WEBVTT - A Mother's Endless Search for Her Missing Son

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<v Speaker 1>If I find him and I don't find the others,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not going to be happy. I'm not going to

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<v Speaker 1>be complete.

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<v Speaker 2>From Futuro media and PRX, It's Latino USA. I'm Maria

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<v Speaker 2>no Josa Today activist Lucia Dsinoo. She's a mother who

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<v Speaker 2>became a leader in the fight to search and find

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<v Speaker 2>that disappeared in Mexico. Lucia Dshinao is a former teacher.

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<v Speaker 2>She lived a quiet and pretty much happy life in

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<v Speaker 2>the seaside state of Vera Cruz in southern Mexico, but

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<v Speaker 2>then in twenty thirteen, her world was turned upside down.

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<v Speaker 2>Overnight that year, her twenty nine year old son, Luis Guillermo,

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<v Speaker 2>a popular DJ, didn't return home. He had been kidnapped.

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<v Speaker 1>I just collas.

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<v Speaker 3>It was horrible because it's like this feeling, this complete

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<v Speaker 3>realization that he's missing.

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<v Speaker 2>And so given the inaction of the Mexican authorities, Lucy

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<v Speaker 2>decided she had to do something that would be the

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<v Speaker 2>beginning of her tireless search for her son, a quest

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<v Speaker 2>that is now over ten years old.

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<v Speaker 1>If my son, Amia, how can I say I give up?

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<v Speaker 2>As drug related violence grew in Veracruz and the rest

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<v Speaker 2>of Mexico, kidnappings became more and more frequent. In twenty thirteen,

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<v Speaker 2>the year Luis Gilletmo went missing, six hundred people disappeared

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<v Speaker 2>in the state of Veracruz and close to eighteen thousand

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<v Speaker 2>disappeared in all of Mexico. Soon, Lucy would meet other

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<v Speaker 2>mothers just like her. They considered themselves fighters looking for

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<v Speaker 2>their disappeared children. Amid their shared suffering, they formed a group.

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<v Speaker 2>They called it Solesito, which means a little sun in Spanish.

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<v Speaker 1>When you're looking for something or for somebody, you need

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of light. So I said, well, so the

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<v Speaker 1>sun sun is the symbol of light.

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<v Speaker 2>What happened next seems pretty much impossible to believe, but

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<v Speaker 2>it's true. These mothers started to dig, literally digging, doing

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<v Speaker 2>the jobs of archaeologists and forensics in their search for

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<v Speaker 2>their children. In twenty sixteen, they discovered what turned out

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<v Speaker 2>to be one of the biggest mass graves in all

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<v Speaker 2>of Latin America, Golinas Re Santa Fe, located in the

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<v Speaker 2>state of Veracruz. Over the next few years, Solesito became

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<v Speaker 2>an inspiration to others outside of Meca families also looking

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<v Speaker 2>for their missing loved ones. In this episode, Lucy tells

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<v Speaker 2>us about her continuous efforts to find her son and

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<v Speaker 2>how she's built a community of mothers mothers of disappeared children.

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<v Speaker 2>Here's our conversation, Lucy, welcome to Latino, USA. It's an

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<v Speaker 2>honor to have you on our show.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much. It's a very good opportunity for

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<v Speaker 1>me to get the word out of the missing cases

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<v Speaker 1>in Mexico.

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<v Speaker 2>Lucy, let's go back to before you became an activist,

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<v Speaker 2>because you had another life you're living in back Gruz.

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<v Speaker 2>Just kind of paint the picture. What was your daily

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<v Speaker 2>life like.

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<v Speaker 1>I had begun to live quiet life, traveling with my

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<v Speaker 1>husband because he's a sea captain, so he has to

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<v Speaker 1>travel very much. And I accompanied him because my kids

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<v Speaker 1>were already growed ups. So I had the opportunity to

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<v Speaker 1>get around travel visit different places in Indonesia, Singapore. So

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<v Speaker 1>life was pretty nice for me because I was already

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<v Speaker 1>feeling very free. I was traveling back and forth and

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<v Speaker 1>this ting the kids very frequently too. You know, I

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<v Speaker 1>never neglected them, never ever, So I was a mom

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<v Speaker 1>all the time.

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<v Speaker 2>So then, and I know this is hard, Lucy, and

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<v Speaker 2>I know that you've done this before, but it's not

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<v Speaker 2>easy to even have to ask this question, because on

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<v Speaker 2>June twenty eighth of twenty thirteen, that's the day that

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<v Speaker 2>everything changed. This kind of joyful life of journeys it

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<v Speaker 2>comes to an end because it's on that day that

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<v Speaker 2>your son, his full name is Luis more Lagunes Das, disappears.

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<v Speaker 2>It's in Bedra Gruz, and at that time in twenty thirteen,

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<v Speaker 2>Bera Gruz, which is normally not known as a state

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<v Speaker 2>of a lot of violence, but at this time Betra Gruz,

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<v Speaker 2>and frankly Mexico in general, the violence was really on

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<v Speaker 2>the uptick in a way that it was drawing a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of attention.

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<v Speaker 1>Thirty one Now bodies have now been confirmed in the

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<v Speaker 1>eastern Gulf Coast state of Vera Cruz as a state

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<v Speaker 1>that has been plagued by drug related violence.

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<v Speaker 2>So can you tell us what happened on June twenty eighth,

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<v Speaker 2>twenty thirteen.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, actually it happened kind of slowly for me because

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't find out the first day because when he

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<v Speaker 1>was working, I tried to not interfere, but his girlfriends

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<v Speaker 1>started calling me, sending messages and stuff like she couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>reach him, and she had no idea what he was.

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<v Speaker 1>In a couple of days, all the alarms went off,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's when I started to get really worried. I

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<v Speaker 1>called his friends, people that worked for him, and they

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<v Speaker 1>said that he was all right, not to worry, he

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<v Speaker 1>would call me. But there was this feeling, this, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like God's feeling.

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<v Speaker 2>So you call his friends, you're getting desperate now, and

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<v Speaker 2>they're telling you, no, not the progupe elasta en like

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<v Speaker 2>he's okay, Like, don't worry. It's not that they knew

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<v Speaker 2>where he was. They were just saying the normal thing,

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<v Speaker 2>he's out visiting somebody, or his phone is lost battery.

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<v Speaker 2>Is that kind of what they were saying to you.

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<v Speaker 1>They said that he was working at a place where

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't have any signal. He was working in one

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<v Speaker 1>of a cienda. But then I knew that not that

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<v Speaker 1>many days would go and my son wouldn't reach me

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<v Speaker 1>because he knew that I would get crazy. It turns

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<v Speaker 1>out that the people who worked for him were involved,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's kidnapping.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my god.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is no mystery, This is not you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not something they were doing to protect me. They

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<v Speaker 1>were just falling for time. You could just feel it

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<v Speaker 1>as a mom exactly. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>And then and you began to feel like these people

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<v Speaker 2>who are his coworkers were actually not being honest with you.

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<v Speaker 2>And I guess what's even worse, Lucy, is that everybody

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<v Speaker 2>was looking at you and saying, what's the matter with you?

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<v Speaker 2>You're acting crazy? Everything is fine.

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<v Speaker 1>When I go back, you know, mentally to that day,

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<v Speaker 1>it's like a nightmare.

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<v Speaker 2>And I can hear it in your voice. It's like

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<v Speaker 2>you're right back there, you know, in your bedroom, unable

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<v Speaker 2>to get out of bed, collapsing, total mental exhaustion and sadness.

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<v Speaker 2>At some point, Lucy, in this trajectory, something clicks for

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<v Speaker 2>you. You probably had already seen many mothers in Mexico Kee Yoran,

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<v Speaker 2>Yoran is done this. Esperada's just crying. But not all

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<v Speaker 2>of them stand up and say, you know what, I

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<v Speaker 2>need to fight, I need to do something. I cannot

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<v Speaker 2>just sit here and wait. Do you remember when that

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<v Speaker 2>moment happened for you?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Like, I went to see the authorities and I

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<v Speaker 1>took a good look at the at the police that

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<v Speaker 1>were in charge of the investigation. I noticed, I said,

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<v Speaker 1>this are not the kind of people that I trust

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<v Speaker 1>with something like my son, I said, I got to

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<v Speaker 1>do something, And then I started meeting all the other

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<v Speaker 1>people who were going through the situation.

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<v Speaker 2>You never imagined that you would be one of them.

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<v Speaker 1>I never. I never, because Mexico was the country of peace.

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<v Speaker 1>But then they declare war all of a sudden, and

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<v Speaker 1>Vera Cruz was completely completely taken over by violence and insecurity, more.

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<v Speaker 4>Violence in Mexico, but on a worrying scale, thirty five

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<v Speaker 4>bodies dumped underneath a bridge in eastern Mexico. But a

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<v Speaker 4>Cruz was a quiet port city. Now dead men and

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<v Speaker 4>women are dumped near shopping centers.

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<v Speaker 1>But my son was not a very rich person that

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<v Speaker 1>I thought would be a good candidate for kidnapping. He

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<v Speaker 1>was a very successful businessman at twenty nine, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>when they saw they would make some money out of him,

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<v Speaker 1>and they did well.

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<v Speaker 2>How did you decide exactly what to do do in

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<v Speaker 2>those first days of beginning to take some sort of action.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just knowing that my son needed me and that

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<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't let him down. I was easy for me

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<v Speaker 1>to decide because I knew there was no other There

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<v Speaker 1>was no choice I had to stand up and do something.

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<v Speaker 1>I was in a terrible depression. I was sick. I

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<v Speaker 1>was so weak with crying and going all over you know,

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<v Speaker 1>different places, different agencies, going from one place.

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<v Speaker 5>It was.

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<v Speaker 1>Madness and my heart was completely broken. But at that

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<v Speaker 1>time I just wanted to die. I wanted to lay

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<v Speaker 1>down in just die. But I figure, who's going to

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<v Speaker 1>looks at my son? And I got up and started fighting.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, Lucy, I really want to thank you for

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<v Speaker 2>being so honest with me, because you don't ever get

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<v Speaker 2>over a trauma like this. Now you can live day

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<v Speaker 2>to day and find a way to laugh, but you

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<v Speaker 2>never can get over this. It's been ten years, and

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<v Speaker 2>just hearing you talk about this, I'm right there with

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<v Speaker 2>you in your sadness and just the kind of craziness

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<v Speaker 2>of going from one Mexican institution to another trying to

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<v Speaker 2>find answers. At some point, you know, these become the

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<v Speaker 2>initial efforts to turn your particular rage and now with

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<v Speaker 2>other people just like you, into something that was organized.

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<v Speaker 2>I think you started by what creating a WhatsApp group?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's the way it started. You know, technology, technology

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<v Speaker 1>can do wonders. Because I started meeting people that were

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<v Speaker 1>undergoing my same situation, and even worse because some of

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<v Speaker 1>those moms had little children and they didn't have a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of time to go around. I had like a

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<v Speaker 1>moral obligation to help them too. You know, I have

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<v Speaker 1>a college education and I know what to say to

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<v Speaker 1>the authorities. Some of them don't even know how to start,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, placing a file or anything like that. So

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<v Speaker 1>I said, I need to help them. I need to

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<v Speaker 1>find not only my son, I need to find them all,

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<v Speaker 1>because I'm not going to be satisfied with just finding

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<v Speaker 1>my son. That's too selfish. And I said, no, I

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<v Speaker 1>gotta get up and do something about all the other

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<v Speaker 1>ones too. And that's when it started.

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<v Speaker 2>People do begin to know and hear about STO And

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<v Speaker 2>in twenty sixteen, you're at a Mother's Day demonstration in Beracruz,

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<v Speaker 2>drawing attention to this issue, and two men jump out

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<v Speaker 2>of a vehicle and they hand this group of mothers

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<v Speaker 2>a map take us to that moment at the demonstration.

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<v Speaker 1>It happened so suddenly, I mean, nobody noticed the two men.

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<v Speaker 1>We look at their faces because there were so many

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<v Speaker 1>of us going around and making a lot of noise,

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<v Speaker 1>and they handed us those copies and they just left.

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<v Speaker 1>This really happened like in a flash. So when I

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<v Speaker 1>saw that, I knew immediately because it was very specific.

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<v Speaker 1>But I didn't want to tell the months at the

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<v Speaker 1>moment because that would spoil the strength the energy of

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<v Speaker 1>the march. So the next day I told them, look,

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<v Speaker 1>we have the place. Now we know where we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to start looking. So we were there for three years,

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<v Speaker 1>digging every day.

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<v Speaker 2>That happened in August of twenty sixteen, is that when

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<v Speaker 2>you uncovered this grave.

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<v Speaker 1>That's when we began, because you know, it takes time.

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<v Speaker 1>We found one hundred and fifty six graves. Three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and two buddies were there waiting for us to bring

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<v Speaker 1>them to the light.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my god.

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<v Speaker 1>And the authorities had carried out a search over there already,

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<v Speaker 1>but they didn't do a good job.

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<v Speaker 2>And how did like literally it dig? How did you

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<v Speaker 2>later figure out, actually, we can't just dig. We need

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<v Speaker 2>to come up with a way to see if there's

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<v Speaker 2>something underground. We're going to use sticks and we're going

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<v Speaker 2>to use our sense of smell.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Actually it took a course in forensics, so they

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<v Speaker 1>taught us the basics. So they teach us how not

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<v Speaker 1>to damage the bones, but the actual technique of finding

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<v Speaker 1>the bodies we learned in Iguala with the people who

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<v Speaker 1>were looking for the students from Mayotin Napa.

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<v Speaker 5>Demonstrations in Mexico increased and became violent this weekend, as

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<v Speaker 5>protesters accused the Mexican government of reacting slowly to the

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<v Speaker 5>disappearance and apparent murders of forty three students who attended

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<v Speaker 5>a rural teachers college.

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<v Speaker 2>And they're the ones who teach you to put the

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<v Speaker 2>stick into the ground, and depending on the smell that

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<v Speaker 2>comes out from the stick that you've put into the ground,

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<v Speaker 2>you'll know whether or not there's a body underneath.

0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:07.880
<v Speaker 1>We use it's two meters and a half, usually like

0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:15.320
<v Speaker 1>a pole made of iron. It's one of those constructions, okay, okay,

0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:19.200
<v Speaker 1>And we have a custom made because we have to

0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:23.000
<v Speaker 1>place something on top, like a tee so that we

0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:26.360
<v Speaker 1>can pull it out. We hammer it into the ground

0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:29.680
<v Speaker 1>completely all the way in, and we have to be

0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:31.920
<v Speaker 1>very careful because you don't want to damage to break

0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:37.520
<v Speaker 1>the bones. And then once we have the we picked

0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:41.800
<v Speaker 1>up the sense of smell, we can make a hole

0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:44.960
<v Speaker 1>so we don't have to go around making holes without

0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:50.440
<v Speaker 1>having any idea. And then most of the times, if

0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.720
<v Speaker 1>we pick up the smell on the pole, it's usually

0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:59.040
<v Speaker 1>a body. It's kind of very basic, very primitive kind

0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:02.960
<v Speaker 1>of technique, but it works. It works for us because

0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:08.399
<v Speaker 1>we tried to use dogs. The dogs didn't work. I

0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:12.960
<v Speaker 1>think they are overpowered because there were so many and

0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.640
<v Speaker 1>the dogs didn't pick up anything.

0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.840
<v Speaker 2>It feels Lucy that at this point in the journey

0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.760
<v Speaker 2>it was like we've taken control of our emotions. So

0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:27.200
<v Speaker 2>now we're unstoppable because now we're just going to do

0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:29.520
<v Speaker 2>all of the research, all of the work, all of

0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:32.080
<v Speaker 2>the data, all of the digging. It feels like you

0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:35.000
<v Speaker 2>just there was a turn in the whole story about

0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:37.760
<v Speaker 2>as you said, you know, the emotions went to a

0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:38.439
<v Speaker 2>different place.

0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:43.639
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, because the pain is there. It's there all the time,

0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:47.560
<v Speaker 1>but you learn to work around it. And I can

0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:49.679
<v Speaker 1>tell you I was not expecting to see what I

0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:50.160
<v Speaker 1>have seen.

0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:52.879
<v Speaker 2>So how do you take care of each other? How

0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:57.280
<v Speaker 2>do you support each other? As mothers of the disappeared

0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:58.520
<v Speaker 2>in Mexico.

0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:03.199
<v Speaker 1>We are very close, We are sisters. Because pain is

0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:09.280
<v Speaker 1>an equalizer. So I try to give them workshops, get

0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:15.000
<v Speaker 1>people that teach them how to do things that can

0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:18.879
<v Speaker 1>help them, you know, make a living. But it's the sisterhood.

0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.920
<v Speaker 1>And in the group, for example, we can talk about

0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:26.320
<v Speaker 1>our missing children all the time and nobody gets upset.

0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.520
<v Speaker 1>Nobody complains because in their houses, you know, with their families,

0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:34.320
<v Speaker 1>they cannot talk about them anymore. Because families, people complain,

0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:37.600
<v Speaker 1>they say, he's lost, you're never going to see him again,

0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:43.000
<v Speaker 1>so stop talking about him or her, and they get mad.

0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.480
<v Speaker 1>But with us, we can talk about them all the

0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.159
<v Speaker 1>time and they are present all the time. It's the

0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.480
<v Speaker 1>one place where we can be ourselves because that's what

0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:58.520
<v Speaker 1>we are now. What is at the center of our

0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:00.840
<v Speaker 1>lives is looking for for our loved ones.

0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:08.320
<v Speaker 2>That's really incredibly powerful. Lucia, So our listeners don't know this,

0:19:08.440 --> 0:19:11.200
<v Speaker 2>but you're speaking to us from London, where you live

0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:16.040
<v Speaker 2>these days. That's a big change to leave Vera Cruz

0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:18.000
<v Speaker 2>and end up in London.

0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:22.080
<v Speaker 1>It's related to my husband's work. But every three months

0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:25.480
<v Speaker 1>I traveled back to Mexico. I'm still in charge of

0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:29.000
<v Speaker 1>the group. People say, but are you going to be

0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.440
<v Speaker 1>doing this for the rest of your lives? That's exactly

0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:36.800
<v Speaker 1>the way it looks, and I don't mind. I know

0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:39.000
<v Speaker 1>I have to find my son, and not only my son,

0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:42.720
<v Speaker 1>because it's not only about him anymore. If I find

0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:44.679
<v Speaker 1>him and I don't find the others, I'm not going

0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.400
<v Speaker 1>to be happy. I'm not going to be complete. So

0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:51.400
<v Speaker 1>I have to find them all and or at least

0:19:51.440 --> 0:19:52.399
<v Speaker 1>continue trying.

0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:56.280
<v Speaker 2>Can you give us an update on the status of

0:19:56.359 --> 0:20:00.080
<v Speaker 2>the investigation of the disappearance of your son, Luis Giermo.

0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:06.600
<v Speaker 1>I know things, but justice in Mexico is non existence.

0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:11.200
<v Speaker 1>They say that the official figure is ninety eight percent impunity.

0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:15.920
<v Speaker 1>I say it's one hundred because we are like three

0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:18.800
<v Speaker 1>hundred mothers in the group and maybe a little bit more,

0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:25.359
<v Speaker 1>and none of those cases has any kind of justice

0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:29.520
<v Speaker 1>so far. So now I know that my son's workers

0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:33.080
<v Speaker 1>were involved, but a lot of pieces I'm missing because

0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:36.280
<v Speaker 1>they've been so neglectful, and I'm on top of the

0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:40.280
<v Speaker 1>of the investigation all the time, even from here. They

0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:43.000
<v Speaker 1>really just did. I make it so hard so that

0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:47.400
<v Speaker 1>people say, Okay, I give up, I'm done with this,

0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:50.919
<v Speaker 1>But that's not going to happen. It's my son. How

0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:51.960
<v Speaker 1>can I say I give up.

0:20:52.840 --> 0:20:55.560
<v Speaker 2>Something is going to happen in Mexico this year. That

0:20:55.680 --> 0:21:00.560
<v Speaker 2>is historic. Mexico will end up having a woman president

0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:05.840
<v Speaker 2>elected this year. And I'm wondering, have you heard anything

0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:13.199
<v Speaker 2>from either candidate regarding so Lesito or your son or

0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:14.920
<v Speaker 2>the disappeared in Mexico.

0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:20.320
<v Speaker 1>Not so far. But I mean, we don't get involved

0:21:20.320 --> 0:21:24.879
<v Speaker 1>in politics. Solesito is so independent. We make our own money.

0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:29.600
<v Speaker 1>We do a lot of things to collect the money

0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:35.200
<v Speaker 1>that we need for the searches, raffles bengals, we sell

0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:40.520
<v Speaker 1>secondhand clothes. We don't want to be attached to any

0:21:40.600 --> 0:21:44.879
<v Speaker 1>kind of politician because that would let you down eventually,

0:21:45.320 --> 0:21:49.040
<v Speaker 1>and we cannot be let down anymore. We've been let

0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:52.960
<v Speaker 1>down by everybody, so that's it that no more.

0:21:53.720 --> 0:22:03.399
<v Speaker 2>I appreciate your independent It's really something to admire. Every

0:22:03.480 --> 0:22:06.840
<v Speaker 2>May tenth Mayo is Mother's Day in Mexico, no matter

0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:10.880
<v Speaker 2>what day it ends up. You have two other grown

0:22:10.960 --> 0:22:17.560
<v Speaker 2>adult kids besides Luis Gietmo who disappeared, And I want

0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:20.880
<v Speaker 2>to know what Mother's Day is like at home for you.

0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:23.680
<v Speaker 2>Do you celebrate Mother's Day?

0:22:26.880 --> 0:22:31.440
<v Speaker 1>For us, Mother's Day, it's just another day for fighting,

0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:36.120
<v Speaker 1>trying to do something for our missing children, and they're

0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:40.600
<v Speaker 1>always at the center of all those days. We have

0:22:40.720 --> 0:22:42.679
<v Speaker 1>the Mother's Day in March.

0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:48.200
<v Speaker 2>I just find it so interesting that as a Mexican mom,

0:22:48.800 --> 0:22:51.760
<v Speaker 2>Mexican Mother's Day has become, as you say, a day

0:22:51.800 --> 0:22:53.920
<v Speaker 2>of activism and just another day to fight.

0:22:54.680 --> 0:23:00.520
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Like before it meant a present in and maybe

0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:04.720
<v Speaker 1>a good time, today it means so much more. We

0:23:04.880 --> 0:23:09.040
<v Speaker 1>don't celebrate anymore. You know, my other kids, if they

0:23:09.080 --> 0:23:14.159
<v Speaker 1>are in Vera Cruz or Mexico at the time, we

0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:18.880
<v Speaker 1>get together and we do a little something, but our

0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:24.560
<v Speaker 1>fight is really the core of everything we do.

0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:29.040
<v Speaker 2>Lucy, I thank you so much for spending some time

0:23:29.040 --> 0:23:31.960
<v Speaker 2>with me on this Mother's Day. I really appreciate it.

0:23:32.040 --> 0:23:36.840
<v Speaker 2>The and and good luck on your search for Luis

0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:41.080
<v Speaker 2>gi Erbo and and you know, congratulations on being a grandma.

0:23:41.640 --> 0:23:44.000
<v Speaker 2>Also because la bida continu.

0:23:45.680 --> 0:23:49.320
<v Speaker 1>Lucy Grazia Abrasso.

0:24:20.280 --> 0:24:23.640
<v Speaker 2>This episode was produced by Roxanna Guire and edited by

0:24:23.680 --> 0:24:27.840
<v Speaker 2>Andrea Lopez Cruzado. It was mixed by Julia Caruso. The

0:24:27.960 --> 0:24:32.760
<v Speaker 2>Latino USA team also includes Victoria Strada, Renaldo Lanoz Junior,

0:24:33.040 --> 0:24:37.320
<v Speaker 2>Jori mar Marquez, Marta Martinez, Mike Sargent, Nour Saudi, and

0:24:37.480 --> 0:24:42.080
<v Speaker 2>Nancy Trujuillo. Penilee Ramirez is our co executive producer. Our

0:24:42.119 --> 0:24:46.199
<v Speaker 2>director of Engineering is Stephanie Lebou. Our marketing manager is

0:24:46.359 --> 0:24:50.320
<v Speaker 2>Luis Luna. Our theme music was composed by Senia Rubinos.

0:24:50.440 --> 0:24:53.800
<v Speaker 2>I'm your host and co executive producer Maria Josa. Join

0:24:53.880 --> 0:24:56.600
<v Speaker 2>us again on our next episode. In the meantime, I'll

0:24:56.600 --> 0:24:59.120
<v Speaker 2>see you on all of our social media, which now

0:24:59.160 --> 0:25:05.000
<v Speaker 2>includes Peek Dog, Instagram, YouTube, tweet, eggs, all of them.

0:25:05.280 --> 0:25:07.800
<v Speaker 2>I'll see you there and remember yes.

0:25:10.600 --> 0:25:14.480
<v Speaker 1>Latino USA is made possible in part by W. K.

0:25:14.800 --> 0:25:19.320
<v Speaker 1>Kellogg Foundation, a partner with Communities where Children Come First,

0:25:19.960 --> 0:25:24.159
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0:25:24.200 --> 0:25:28.199
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0:25:28.280 --> 0:25:33.280
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0:25:33.359 --> 0:25:36.359
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0:25:36.400 --> 0:25:39.120
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