Life in troncones,
majahua & saladita

When it comes to grocery stores, Troncones has them all. Mini-súper. Miscelánea. Abarrotes. General stores selling snacks, fruits, beverages and household essentials. There are four on Main Street, from the top of the hill to the T. Of the four, only one has the same woman there, day after day. Meet Maria of Mini Súper de Maria. She’s glamorous. She’s funny. She’s serious. She’s kind. She’s real. She’s watching you even when you think she’s not.

He’s known in Troncones by one name. Ventura. You can find him on Main Street most days, on his ATV, between Materiales Troncones and his house next to the pharmacy. Sometimes you’ll see him covered in dust, coming back from checking on his cows south of town. At 80, he has more energy than people who are decades younger, and he’s one of the few “settlers” who came to Troncones as an adult, with a family. He remembers Troncones before electricity arrived, before there was a hardware store or a pharmacy, before his sons and daughters helped him build the Troncones of today.

1974, Los Angeles. If you were in the world of performance, you would have heard of the already legendary dancers, Bill and Jacqui Landrum. Between them as performers, they’d done it all, from Beirut to Paris to Broadway. As teachers and directors of their own dance company, they held class regularly at The Coronet Theatre in West Hollywood, where floor space was at a premium. Having finally gathered my courage to attend, I found myself in their class one day. I’d been told they were sparklingly original if demanding teachers, who would ground you in dance as no other teachers could. What I’d not been told was that they were also two of the most beautiful people. Ever. To say that taking class with the Landrums was a life changing experience is not an exaggeration. Ask anyone who has studied under them. I was no exception. Because his Troncones home is called Casa Bailarin [house of the dancer], I thought that to start this interview by asking about dance, and Bill’s journey in it, seemed as good a place as any to begin.

“How you play the game is how you do everything” is something coaches say. Whether that’s true or not clearly depends more on the individual than on the task at hand. What is true is that coaching kids is a privilege. Good coaches understand that—that coaching is an opportunity to teach kids how to be good teammates, how to prepare each other to get through difficult situations and how to make sure no one feels left behind. Coach Chucho is a good coach.