Father and Son at Work

My father and I working together outdoors (there's no better place) on a perfect day on the oven set piece for the ballet "Hansel and Gretel".



Dad making precision cuts.

Dad hard at work having fun.

My hispanic heritage is important to me. Historical figures like Cesar Chavez and Emiliano Zapata are a part of the collective hispanic experience. But now I'd like to talk about someone, who perhaps wont be mentioned in any history books but will be long remembered in my family. That person is my father Alberto Ramirez. He comes from a family of woodworkers who could build just about anything you could ask for. He was taught the trade by his father Jose Angel.

My interest was in the visual arts but my father tried to teach me what he could despite my young thick- headed attitude. Somehow I managed to pick up a few skills and have utilized them over the years. I might not be a craftsman like my grandfather or my father but I inherited the love to make things with my hands. As I've gotten older that love seems to grow. At forty seven years of age I'm proud to be able to work alongside my father, still learning from his vast knowledge and experience.

This past week he and I worked out on the driveway cutting and assembling the oven for the ballet "Hansel and Gretel". I remember many times as a boy when he'd have extra woodworking jobs to do at home so he'd set up the saw horses outside working well after nightfall under the light of a street lamp.That day last week was very similar. We kept working until we had to stop for dinner and would have kept working after dinner till sunset were it not for the fact that he had to drive back home to Laredo. He loves what he does and that love is infectious. I'm proud of my family's heritage. And I'll do my best to keep that heritage alive for my children and then their own.