So here’s the full scoop, just for you:

I was born and raised here. My childhood felt free: playing in the streets, eating baleadas my grandma made, and feeling happy.

There were unsafe areas I had to avoid. Sometimes the lights and water went out, but they always came back.

When I left home for a better life in the United States, I didn’t fully understand why. As a child, it was confusing to leave a place I once called home for somewhere colder, crowded, and less freeing.

On later visits, San Pedro still felt free and familiar.

It was only then that I learned the city had once carried the painful title of the “murder capital of the world,” tied to high homicide rates, gang activity, and instability.

Ignorance really was bliss. On my recent trip back after many years, it felt like time had stood still. Now, knowing more about the challenges changes how I see it. Kids, often unaware of the danger, don’t know what “better” looks like because this life feels normal. I was the same as a child, feeling free even though “bad” things happened often.

When I visited my childhood home, nothing had changed. When it rains, the lights, water, and electricity still go out, sometimes for hours, sometimes until the next day. But it still felt homey because my grandma has a chicken coop, cats, dogs, and even birds as pets, all roaming around. There’s an avocado tree and a lime tree. With few resources, she still makes baleadas, the best I’ve ever had. The coffee is great too, and she keeps everything super clean.