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| Ericka
posing for "Cover Girl" magazine. Ericka is a fine example of one
of the many beutiful girls of Unión de Tula. (Click on picture
to download a full size photo.) |
The
majority of the adults in La Unión de Tula consists of the working class.
Like most countries, they get up to work in the early morning hours. They
commute through the cobblestone streets by car, on foot or most typically
by bicycle.
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|
Shoe repairman Eusebio Olvera hard
at work visible through the front door of his shop in the Unión
de Tula suburbs.(Click on picture to see a full size image.) |
Recently,
a drop in the valuation of the peso has resulted in a moderate recession
in the region. This has caused slow growth of industry in the area and
have kept most jobs related to labor or agrarian industries. I spoke to
a few about the subject and many have said that things are now much as
they have always been in the last few years.
Still considered a ranch community, Unión de Tula still supports itself
by supporting the surrounding ranches with labor, services and raw materials
to support the farm. The cost of living is low
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| Our
cousin "Ruben" having a Sunday conversation in front of his house
on Avenida Mexico. |
enough
such that it does not take much to live day to day with just the bare
necessities. (Tito) Octavio says that the land and nature gives the people
everything they need. If anyone in Unión de Tula just works a few hours
a day, they can make a decent living.
Since the last 40 years or more, the male population of Unión de Tula
has always been lower than that of the females. Also the male population
has been on a steady decline. The reason for this is many young males
venture to the United States (El Norte) to find work at higher
wages than that found in Mexico. After traveling to the U.S., the males
typically settle and start a family in the U.S. or continue to work
and send money back to their families in Unión de Tula. Many men that
go North do both.
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| 3
girls waiting on a bench by the Presidente's office. |
The
adults of Unión de Tula start raising families at a relatively early age.
Girls typically get married around 15 and boys around 18. To mark this
adulthood, Girls have a coming out party when they reach the age of fifteen
called a "Quincianera". A Quincianera typically anounces
to the world that a young girl is ready to be wed to a qualified boy.
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