Photo leads Holtville man to sister By VICTOR MORALES, Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:12 AM PST
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
Jesus Trejo of Holtville talks about the moment he saw his sister, Lupita Venegas Trejo, on the front page of the Imperial Valley Press on Monday.
TODD KRAININ AND TREJO FAMILY PHOTOS
A photograph of Lupita Venegas Trejo, 51, taken last week (left) in Mexicali is positioned next to one taken of her at age 16 in Calexico.
HOLTVILLE — Jesus Trejo thought he would never see his younger sister again after losing contact more than 10 years ago.
When his wife showed him a picture of that sister on the front page of the Imperial Valley Press on Monday morning, the Holtville resident realized “she was still alive.”
“My wife told me, ‘You said you wanted to see your sister, well here she is,’” Trejo said.
The sister, Lupita Venegas Trejo, was photographed for a story about the rudimentary conditions residents of the Mexicali Colonia Santa Isabel endure during the winter. The 51-year-old is a resident of the colonia and was featured with her crudely made home behind her and her 2-year-old grandson shyly lurking at its entrance.
“I was looking at the picture and where they are living and thought, ‘oh my God,’” said the 56-year old Jesus Trejo, a retired Imperial Valley Irrigation construction worker. “It just breaks my heart to see my little sister like that.”
On Tuesday, Jesus Trejo looked at family albums, trying to find a picture of his sister. At last he found one taken in 1972 when she posed with him and his two other sisters during his graduation from Calexico High School.
Lupita Trejo was in her early teens when the picture was taken, looking radiant and elegant in a dress and heels. In contrast, in the image of her taken Friday at the colonia she appears weathered and rustic in jeans and tennis shoes. Yet her distinctive thick and dark eyebrows in both images project an incontestable match.
Jesus Trejo said his sister experienced a long but later unstable life in the Imperial Valley before he lost contact with her. Jesus Trejo said his sister graduated from Calexico High School and attended Imperial Valley College for two years. She held legal resident status in the U.S.
But she began to suffer from a still-unknown mental condition, he said. The Trejo family lost contact soon after she met and married a Mexicali musician who persuaded her to move across the border. Their relationship status is unknown.
Before disappearing in Mexico, Lupita gave birth to a daughter at El Centro Regional Medical Center, who is believed to be living with her, Jesus Trejo said.
He still remembers his niece’s name, Almadelia, and said she is a U.S. citizen.
Jesus Trejo said his sister lost her passport and other important documents while living in Mexicali. She grew tired of the bureaucracy and couldn’t afford the filing fees involved in replacing the documents and “lost hope in coming back.” She was not heard from soon after.
Mexican Consulate Pablo Jesús Arnaud Carreño said it’s common for Mexicans to give up on mending a verifiable life after losing documents.
During the time Lupita Trejo stayed in contact with her family in the Imperial Valley, she constantly indicated she was doing fine and living in a new home and subdivision, Jesus Trejo said. “I think she felt bad and didn’t want us to see her like that,” Jesus Trejo said.
The Trejo family constantly inquired with distant relatives about Lupita. There were rumors she had gone to Guadalajara.
Jesus Trejo said he will soon notify his other sisters, now living in Yuma and Seattle, that he has found Lupita.
Jesus Trejo, his wife, Mary, and son Benjamin, intend to travel to the colonia Sunday after Jesus receives his dialysis treatments this week.
“I’m bringing her a bunch of canned food, a cooked turkey and blankets and spend the whole day with them,” he said.
" Would this family have ever been reunited if this story had not made the papers? Thank You, IV Press for 'putting it out'.. We need more stories like these that show the hardships real people are experiencing out there in the world. Perhaps some good may come of it, as in this family's case. Forget these other idiots and their negative "spiel". They don't have a heart, or brains, for that matter. Just full of self-righteousness and hate. "
susflores wrote on Dec 18, 2007 2:36 PM:
" gymjunkie, I sensed your twisted humor in your comment. I almost laughed. It's amazing how a person features change as we age...Gees. "
toddk wrote on Dec 18, 2007 12:33 PM:
" As pinomatus suggested, this story is a sharp rejoinder to those readers who wrote that the Imperial Valley Press should turn its back on stories about Mexicali. The notion that the I.V. Press is wasting paper when journalists write about "them" (Mexicans), when we should concentrate on "us" (red blooded Americans) is hopelessly misguided. The border separates us in politics and law. In every other respect -- families, culture, economics, geography, history and tamales -- we are forever linked. Given that inescapable fact, we might as well cherish our neighbors, brothers, and sisters to the south. As Jesus Trejo discovered, sometimes it turns out that "them" are really "us". - Todd Krainin, Chief Photographer, Imperial Valley Press "
wikiscogg wrote on Dec 18, 2007 12:03 PM:
" What a wonderful story. I am very glad he found his little sister and hope they have a great visit on Sunday. I hope she comes home with them. If anyone writes a negative article about this story then they have a sick mind. "
gymjunkie wrote on Dec 18, 2007 10:52 AM:
" Only a brother could see the resemblence in those photos. That's great I hope he takes care of her and brings her home. "
gavilan wrote on Dec 18, 2007 9:10 AM:
" shame on you people who only judge outward appearances, it is because of journalist that we get info on how the rest of the world lives and it is so close to us, little did you know this woman has a family who loves and cares for her, sometimes in life things change and things don't always turn out how we want them to, but praise God Mr. Trejo found his little sister what a great blessing! "
konnie7 wrote on Dec 18, 2007 8:32 AM:
" This is great! love to hear stories like this! "
susflores wrote on Dec 18, 2007 8:10 AM:
" I am glad to see a happy reunion is coming for this family. "
coco7 wrote on Dec 18, 2007 7:29 AM:
" So many negative comments that were said in previous article, but such a nice positive happy ending! It goes to show who rules ! May God Bless This Family, and may God Bless those that think so negative! "
pinomatus wrote on Dec 18, 2007 7:12 AM:
" so where's all the negativity people wrote about in the previous article? bunch of grinches. "
newsguy wrote on Dec 18, 2007 3:41 AM:
" It's nice to know a family was reunited before Christmas, I had a tear drop after I finished reading this article. This is the best article I read in the IV press this month. "
solar wrote on Dec 18, 2007 3:18 AM:
" I love happy endings and I'm glad he found his sister god bless them. "
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abelito wrote on Dec 18, 2007 5:04 PM: