The year was 1968, a turbulent year of the post-riot Detroit Tiger World Series win; the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy; social unrest over the Viet Nam war; NASA’s Apollo 8 orbit; and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It was also the year Mexico hosted the Olympics.
But none of that mattered to me because in this summer of my junior year of high school, I was traveling from Detroit to Mexico as an exchange student. Twice my family had hosted one of the daughters of this family and now it was my turn to visit my Mexican host family. I lived in the Pedregal de San Angel section of Mexico City, and was immersed in the Spanish language, friends, parties, food, and culture. I attended a private girl’s school with my Mexican “sister” and thoroughly enjoyed my summer of pure bliss! During my visit, my Mexican family drove from Mexico City to Aguascalientes where they owned an expansive vineyard and sophisticated winery. We stopped along the way to visit many historical sites and cultural venues. This memorable summer flew by and in August I had to return to Detroit to start my junior year. Unfortunately, my only association with the 1968 Olympics was the abundant Olympic paraphernalia interspersed among the beautiful Mexican handmade crafts in the shops around the city.
In 2019 my husband and I purchased a home in San Miguel de Allende. After decades of no contact, I decided I would try to reconnect with my Mexican host family hoping to meet up at some point in Mexico City. Because this was a prominent Mexican family, I continually asked folks I met in Mexico City if they might know the family name. But this effort proved fruitless as Pedregal de San Angel was re-zoned and renamed and no one recognized their family name. Despite the technological advancements of Google and LinkedIn, these inquires also proved to be dead ends. I reluctantly decided to give up on any more attempts.
Then out of nowhere an unlikely, but serendipitous, coincidence occurred. I came upon an article in the San Miguel Atención newspaper describing the 10 best wineries in Aguascalientes. I immediately contacted the owner of Atención and asked if by chance the author of the article might know my Mexican family. And she did! As a result, I was able to finally reconnect with my Mexican family after 54 years. We had a long conversation, and we look forward to getting together in the near future. I am certain it will be an emotional reunion.
I will be forever grateful to those at Atención who made this happen. Who would have thought that a newspaper would provide the avenue for us to reconnect? Oh, the wonder of journalism; oh, the importance of Atención!
Pamela Mazur
