A family spends Sunday evening in the park in Garden City. On Sunday nights, Garden City's Finnup Park fills with family barbecues and pinata birthdays. If you'd go to the plaza or park in any Mexican town, this is what you'd see. But as families become integrated into a faster-paced U.S. lifestyle, they also lose traditions. But now we're lucky if we do it once a month.
Parents often work different factory shifts, cutting into their time with children.
Many work overtime and on weekends to make ends meet. Education becomes elusive as families integrate into a new culture they believe emphasizes work over family. But the tradeoff is better schools and less corrupt government, parents say. Pedro Fierro and Kathy Medina share a car hood while watching other young Hispanics cruising through Garden City's Finnup Park. Getting along Although city officials say relations among ethnic groups have been fairly good, tensions do surface, particularly among youth.