Mr. Antonio, owner of the taquería "El amigo", has been working in El Tepe for 35 years. With him we had a very rewarding conversation in which he shared with us a little of what he has lived through all that time. He is originally from a town called Salvatierra, which, according to what he told us, does not have many job opportunities, and people did not aspire to "something else" then, seeking a better quality of life for his family, Don Tono with a lot of faith and full of dreams moved to Queretaro. He left Salvatierra with his wife, without money to live, without a home or secure job, but with a great desire to get ahead. He went out in search of happiness.
It really started from scratch, selling fruit on the street near the Cruz market. He made very little money, barely enough to pay the rent of an apartment for his wife and him. Afterwards, he was transferred to a small shop on the Cruz and continued selling his fruit there. The market shifted and sadly this made their premises disappear. With the help of some of his friends, he was able to buy a place in El Tepe with borrowed money. By that time, it had cost him dearly and he told us that it had cost him a lot of money to earn enough to pay off the debt he had gotten into.
The start of this new stage of his business at Tepe was quite difficult. The place he had bought was before stuffed tacos then when he reopened it, people would come and ask for it, but Don Tono did not like the idea of selling the same thing again, then many of his customers were disappointed because he did not sell stuffed. Moreover, he and his wife didn't sell enough, so they had to take half the meat home to feed their children. He told us that, at one point, his children were tired of always eating the same food, but that was all they had to eat and it could not be wasted.
But as in all history, after the storm, the sun rises. Little by little, its premises became known and the clientele grew and the variety of tacos also increased. Don Tono told us something very true and put himself as an example; that when you really want to get ahead, you manage and make it possible. The fundamental thing that is needed is a lot of patience and enthusiasm.
In the course of time Don Tono told us more about his family, he is the grandfather of 2 granddaughters and has 3 children, 2 women and 1 man. One very admirable thing about him and his wife is that they've always been together, in good times and bad, relying unconditionally. Don Tono also gave us some wise advice on what love is:"Get yourself a man who suffers with you","Never confuse love and desire""It doesn't work," I don't like it but he has money "".
Today, Don Tono owns 2 stores and has many frequent customers, he paid for his two granddaughters' university studies and bought a house for each of his children and because of his personality we can say that he is completely happy.
Having talked to Don Tono left us with a feeling of great satisfaction, we lost track of time when we talked to him. We left the market happily with a smile on our face, and we wanted to return for the eye and head cue that Don Tono promised us would give us if we returned to talk with him. We thank Don Tono for giving us the time to talk about his life and give us some good advice.