Isabela's Private War

"Isabela's Private War, Fighting for Love," is the outcome of my life in Boyle Heights. I found my way to Texas and crossed the border to play basketball for Los Panteras de Aguascalientes, Mexico. It began as a wonderful moment full of promise until I sustained a career-ending injury that sent me into a coma. This moment became an opportunity for evildoers. It was also when love reached out to me.

I returned stateside to escape incestuous politics embedded in the medical industry and regained my health. Following my recovery, I found my way back to Aguas for personal and legal reasons. I married Isabela upon my return, and when my wife and unborn child were murdered, I found myself in a dark place. Anger filled my heart; I turned to my faith for purpose, and justice followed.

Living my purpose led me into the Dirty Wars, which dominated Mexico in the seventies. The PRI, a violent authoritarian regime, controlled politics at every level of government. The early seventies marked the height of the Dirty Wars. In 1968, before my arrival, the PRI orchestrated the Tlatelolco Massacre, killing hundreds of protesters. After my arrival, the PRI carried out the 1971 Corpus Christi Massacre, killing thousands of protesting students. The military attacked dissenters, and thousands disappeared. Fear was used as a means to an end: complete and total control at every level of government. When our team bus rolled into Guadalajara, armed federal soldiers appeared on every corner. Luis Echeverría was the president. This was not a place or time for fear or silence. My early life in Boyle Heights may have prepared me for what was to follow.