Luis Lazalde is a junior residing in the legendary Zahm house. Originally from El Paso, Texas it’s hard to miss him when he walks into a room. Studious, sweet, and sophisticated, he’s the guy you want at a party but also the one who will sit through that awful chem homework with you. He’s truly a Campus Cutie.
The Basics
Year: 2017
Major: Chemical Engineering, i.e. ChEG Lord
Hometown: El Paso, TX (the really pointy part of Texas to the left on maps – yes, that dot near Old Mexico and New Mexico)
Activities: Waiting for Star Wars VII to come out. MLG 360 QuickScoping/NoScoping (no, Mercy does not have any idea what this means). Shrek, Mountain Dew and Doritos enthusiast.
But really I work as one of the Spring Vis Student Recruitment Coordinators and I’m an Engineering Peer Mentor. I am also Zahm House STEM Ambassador and the Diversity Council/ELC rep for HES. I helped on the Latino Freshmen Retreat and I do Research. Oh, and I sleep occasionally.
The coordinators (not pictured: Harisa Spahic & Adriana Cantos)
LFR 2015
Relationship Status: My mami says girls are the devil. A.k.a single and ready to mingle.
How would you describe El Paso?: El Paso is definitely a unique city. It’s large enough to feel like a city but it’s small enough where it feels like you know everyone (or know someone who knows someone, you know?). It’s also at the nexus of a unique cultural landscape. The city is located inches away from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and most of the city is Hispanic, so most people share in Mexican culture and celebrate life in the same way. Not everyone may know how to speak Spanish, but understanding Spanish is a necessary life skill there. However, being in the United States and having a military base close by (Fort Bliss), many American traditions, food, and ways of life also prevail.
Finally, El Paso is still very Texan (despite its distance from the other major Texan cities) with most people from the city having a great love and pride for the state and for football. Thus, to be an El Pasoan is to have a multidimensional identity; perhaps one dimension may dominate the others for some people, but it is impossible to fully separate these dimensions from one another.
Despite this great cultural wealth, most people want to leave El Paso thinking other cities will be better or more exciting. After having experienced life away from home and having the opportunity to see cities around the world, however, I can firmly say that there’s definitely no place like home.
What were the top 5 things about the Mexico City pilgrimage? It’s really hard to list only 5 top things, but I’ll give some of mine, in no particular order:
The People
One of the things that really stood out to me on the trip was the people I came into contact with and their sincerity. First of all, I’m grateful to have met and gotten to know better so many different people from ND on the trip. If it weren’t for this amazing opportunity, I might never have met such incredible people! Even our guests, who were with us for only small parts of the trip but still visited sites and had events with us, were integral to the experience.
In addition, the people of Mexico are phenomenal. Whether it was the hospitality of the people who fed us (and kept feeding us), the humility of the faithful at Masses, offering up objects to be blessed by priests after every mass, the skill of artisans selling their goods to make a living, or the general kindness of those who welcomed guests of Padre Jose, I came to learn a new dimension of the human condition from this amazing, resilient populace.
Squad at Xochimilco
Atop the temple of the Sun, rocky style
Squad with the best doorman on earth, Juan
Father Joe with his longtime friend, Miguelangel, owner of a fantastic Taqueria
Faithful after a Mass taking objects to be blessed (San Hippolito)
The History
Another aspect of the trip that really amazed me was the ability to be witness and participate in the history of a complex nation so near to our own. We were able to climb the pyramids of Teotihuacan, part of a religious and commercial complex which belonged to a pre-Columbian people known only as the Teotihuacanos. We saw the floating gardens of Xochimilco (so-chee-meel-co), which are the last remnants of the canals of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital which eventually became Mexico City with the arrival of the Spanish.
We were able to explore the Zócalo, which was the central administrative area of Mexico City during the colonial days and even to this day. It includes the main cathedral, the national palace (where the president of Mexico works and other important events in Mexican history took place), and other buildings used for administration. Most importantly, though, we traveled to the place were the Virgencita, the Virgen de Guadalupe, appeared to Juan Diego and the Basilica where the original tilma is housed, the image of our Mother untouched by the ages. Her image is of historical, cultural, social, and theological significance and has played a key role in the lives and history of many in Mexico, even to this day.
“Crawling up the Steps/ The slope, it feels so real”
Shameless Selfie with the Tilma with the Virgencita on it
When the sun god need a sacrifice but u lookin fresh
With the Cathedral in the Main Square
The Food
After this trip, swallowing a Fiery Doritos® Cheesy Gordita Crunch at Taco Bell is going to prove difficult. The tacos, tortas, tamales, churros, mole, aguas frescas, snacks (gansitos, corn, spicy chips, etc.) and other things we ate and drank were simply incredible. I had grown up with many of the food we experienced in Mexico, but it was incredible to eat these in their place of origin and specialty. The smell and sound of meat al pastor or al carbon cooking for tacos on the street, freshly made pan dulce filling a shop with the sweet smells of every imaginable kind of bread, and other such sensory experiences were so common place, I’m not sure if the dining hall is going to cut it until home!
Bread is great
Our first churro in Mexico
Tacos Alambre Al Pastor are bae
The Culture
An incredible part of this trip was our immersion into the culture of Mexico and all its aspects. We were able to experience the mariachis singing at the Plaza Garibaldi and we sang Karaoke with the locals. We witnessed the art of Mexico through the ages in the churches we visited along with the faith of the people going to church, went to expos where indigenous goods were sold to support the populations in Oaxaca and so much more. At the National Museum of Archaeology, we were able to witness the development of the indigenous populations of Mexico throughout the ages by looking at their artifacts and remnants from ages past.
In addition, it was amazing to witness the reverence and faith people had in Catholic Church. Masses were well-attended no matter what day of the week it was and the images of Christ, Mary, the saints, and angels were everywhere. It was simply incredible to be able to participate in the culture of home in the place where it all began.
Singing “Cielito Lindo” with Mariachis in Plaza Garibaldi
Singing “Cielito Lindo” at a Karaoke Bar…I swear I know other songs
Altar of Kings from the Cathedral
The Ballet Floflorico
This was just awesome. Anyone who went on the trip can attest to the skill, precision and awe-inspiring talent of the dancers in the Ballet. Here, we got to see some traditional dances from all over Mexico that are characteristic of ballet floflorico, such as dances from Veracruz, Jalisco, the Indian Deer Dance, the Aztec Matachines, and many others. It was amazing to see dances that are familiar to me done by professionals in the grand Palace of Fine Arts, which is in and of itself incredible.
At the Palacio de Belles Artes awaiting the show
Dancers at the show
Is this pilgrimage a must do for undergraduates?: If you like good food, awesome people and fun, then definitely yes.
Was the ability to speak Spanish helpful or necessary? It’s definitely useful to know Spanish or to have some background with a romance language on the trip. Spanish is my first language but not my greatest due to going to school for all my life where English is spoken, but I was still able to navigate my way with what I knew. If you don’t know Spanish, it’s best to stick around with someone who does.
Did being a Zahm resident in any way prepare you especially for this experience? Living in Zahm prepared me to welcome a new community with open arms, no matter their story. Zahm stresses an uncompromising, unyielding community regardless of background, which allowed me to make plenty of new friends on our journey and embrace those whom I met from the country. The community of Zahm isn’t limited by nationality, location, or language – it extends everywhere.
Final Thoughts: Thanks for the awesome experience, Father Joe and Campus Ministry :)
Luis Lazalde is all-around great guy and legend. Thanks Luis!
XOXO, HCND
Images: 1 provided by author, 2, 3, 4-5 provided by author, 6, 7-23 provided by author, 24