The Other Chavez
It was my great granddaughter's birthday yesterday.She turned two years of age.Her name is Jade.My granddaughter and her husband wanted a boy because the only child they had was a girl. They wanted to name the boy after the father. His name is Jaime.So when the girl was born instead they named her Aimee that sounded like Jaime. But her middle name is Jade and that's easier to say.My granddaughter and her husband rented a salon in Playas De Tijuana by the beach to celebrate the event. As my wife,daughter, and I drove along the crowded road to Playas I noticed that many of the businesses that run parallel to the border fence had coils of barb wire, that the had been cut from the top of wall, strung as barriers outside their home and business establishments. All you have to do is get a ladder,climb up to the top of the fence,and snip off as much of the new barb wire as you want. Most of the barb wire was put on top of the enclosures that act as barriers in front of parking lots,construction sites,and to keep people from jumping over gates and fences to get onto private property Stealing the barb wire has emerged as a profitable black market industry in Tijuana in recent months.
I drove around in circles trying to find the salon.We had the address,but since Mexico doesn't have many street signs and people seldom put the numbers of the street addresses on their property it took awhile to find the salon. Asking a bystander, telling them the address, is pretty much an act in futility. If they know where the place is they'll give the directions using landmarks
"Go to the church and then turn right up the hill till you get to the taco stand and then you'll see the park and it's across the street."
And most of the time that direction is wrong and you have to ask someone else. Luckily, my daughter's GPS was working down there even though she didn't have an international plan.There must have been one of those sonar dishes across the border close enough to the border that allowed her to pick up the signal.
The salon was big and beautiful located right across the street from the beach As is often the case there wasn't a parking lot so I had to park my car on the side street. I put "The Club" on the steering wheel and then paid one of the many kids on the street a dollar to "watch" my car. That's what they're there for.It's worth it. The chances are if you don't pay them,they'll go to the cop on the corner,(who allows them to work their racket for a fee) and when you come back your car is gone. if your lucky,the window is smashed and your stereo is missing.
The party was suppose to start at 2 pm.We arrived at three and things were getting still getting set up But I knew that that would be te case because "Mexican time"is always later than what it's supposed to be. The last thing Mexicans want to be is enslaved by the clock.My granddaughter and her husband had hired various food vendors:an ice cream stand,a taco grill,a table where women were making hot cakes,a churro cart with a steering wheel that when turned oozed out the batter.There as a full wet bar.There were clowns that blew up balloons and twisted them into different shapes and figures. On a table next to where everyone put their presents was a huge three layer "tres leches" cake adorned with plenty of icing.A face painter was working in a corner.The little girls were anxiously waiting in line to have the face painter decorate their faces with finger paints and colored glitters.A long beam hung out in a corner. That was where later they'd tie the pinatas so the kids could swing a stick trying to bust open the pinatas and then jump down fighting over the candy.Photograhers roamed the room snapping pictures and then returning later looking for the people that were in the pictures. If you wanted a picture it was five bucks U.S.Most people didn't buy any pictures.The only pictures that were sold were the ones where people posed with my great granddaughter standing in front of the big cake.
There were big round tables with thin paper table cloths that had bowls of candy and plastic statues of the Little Mermaid in the center.. My youngest granddaughter's husband came over and sat with us.His name is Ivan.
"Roger,"he beamed."I've got another wrestling event next Sunday at the Rancho Grande Bar."
"I'll be there,"I said.
Ivan works two jobs at the big hotels in San Diego on the waterfront,the Marriott and the Hilton.Ivan has a dough boy body and a round happy face,dark skinned and eyes that constantly shift as he goes into his spiel about his future wrestling ventures.He's very enthusiastic about his wrestling promotions. All of them have been in Tijuana so far.
"I'm trying to get something going in LA next month,"he rattled off." It'll be crazy. Really crazy."
"Did you ever think about promoting boxing matches?"I asked him.
"I don't know too much about boxing ,"he answered.
"Funny you should say that being Mexican.When I was teaching history in San Ysidro I'd tell the kids that we were going to learn about Cesar Chavez.They thought I meant the fighter."
"Well,I've heard of Cesar Chavez the fighter.Who's the other one?"
"He was a very famous union organizer in California. He represented the farm workers."
"I never heard of him,"said Ivan.
By around 5 o'clock the salon was filling up pretty fast.Family,friends,and neighbors from mostly Canon Jhonson where my granddaughter lived and grew up came pouring in.it was a circus atmosphere. I was talking to Ivan still when I heard a roar come up from the crowd. I looked at the door. My son in law's sister walked in with her little girl in a stroller. The girl was lying on her back fastened in by braces and straps.. She had been born with cerebral palsy.I saw that she was dressed in a little pink dress with ribbons in her hair. The mother pushed the stroller in front of the big tiered cake to have a picture taken. Everyone was on their feet crowding the girl and her mother. People who couldn't get close enough stood on chairs frantically taking pictures.Everyone was delirious shouting and yelling They were applauding and jumping up and down. I sat there staring wide eyed and open mouthed. The hysteria seemed like it lasted an eternity.
Fianally.when things died down Ivan turned to me again.
"This other Cesar Chavez.You said he did what?"
"Oh ,he helped the poor."
"You'll have to explain to me more about that later," he said.
The Other Chavez
