Rene Martinez enjoys spending time with relatives who also knew and admired his father, Cervando, a waiter, and his mother, Maria, a housewife, both of whom have since died. They came to America for economic reasons and were treated like second-class citizens. Jeurida Villasana is not Mexican by birth, but after 40 years as a Villasana by marriage, she has the warmest of memories for the dances and picnics in the Mexican-American community which she enjoyed with her husband and, later, her daughters. And that made her want to host some reunions. It brings the family back together because you do lose touch.
People are so scattered.
The way we live doesn't promote family get-togethers unless it is a family reunion. That's the only substitute for the core. Dr. Martinez sees these family get-togethers not only as a pleasure, but an opportunity for healing and regeneration. He particularly enjoys going to family reunions in Mexico to keep in touch with that ancestral link. There are a lot of pleasures and surprises in seeing characteristics of yourself in people who live so far away.