First Lady meets with U.S. Residents
Rocky Point has quite a few U.S. citizens who live here, at least for a good chunk of the time. Many own homes, rent condo’s, and help out with charity work. They consider this town their home away from home. But the differences in language and culture can sometimes keep them just a little outside of the local community.
Rocky Point’s new First Lady, Linda Pivac de Munro, knows about living in two cultures at once. Three actually. Here grandfather emigrated to Mexico from Croatia. Born in Mexico, Linda spent years in Arizona as a student, learning to speak English along the way. To help bridge the gap for ‘Americanos’ living in Rocky Point, Linda invited members of the Las Conchas home owners association to share lunch, as well as information on what’s going on around town. La Fondita Restaurant on Freemont was the location.
“I went to high school near there!” One man says, when Linda mentions where she attended classes while living in the Phoenix area. Both the First Lady and Mayor Ernesto ‘Kiko’ Munro are bilingual, and some faces at the table show their pleasant surprise at being able to speak easily with someone from the local government.
Inside La Fondita’s Mexican tiled dining room, over plates of enchiladas and glasses of red jamaica, questions are answered, and stories shared.
First Ladies are always responsible for DIF, which is the city’s social services agency. The Las Conchas HOA has a long history of their own events, which support a number of programs that ‘give back’ to the community. “Your Art in the Park event is coming up, maybe we can have a booth from DIF there, so more people can know us.” Soon, talk turns to the upcoming twin holidays of Halloween, and Dia de Los Muertos.
One resident explains that every Halloween, residents give out a ton of candy to local kids who come to the Las Conchas entrance gate. “Last year we had 1500 little guys!” She explains. Linda says “We would love to have all of Las Conchas come to the city’s Dia de los Muertos Festivities. It will be at the Cholla Mall.” “Oh, you mean Rodeo Drive” says the woman. “After the candy is gone, we’ll be there.”
Along with Day of the Dead, the First Lady mentions the Black and White Ball, set for November 20th. “It’s our annual black tie affair. We have like a 20 piece dance band coming from Ciudad Obregon! They play everything, ’60’s, ’70’s, Spanish English” She explains with such enthusiasm, you just know that she and her husband will be the first ones on the dance floor. “Really, I do hope you can come.”
“Thank you very much” says Maria Conchita Peralta. Maria is the Cultural Liason between Puerto Peñasco, the U.S., and Canada, and is a Las Conchas resident as well. She helped set up this meeting. “Well, the bridge is now open” she says as she gives out the First Lady’s contact information. “Oh, we can drive on it now?” someone asks. “No, she means you can reach me at this number with any questions” says Linda. “The over pass? They say maybe it will be finished by the Bike Rally” as everyone laughs.