didn’t go get tests done, “Pues de done?” she asked, meaning she didn’t have anywhere to get money to go. Yuriko asked how much they charged for a consultation and she replied “25 o 35 pesos por consulta, y nomas no lo tengo”, in dollars--- $2.50 or $3.50 a visit. Things like this really put this into perspective for me. I would think the average American spends at least $10 a day per meal, and it’s sort of... no, it is... depressing to think about those people who can’t afford to take care of a serious disease like diabetes because they can’t afford $5 a day.

Photos by Me.

We Live in Their Home

2010-02-15T22:56:00.008-07:00

The traditional picture for those rare years that it snows in Arizona always involves a cactus, which seems like a poetic type of oxymoron. So many people who visit from different places of the country, and the world, are fascinated by those green prickly plants that grow to be twice a person’s size and live two lifetimes. I’ve seen people from Korea in town for a conference pull there vehicle over and take group pictures with them in the background. This is easy in Arizona, as the whole state is dominated by these friends of the dry desert climate. It’s only here that if you are golfing your ball can bounce off of a cactus on the course. But Tucson is home to one of the largest saguaro forests holding over 1,000,000 of them in the Tucson mountain district, according to the census count in 2000 constructed by the Saguaro National Park.

Earlier this semester Jay discussed on the Border Beat Insider blog that one of his regrets was that he “will never be able to see a giant saguaro cactus for the first time.” As is my regret after discussing this topic with others.

A couple was here from New York during the months of December and were simply astounded by the amount of cactus that stood before them. On their morning hikes they took pictures of many, each one representing something different to them. Their favorite , they said, was a pair that seemed to grow towards each other, almost seemed as if they themselves were a couple as well, to them the cacti formed a shape that made them appear to be “hugging”. Another cactus “pointed” across the trail, and another was “happy”, etc.

Photos by Celeste Huffaker

Hiking on the West side of Tucson- the Rincon Mountain District- is an interesting trip. During the hot summer months the beginning of the trails are just simply desert and your mind seems to be concerned with getting bitten by snakes. As you go deeper into the park it becomes almost impossible to not admire the cacti towering over you. It's almost as if you've stepped into their world and your just watching them live their lifes.

Interesting Saguaro Facts from desertmuseum.org:

-The average life span of a saguaro cactus is 150 years, but some plants may live more than 200 years.
-A 20 foot tall saguaro weighs approximately 1 ton (2000 pounds).
-They can have up to 25 arms.
-You find this cactus in southern Arizona and western Sonora, Mexico. A few stray plants can also be found in southeast California.
-A 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall

Minnesota to Mexico

2010-02-02T11:52:00.006-07:00

Laura Flynn graduated from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, originally from Rochester Minn. she traveled to Arizona to work as a nurse. I first met her when I came home from Nogales to Tucson after my winter break. My new neighbors had just moved in and I wanted to introduce myself. So she invited me into her apartment and after the meet and greet she and her roommates asked questions about my hometown.

“That’s a border town right?” one of them asked.

I said yes, and quickly peaked there interest. Just as a side note I told them that as I was coming up here my new puppy tried to eat the Border Patrol agents at the check point. To my amazement they had no idea what a Border Patrol was. It was so foreign to them. But I suppose when you live so far away from the Mexico border you’re not really in tuned with what they look like or who they are.

I was so excited to share the culture and the fun experiences in clubs in Mexico. So I invited her to come with me for a weekend.

Picture of Laura and I doing a typical tourist picture with a donkey in Nogales, Mex. Picture by Pam Slaughter.

On a Saturday we headed down to Nogales, we took separate cars and she got into town about 20 minutes before. When I met her, she wanted to confirm that we were still in the U.S., she said she had tried to order a swirl ice cream cone from McDonalds but they couldn’t understand her. They asked for her order in Spanish, which Laura did not speak, and then as she proceeded to order in English. As it usually does, something was lost in translation and what she ended up getting was a sundae with chocolate fudge around it.

I assured her that we were still in the U.S. and our evening proceeded.

We crossed the border into Mexico, and walked to the popular club Kookarachas, where usually Saturday’s are $20 all you can drink nights. She was amazed and very excited. (It wasn’t until now that I realize what a good deal that was!).

Laura wanted to keep exploring, so she brought down a friend who also lived in our complex. They would go into different Curios and take tequila shots with the owners or store keepers. I had no idea they did that, in fact, once I saw them doing the traditional toast….

“Pa rriba, pa bajo , pa centro, pa dentro!”

I thought to myself that even if i did know, the chances of me taking shots from someone who is trying to persuade me to buy something were very slim. It was fun though. Laura was my first experience of being somewhat of a “tour guide” I suppose. It’s interesting the things that one misses when they live in an area for so long. Even the metric system, it changes from Miles to kilometers. Where? I have no idea. But somewhere around here (also something that Laura pointed out).

Zoom out for the best view!

Bienvenidos!

2010-01-26T01:26:00.004-07:00

Now, more than ever, it is often I hear stories from different people about the drug cartels having taken over the city of Nogales, Son. The homicide rates began climbing the charts people began sharing those crazy stories. I told my Tia I was heading down there for research and she told me a story about a man who worked at a pharmacy having some lunch at a taco stand. A couple of men got off a car walked up, shot him, and then said “Chale guey, se me hace que nos equibocamos.” Meaning they got the wrong guy. Of course this might have just have been gossip spread north of the fence, but things were so different this time around.

I took a friend from work with me to find a story to write about. Ashley, originally from Georgia, had previously been there before for some touristic things I’m sure. This time around she was looking for a toe ring specifically. So we walked up to the alleys most known for stands selling shot glasses, bracelets, sun glasses, pipes, “lucha libre” masks, and jewelry. On a Saturday around noon it was almost empty. I asked a few of the owners the reason for it.

“Is it because of the economy? Or is it because of all the violence that has been happening?”

“It’s just been this way, can I interest you in this necklace for your boyfriend?”

Our conversation ended. People avoided the subject. Local restaurants and bars I used to visit were closed. The streets were much quieter.

However, I couldn’t tell if the people avoided talking about the obvious situation or simply because we were close to the only ones shopping and they wanted us to buy something. After the first stop, every alley we walked down towards there was someone inviting us, “we have toe rings too,” they would yell.
Ashley really wanted to have a traditional Mexican lunch so she geared towards carts on the streets. We had tacos from one and loaded Sonoran hot dogs from the other. She bought a bottled strawberry Fanta and after she paid the owner she walked away with the bottle in her hand. The owner anxiously called her back to return the bottle and he gave her a Styrofoam cup to carry the rest of her soda in. We were both surprised at the lengths he went to make sure he’d be able to recycle the bottles. For dessert we got “Coctel de Elotes”, corn with cheese, I think maybe mayonnaise, butter and chili. She was impressed, and I was happy to have tasted it once again.

Aside from the emptiness of the area, there was nothing out of the ordinary it was simply interesting to see it from tourists perception.

“What is that? Just curious, I want to know what it is I’m eating that’s all.”

Introduction

2010-01-19T23:49:00.005-07:00

I suppose I should start with what this is… I was born and raised in Nogales, Ariz. a border town whose population is very much Hispanic (about 80% according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000). I grew up crossing the border often for restaurants, dentists or other medical reasons, and then for typical border town things like parties (sometimes associated with high school events i.e. homecoming, prom, and graduation). The Mexican culture was largely a part of my life that it was only when I moved to Tucson that I began to notice the fact that the knowledge and experience I have acquired is foreign for some people, typical every day things for us where surprising for many. I forget it’s not really common for cities to use old school buses as their form of public transportation, and that restaurants don’t really use recycled containers such as small juice bottles for salt and pepper shakers. I’m actually not sure I noticed those things until people who visited mentioned them to me. That is what this is. A collection of descriptions of people’s experiences, their thoughts, their interests, and their questions on/about this third world country that is just down the street.

Picture I took from Nogales, Ariz. looking into Nogales, Son., to the left is Mexico and to the right the U.S. a road commonly monitored by the Border Patrol.

I’ll begin with something light and save controversial topics for later.

My first year in Tucson I went back to bars and clubs in Mexico with people from Seattle, WA (I’m pretty sure) and right before we crossed one of the girls stopped at a Bank of America ATM to get cash. While I think she knew she was still in the U.S. the border might have blurred because of the overwhelming Mexican-ness of it all. As she was finishing her request she asked “Wait, should I hold out my hands? Is it going to give me pesos?” My immediate reaction was to laugh, I had never heard something like that before, but it was a genuine question and if I was in her shoes, I suppose very legitimate.

Peso for your thoughts…