At the beginning of May 2020, I set myself a simple task: to collect the testimonies of friends and colleagues who had been impacted by the then novel coronavirus. My original intention was to help. I wanted to contribute to my community, to give back, to create opportunities for folks who had been hit hard by this unfortunate situation that we all have come to understand so well. What I found, however, was not entirely what I expected. I quickly learned that my people is resilient; they are resourceful, motivated. Like me, you won't find in this collection stories of misery or grief. Like me, you will only find the stories of a people who refuse to give in to despair, who have experienced hardship but refuse to make it the sustain of who they are.

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As I began writing this introduction, I heard my mother saying "el Mexicano es bien cabrón". For many years, I understood this prhase as a cultural rejection of discipline, of authority and its rules. But in the light of these circumstances, I found the meaning slightly changed: "el mexicano es bien cabrón", a cultural  . My people. The folks that I assign the heavy task of sustaining my bearing my resemblance and those with whom I can identify without saying a word. the various groups that I task turned into a journey of self-discovery through

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