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Puebla, Mexico
Maria grew up in Puebla, Mexico. Puebla is a state in Central Mexico, two hours (80 miles) southeast of Mexico City. The capital of the state, Puebla City, lies just over 7,000 feet above sea level, roughly 2,000 feet higher than Denver, Colorado.
Culturally, Puebla is very different than the United States. "Puebla is very homogeneous in religion... Over 90% of families were Catholic".
Maria as a young girl in her hometown of Puebla, Mexico
The Beginning
Maria was born in 1983 in the suburbs of Puebla, Mexico. She was born into a healthy and supportive family, her mother came from a farming background, and her father was a school teacher at the time. At a young age, Maria and her sister began to work with their father while also continuing their education. This routine is very common across all of Mexico. Due to the Coronavirus and remote learning, many high and middle school girls did not return to school because they were already earning a livable wage at their parents' businesses. "If you're in middle school and already helping your parents with jobs like painting or gardening, you just stayed and you're already producing money".
During her time in Mexico, the country as a whole, but especially near Puebla, there were tons of drug problems and organized crime. Mexico experienced a huge rise in drug-related activities in the 1980s, mainly with drug cartels as they grew. This led to Mexico playing a significant role in the global drug trade and violence between cartels. Although crime and violence did not hit smaller areas as hard as larger cities, they were not completely immune, there still was theft, corruption, and targeted violence.
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