I’m often asked how I met Ernesto. The short answer is that he picked me up on the beach.
Here is the longer version:
It was April, 2005. I had just bought a house in Mazatlán. A really big house with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. A house full of cockroaches. A house that needed a lot of work.
I was staying at La Siesta, a cheap hotel across from Olas Altas beach. I didn’t bring enough money with me and I was quickly running out of cash. I didn’t know how to speak Spanish or how to use a foreign ATM. I was sitting on my bed in my desolate, miserable hotel room when it hit me ~ What was I doing here? In a strange city, in a foreign country, with no one to turn to for help?
Neto found me sitting on a bench by the ocean, eating a Snickers bar and watching the waves wash in. He was good-looking and charming. He spoke perfect English.
“Hi, What are you doing here?”
“I just bought a house.”
“That’s nice.”
“No it isn’t. It’s a big mistake.”
“Why?”
“Because it needs too much work and I don’t know where to start.”
“Don’t worry. I can help you do whatever you need. Where is your house?”
“Right around the corner. Do you want to see it?”
We walked together down the street to my empty house on Aleman Avenue. I told him I wanted to start by putting a fountain in the courtyard.
“Can you build me a fountain?” I asked as we opened the front door.
“Sure. Don’t worry. I can build any kind of fountain you want. Just show me where you want it.”
Neto came every day to work on the fountain. Soon I realized that he had never built a fountain before and he had no idea what he was doing. He spent days digging holes in the ground and then covering them up again. Then I had an idea.
“Neto,” I said, “This job is too big for just one person. From now on, I want you to be the foreman. You need to find some helpers ~ an electrician, a plumber, a tile guy, and someone to help you dig the foundation.”
The next day, Neto showed up with his friends, Publio and Pepé, and Señor Blanca, a plumber who arrived with all his tools on the back of his bicycle. They made tremendous progress in just one day. At the end of the day, I walked them to the door to thank them and say goodby.
“Adiós. Graciás,” I said, as I formally shook their hands.
“No,” said Neto. “When we leave, you need to say, “Adiós, Guapos. (Goodby, handsome men.) Hasta mañana.”