On the fifth day that I spent with the Castillo Balderas family, Ambrosio said, "I still can't believe I agreed to have you guys do this project on my family--it's so unlike me." A shy, private man, Ambrosio wouldn't let me photograph him at work, claiming (accurately, I'm sure) that his co-workers would laugh at him for weeks.
Finally I came up with a plan: I would show up and photograph his co-workers, thus shifting all the chiding and jokes onto them. I wouldn't even acknowledge Ambrosio, but sneak a few shots of him in the hustle. It went off without a hitch, and to his vast relief nobody suspected a thing.
The kids, by contrast, were thrilled to have me around, especially at school. Carmen and I took Antonio to his first day of kindergarten. He was all right until she left the classroom. Then he suddenly wailed and clutched my hand. The teacher asked if I were his father. "No," I said, "just a friend."
