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Sitting on a park bench

October 7, 2007

On a crisp Saturday afternoon Leopoldo Perez Garcia and Avelino de la Torre Gonzalez sat together on a bench overlooking Lake Tahoe.Leopoldo Perez Garcia The two were taking advantage of what could be one of the last days before it becomes too cold to spend an afternoon outside in Kings Beach. And when the cold weather sets in, de la Torre leaves his seasonal job as a landscaper and returns to his home in Mexico where he works in the country.Work he describes as being harder and paying less than his job “atendiendo yardas” in Lake Tahoe.Amid the multimillion-dollar mansions and a billion-dollar tourism empire at the lake are also those who live paycheck to paycheck, or job to job.Still, Perez said, he prefers living in the United States.”With money, we eat food that makes us strong,” Perez, 68, said in Spanish. “And here, there’s always money. Sometimes in Mexico, there isn’t any.”He’s lived in the United States for 32 years, returning as often as he can to Mexico to spend time with his wife and four children. Of all the places he’s lived, he said, he enjoys Kings Beach best.”It’s so beautiful,” he said. “The lake is precious - that’s why we come out here to spend an afternoon.”Plus, he says, he makes more money in Lake Tahoe than anywhere else.Both men entered the United States illegally at first but have since, they said, received the necessary paperwork.De la Torre, 55, simply has a work permit, while Perez has his green card, they said. Avelino de la Torre GonzalesNeither worries about the increase in immigration security.”I keep all my papers right here all the time,” Perez says, patting his pocket. “We tow the line and don’t make any problems.”And for the most part, they agree, life in Tahoe is good. People are usually nice to them - they have each encountered some racial hostility, but said they like most of the people they’ve met and worked with.They sometimes miss aspects of their lives in Mexico, but conclude there is more opportunity and more money to he had in America.Although Perez has spent the bulk of three decades in the United States, and de la Torre has spent four summers in Tahoe, the men speak little English.”Somos burros,” Perez offers, and they both laugh.Each has a son living in Kings Beach working seasonally and returning to their wives in Mexico in the winter.Their dream would be to have their families living with them at Lake Tahoe, but getting the paperwork and money to do so has proved to be too difficult.Still, they have hopes for their children.”We want them to have a good future,” Perez said. “We hope they always have enough to eat - always have a fish in the house.”

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Written by Teri Vance · Filed Under Nuestro Tahoe, Voices 

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