Pusimos nuestro arbol de colores. Le pusimos todos los adornos que nos pudimos encontrar de colores y hasta pintamos algunos más. Amabas ver los adornos, le dabas vueltas al árbol y te veías en el reflejo de las esferas. Se cayeron algunos adornos en el camino pero los disfrutaste muchísimo!
Fue Thanksgiving, la pasamos en Quincy con Miguel, Mariana, Matías y Sebastián y unos amigos de ellos. Nos dimos, una vez más, cuenta, de lo afortunados que somos… de lo felices que nos hacen los amigos.
Y aunque aquí el tema de los amigos ha sido difícil y diferente. También tenemos unos amigos buenos que nos han cambiado la vida.
Ustedes tienen a Alex y Ariana, que los adoptaron desde que llegamos.
Paco ha sido un tío adquirido maravilloso. Iñigo el mejor hermano grande que uno pudiera desear. Los vecinos amigos como nosotros donde la platica se puede dar agusto y hasta viajes queremos hacer. De Ale que es el hermano entre Pedro y Tomás… y de todos los demás que nos hacen sonreir y tener gente cerca.
Este año ha sido un regalo por muchas razones. Y una en especial han sido Paco, Iñigo y los vecinos.
Paco, gracias por reencontrarnos, por dejarnos disfrutarte, por querernor. Gracias por Paco Pizza Night, por llevarlos en moto rápido, por hacernos reir y acompañarlos en la bici.
Iñigo, gracias por ser el mejor hermano grande, por hacer travesuras, jugar a la maleta y llevartelos a correr por toda la isla.
Vecinos, gracias por hacernos sentir cerquita. Nos hace muy felices tenerlso en nuestras vidas.
Y bueno, esta oportunidad del año de hacer una pausa y ver todo lo afortunados que somos es padrísima. GRACIAS INFINITAS A MI FAMILIA PORQUE ME HACEN EXTREMADAMENTE FELIZ!
The dignity that won people over
There is your strength … To see and be authentic, to get the strength you need from being authentic.
By putting Joe we restored the dignity and faith to restore
The moment meeting the man
It would have not been this momentous several years ago
A step closer to unbelievable days ahead
The American Dream as an attitude
Giving up is unforgivable
To heal you must remember
He doesnt see himself as a victim
A president for this moment
He means it
The right person for this time
Stay away of what is easy everything that matters is hard
It’s time to stop dreaming and start making the dream a reality
Una niña de 20 años, afroamericana que ama la moda y la poesía escribió un poema que me conmovió para la inauguración:
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast,
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
and the norms and notions
of what just is
isn’t always just-ice.
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken,
but simply unfinished.
We the successors of a country and a time
where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes we are far from polished.
Far from pristine.
But that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge a union with purpose,
to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,
but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true,
that even as we grieved, we grew,
that even as we hurt, we hoped,
that even as we tired, we tried,
that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat,
but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
and no one shall make them afraid.
If we’re to live up to our own time,
then victory won’t lie in the blade.
But in all the bridges we’ve made,
that is the promise to glade,
the hill we climb.
If only we dare.
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it.
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth,
in this faith we trust.
For while we have our eyes on the future,
history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption
we feared at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter.
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert,
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was,
but move to what shall be.
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free.
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation,
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain,
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy,
and change our children’s birthright.
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with.
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west.
We will rise from the windswept northeast,
where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states.
We will rise from the sunbaked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover.
And every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful.
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid,
the new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Dear Carlos Elizondo,
First and foremost, congratulations. Congratulations on the well deserved Social Secretary appointee, on an amazing Inauguration, and also for being proof that authenticity and dignity always wins.
It´s been two weeks since Inauguration and I didn´t want more days to go over without reaching out. I´ve tried to search all over the web and with acquaintances in Washington and could not find an email to get in touch with you. I even got to the point of sending some flowers to an address I thought was yours. Forgive my boldness for sending you this letter again, but I would even die trying for the things that matter.
This year has taught me many things, but above all, to embrace and follow my dreams.
I´ve been planning and producing events since I was 17 years old, a little over 2 decades ago. From 10 to 30,000 attendees, from runways to fundraisers, from Fortune 500 companies or World Summits to some of the wealthiest families in the world and executing aiming to perfection while committing to always impress the client and myself, accomplishing and excelling our goals, and always going home with the gigantic satisfaction that I had given all I could and all I had that day.
I have never worked in politics but I have had the privilege to organize political campaigns, G20 Summit in Los Cabos, ProMéxico events around Mexico, and worked hand in hand with past governments. I am an immigrant from Mexico, passionate about America and seeing the American Dream come to life every day. For me, America is a synonym of freedom, opportunities, equality, and second chances.
I dream of events, production, etiquette, protocol, and crisis management. I aim high and believe my strength lies in it. It would be my honor to have the opportunity to work for this administration and under your management, to fulfill my potential and transcend alongside this community that needs and trusts in unbelievable days ahead.
Let me know if you can talk, zoom, chat, coffee, or even have a stroll around The Mall and share 5 minutes. I guarantee you, neither of us will regret it.
In the meantime, and in case you got those flowers, I hope you enjoyed them.
Best and stay safe,
Tina Puente
My Dearest President Joe Biden,
I can´t tell you in words the meaning of the tears of joy dropping down my cheeks as I see you take the oath to be President. Congratulations, you deserve every bit of this, and we deserve you! You are the right person for this moment.
I love America. I´ve loved it ever since I was a little girl and imagined myself living a princess, worry less life or achieving goals, and being the best version of myself to my own self (which I think is different and much more relevant). In other words, being free. I loved America to the point of setting a date to move to America: 2020.
I am Mexican, I was born and raised in Mexico City. For me being Mexican is an amazing blend of culture, color, delicious food, friendship, family, landscapes, vacations, and more.
But living in America was a synonym of freedom, opportunities, equality, and second chances.
Second chances…, even the words give me shivers. Like the Pandemic, second chances give us the opportunity for a better come back.
In my mind, in America you could, (if the Astros aligned, and you put all your effort and hard work in) go to a top University even if your family didn´t have the means to pay full for it, have a job you love, live in a decent or better place, have a career you dream of, and live off it, (it doesn´t matter how specialized or not it is); you could also trust the authorities and most of all, feel safe. Safety and a sense of protection are often underrated.
In Mexico, I was robbed at gunpoint more than 5 times, got abused, and hit with a firearm severely in the middle of an attempted kidnap. For me, walking down the street without looking back or feeling the streets are not filled with risks is a basic need and right every human being should have.
Every time I crossed the border by plane or car I felt safe again. So that freedom that America could give me gained significance.
So my date was stated when I was around 20. And even though I was living the life of a lifetime with friends, a new job, and in a good financial place; I felt the need to pursue my freedom.
Twenty years later here I am, living my dream. I live in Miami, I have 3 wonderful sons who make my life better every second, and married to an amazing man who is kind above all things and who strives his best to grow every day and make us happy.
I believe The America I live in is still the same as The American I dreamt of when I was little.
The past few months have challenged the American Dream. Even though America was, and is, made of immigrants, love, faith, resilience, and hard work that we see in action every day we are also looking at a reality that this dream, for many of us, sometimes diminishes but never fades.
So just like my father´s crutches due to polio or his alcoholism, or my mother’s depression, or even my struggle with self-esteem and failures don´t define me, neither should we let that these rough times define us. And your resilience in life, politics and as an American has taught us that its up to us to make those dreams a reality. You are a great example that we can build this again and better.
Leaning for hope, for what moves us, and inspires us, pursuing the truth, fairness, and equality is something we can all do and we can all aspire for while staying true to ourselves.
I´ve worked in Marketing, Public Relations, and event planning for more than 20 years and reading your speeches, listening to your interviews and enjoying America get over crisis and renew gives me shivers.
So if you are looking for a hard-working, devoted, passionate, efficient, creative, and faithful woman. Here I am. You and your work lift me up. “There is so much history yet to be made.”, and I want to be part of it and would love to be part of your team and of the possibilities of who might I become.
For that and more, Thank You!!!
With tons of love and admiration,
Tina Puente
PS It wouldn’t be a great Inauguration Day if I didn´t work towards what moves me and inspires me.
Donald Trump ha sido uno de los políticos, que sin ser de mi país, me han dolido tanto en el alma. Así como Barak Obama ha sido uno de los que me ha dado tantas emociones positivas.
El 11 de septiembre de 2020 se eligió a un nuevo presidente. Bueno, en realidad fueron las elecciones y hasta una semana después se supo quién era el ganador. Donald Trump fue abatido, el bien venció al mal. Y puede que haya cosas de los socialistas, demógratas, etc. que no sean buenos para el capitalismo y el free market. Pero la persona de Donald Trump no era buena para la humanidad, para la fe, para paz. Vi las noticias como adicta, doné dinero, recibñi mi badge para la inauguración, no apagaba CNN y ser quería que Donald Trump fuera abatido de este mundo. Alguien que hace tanto mal, no podría ser un lider. Después de ver televisión, ponernos hasta tapabocas de Joe Biden y Kamala Harris y ver el bien suele vencer al mal, logró Joe Biden llegar a la presidencia con muchos tropiezos.
Me conmovió y escribí varias cartas. Incluso hasta trabajó pedi. Y aunque la respuesta fue cero adecuada, logré demostrarme que uno puede llegar hasta donde uno quiera. Y ese proyecto me encantó. Lo empecé pensando en ustedes. Que podrían escribirle a personalidades que ustedes quieran, para pedir o hacer o generar algún impacto.
Al día de hoy he escrito a Jos Biden quien me mandó un mail, a Kamala Harris que nunca recibí respuesta, a Michelle Obama que nunca supe si llegó , a Carlos Elizondo que contestó muy mal y a Garima Verma quien pensé contestaría por ser alguien más terrenal. Pero el no obtener respuesta no fue tan difícil, pues el simple acto de escribir la carta me dio una satisfacción enorme. Y el recibir respuesta me llenó el corazón.
Ojalá y podamos seguir este proyecto juntos, a ver cuántas cartas juntamos.
Después de 9 meses de estar bastante encerrados y tener miedo a convivir con otros y volar en avión, nos atrevimos. Fuimos a Quincy por primera vez a conocer la casa de Mariana y a visitar a nuestros amigos que tanto extrañábamos ya.
En el vuelo íbamos con careta, tapabocas, gel, etc. Principalmente íbamos con miedo. Llegamos con bien después de tomar un segundo vuelo con solo 7 pasajeros.
La pasamos padre, no hay gran cosa qué hacer. Salimos a caminar, tomamos fotos, cocinamos, vimos películas en su cine y tuvimos la fortuna de que nos nevara y hasta snow angels hicimos.
Y aunque estar en casa de gente no es fácil, nos sentimos queridos.
Nos cambiamos de coche y lo amo
Cabemos todos y aún así lo llenamos.
Cada año, cada 11 de septiembre me acuerdo, me invade una sensación de miedo, de enojo, de desesperación. Pero desde que ustedes preguntan, la sensación aumenta. No sé qué contestar, cómo… Pero de pronto saben más de lo que creemos, y me da angustia y ternura contestar a sus preguntas. No quiero enseñarles de golpe lo duro que a veces este mundo puede llegar a ser. No quiero que sepan que de pronto es feo, da miedo y angustia. No sé si en unos años me reclamaré o me reclamarán que les pinto un mundo color de rosa. No sé si saldrá el tiro por la culata, pero sé que el mayor tiempo que pueda prolongar la creencia, y sobre todo, la sensación de felicidad, de seguridad y de paz ayudará.
Si en algún momento creen que no es lo mejor. Perdónenme. Mi intención es que no se viole su inocencia tan rápido, que sigan soñando, creyendo en magia y fantasías y de ser posible, las logren. Los amo inmensamente.
