Lazaro from Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico

Lazaro, also known as Angel among his friends and acquaintances lives in Silao, located in the State of Guanajuato.

Since I only spent a few hours with him I cannot make a fair and balanced description of who he actually is but I managed to ask a few things about his life which I would like to share.

I am not certain on whether he was born in Silao exactly but that’s where his wife and son who is 3 years of age live.

As soon as we arrived at his house I noticed 2 other guys next to him, one was carrying a long knife. I proceeded by shaking hands with Lazaro, as my friend Ivan introduced us. Lazaro is the kind of ‘Cholo’ type person; he dresses like one and seems to act like one. 

Whilst traveling all around the small town one can notice ‘Cholo’ signs like South Side 13 etc. the typical ones you can see when roaming around places like Los Angeles, California etc.

My understanding is that Guanajuato is one of the main States in Mexico that for many decades has suffered from heavy migration of people towards the USA. With that in mind I deduce that migrants come back influenced by US culture, hence, the reason for the gang signs spread all around the town.

Lazaro’s house is located on the edge of Silao. As I scan his surroundings I notice an abandoned car parked outside and opposite the house I noticed an empty football pitch. 

Myself and a bunch of friends were there to meet Lazaro and pick him up as we were heading to where the freight trains are parked. Such trains are used to transport goods between the USA, Canada and Mexico. These tall and powerfully built structures are also known among immigrants as ‘La Bestia’ ( The Beast ) as they are illegally used to transport migrants predominantly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to the border States with the USA.

As we drive, Lazaro immediately points towards a couple of paintings he has recently done around the City. One is a picture of Emiliano Zapata with a Mexican flag very well executed. He says that he dislikes doing those types of jobs but has to do them as they pay him some coins to get by. 

Suddenly he talks about the history of graffiti in his town and the fact that one of his friends who lives in Silao is a pioneer of that art form in the town.

His friend was deported back in 1989 to Mexico and remains there to this day. Since his deportation he sits at home, does not work and drinks beers every day. I nod my head in disapproval and state that his life sounds pretty sad and depressing but Lazaro simply replies, - nah mate, he is happy like that…

As we are nearing the train lay up he tells me of 3 instances where him and his friends have had some shaky situations with the federal police who guard the trains from immigrants trying to jump on them and robbers trying to steal the goods. 

On one occasion he was caught, together with all of his friends by the cops though one managed to run away. During there arrest, an officer suddenly pulled out a Colt 45 pistol and aimed it at the guy running away. The officer was determined to shoot at the escapee but Lazaro managed to stop him from shooting.

The police then told Lazaro and his mates that they could kill them right there and nobody would even find out. Lazaro responded that there was no need as they were not robbing the trains nor making any disturbances.

When they managed to intercept the guy, they immediately threw him onto the ground and kicked him in the back and slapped him in the face several times to teach him a lesson not to mess around with them. 

On a separate incident not too long ago, whilst him and his friends were around the train tracks they heard a few shots fired but did not give the situation much attention. They then realised that police were approaching the area and that’s when they noticed that an incident had taken place so they decided to dash before they encountered any trouble. Later on they were informed that a kid had been shot dead at his home by a rival gang over drug dealing issues.

Lazaro recalls these stories like it’s no big deal. He seems to be so used to these type of situations all the time. As we are heading out of the city, he asks me about London and life in the UK in general. He then shares with me that an old friend of his who lives in Scotland, UK recently returned to Silao to visit his relatives and friends who he had not seen in ages. Before the guy traveled to Mexico he was warned by friends in the UK not to go. They told him that the situation was dire and dangerous and all he would encounter would be crime, problems, cows, donkeys and farmers.

At his arrival to Mexico City he was impressed with the progress he saw, high rise buildings everywhere, modernity etc. He got a very different picture from the one he was being told back home.

Lazaro asks me how do British people view Mexico?, I immediately respond, - I think people in the UK understand Mexico for its beaches and nice food and the odd ‘narco’ issue though the reality in this country is pretty harsh, killings take places on a daily basis. A past death toll report from the UN indicated that there had been more killings in Mexico than in Afghanistan and Iraq together. I think that this country has tremendous issues but other nice things also happen and we must not take them for granted, I added with some caution…

Lazaro switched the conversation over to tell me that he is currently working for the PRI ( a corrupt political party that has ruled in Mexico for decades ) in his municipality. He has many contacts in a federal department called SEDESOL and hopes to work there very soon.

I ask Lazaro if he has lived in the USA before? - I have. I was based in San Diego for a year before I got deported back to Mexico. How did you get to the States? I ask… Lazaro responds, - I jumped the border from Mexicali to Calexico. Once I was in the USA I was driven to San Diego which is not far from where I crossed. And why did you decide to come back to Mexico? - I misbehaved. I was driving like a crazy guy, I was not following the rules and furthermore, I was stealing the post. I ask what he means by stealing the post as don’t quite get that. He responds, - yeah, I would wait for the post man to leave the letters in the mail and would then take the ones that contained peoples pensions, their monthly money, you know…Eventually I was arrested, imprisoned and bounced back to Mexico.

We pass by a big ugly looking church which I point out to everyone. Lazaro makes a point of the Pope’s recent visit to Silao. He remembers how the Pope flew in a helicopter around the town and also tells me that so many devotees were there to thank the holy man. Meanwhile, him and his friends were just taking the piss out of the people who were congregated to view the ceremony.

We spend a few more hours around the train tracks, walking between the isles etc. I sensed a heavy immigrant presence in the area as this is the route that people from Central America take to reach the north of Mexico before they cross into the USA. It’s damn hot and dry all around us. Lazaro tell me that he used to bring his son to the freight yard and before he knew it, his son, who was only 2 and a half years old would get drunk on the beers he would bring along, Lazaro simply laughs…

Finally, on our way back from a long walk on the rail tracks where such huge freight structures are ready to depart to the USA carrying recently assembled vehicles and migrants with hopes and dreams, we bump into a private security guard who’s function is to make sure nobody burgles the trains. I say hello to him and make a point about the intense sun. He seems friendly and starts chatting to me. I ask him if he has had much work. The guard responds, - Not much so far but a lot of robbers are in the area to try to dismantle the cars kept inside the freight trains which they sell in the black market for very good money. This happens all the time actually and we have to keep an eye on the trains