🎉 When I first laid eyes on Mr. Arias, it was like the universe had decided to throw a crazy party just for him. Venezuelans were bolting from their homeland faster than a contestant sprinting to the last slice of pizza at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Seriously, the place had become an economic circus, and folks were fleeing like they were on a reality TV show called “Escape from the Crumbling Economy!” By the end of that year, more people from Venezuela had landed at the Mexican-U.S. border than the number of times I’ve thought, “Hey, maybe I should work out today.”
Mr. Arias, the dude of the hour at a spry age of 27, wasn’t just flying solo. Nope, he was rolling with the ultimate squad – his little daughter perched atop his shoulders like a tiny conquering queen, his wife Desyree, and the coolest 7-year-old sidekick, Luis Breyner. And guess what? The adventure squad didn’t stop there; his mother-in-law and brother-in-law decided to crash the party too. You know, gotta have that extended family drama to keep things spicy.
Picture this: it’s like sunrise o’clock, and I’m there, camera ready, sipping my coffee like the paparazzi in action. The Arias caravan is all set for a journey of epic proportions, and I’m just praying I could walk a straight line in a pair of heels. Now, for a seasoned hiker, tackling the Gap – that no-man’s-land of wilderness – might take around four to five days. But if you’re packing toddlers and a whole circus crew, you might as well book yourself a tent on Airbnb because this journey could stretch longer than a Kardashian’s Instagram caption.
Hold up, hold up. Mr. Arias faces a plot twist – a wild hill appears! And what does our fearless protagonist do? He’s like, “You know what, hill? I’ve had enough. Time for a pit stop!” He casually drops his backpack and takes a seat. I mean, I’ve seen people declare couch-potato mode, but Arias took it to a whole new level. We’re left there, wondering if he’s gonna camp out for good, but then, after what feels like an eternity, he stands up and decides to conquer that hill. Legend has it; he whispered to the hill, “Not today, buddy!”
Fast forward to the backstory: back in the land of arepas and salsa dancing (Venezuela), Mr. Arias was all about industrial mechanics and rocking out at his dad’s auto repair shop. Oh, and he and his wife even had a food stall – basically the couple that cooks together, stays together, right? But then, life gave them lemons – so many lemons that their lemonade stand just wasn’t cutting it. So, they packed their salsa moves and headed to Colombia in 2019.
In Colombia, it was like a food stall fiesta, and Mr. Arias even upgraded his resume to include motorcycle taxi driver and amateur construction worker. But, you guessed it, the financial puzzle pieces just wouldn’t fit. Time to roll the dice again! And where does the adventure land them? The U.S. of A, baby! Cue the stars and stripes and all that jazz.
So, flash forward to meandering through the Gap like they’re on some cross-country reality show challenge. I’d see the Arias clan every now and then, probably wondering if they were secretly training for a family Olympics. Eventually, our paths diverged like an emo teenager’s taste in music, but social media kept us together like that one clingy friend you can’t shake off. Then, the newsflash: they made it! In March, they waltzed right into the U.S. of A, applying for asylum like they were signing up for the quirkiest game show ever.
Cut to almost a year later, and Mr. Arias is reminiscing about the moment he turned into a temporary hill enthusiast. “It was like, bam, out of nowhere,” he recalls. “My stomach was like, ‘Oh hey, let’s empty the contents,’ and I’m like, ‘Dude, not cool!'” Those hills – the real MVPs of this story, clearly.
Now the Arias fam is chillin’ in Palo Alto, California. Mr. Arias is waiting for his work permit, and his wife is moonlighting as a manicurist (gotta keep those nails fabulous, right?). Their kiddos are crushing the school game – son heading to fourth grade, daughter rocking kindergarten. And you know what Mr. Arias says about that fateful photo where he paused for his hillside heart-to-heart? He admits he felt like a total lightweight in front of his kids, but hey, that’s ancient history now. “I rolled the dice and won the game!” he exclaims. “I took a chance for them. It’s like beating that impossible level in a video game – victory feels sweet because I brought my whole crew to the finish line.” 🏁🎉 When I first laid eyes on Mr. Arias, it was like the universe had decided to throw a crazy party just for him. Venezuelans were bolting from their homeland faster than a contestant sprinting to the last slice of pizza at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Seriously, the place had become an economic circus, and folks were fleeing like they were on a reality TV show called “Escape from the Crumbling Economy!” By the end of that year, more people from Venezuela had landed at the Mexican-U.S. border than the number of times I’ve thought, “Hey, maybe I should work out today.”
Mr. Arias, the dude of the hour at a spry age of 27, wasn’t just flying solo. Nope, he was rolling with the ultimate squad – his little daughter perched atop his shoulders like a tiny conquering queen, his wife Desyree, and the coolest 7-year-old sidekick, Luis Breyner. And guess what? The adventure squad didn’t stop there; his mother-in-law and brother-in-law decided to crash the party too. You know, gotta have that extended family drama to keep things spicy.
Picture this: it’s like sunrise o’clock, and I’m there, camera ready, sipping my coffee like the paparazzi in action. The Arias caravan is all set for a journey of epic proportions, and I’m just praying I could walk a straight line in a pair of heels. Now, for a seasoned hiker, tackling the Gap – that no-man’s-land of wilderness – might take around four to five days. But if you’re packing toddlers and a whole circus crew, you might as well book yourself a tent on Airbnb because this journey could stretch longer than a Kardashian’s Instagram caption.
Hold up, hold up. Mr. Arias faces a plot twist – a wild hill appears! And what does our fearless protagonist do? He’s like, “You know what, hill? I’ve had enough. Time for a pit stop!” He casually drops his backpack and takes a seat. I mean, I’ve seen people declare couch-potato mode, but Arias took it to a whole new level. We’re left there, wondering if he’s gonna camp out for good, but then, after what feels like an eternity, he stands up and decides to conquer that hill. Legend has it; he whispered to the hill, “Not today, buddy!”
Fast forward to the backstory: back in the land of arepas and salsa dancing (Venezuela), Mr. Arias was all about industrial mechanics and rocking out at his dad’s auto repair shop. Oh, and he and his wife even had a food stall – basically the couple that cooks together, stays together, right? But then, life gave them lemons – so many lemons that their lemonade stand just wasn’t cutting it. So, they packed their salsa moves and headed to Colombia in 2019.
In Colombia, it was like a food stall fiesta, and Mr. Arias even upgraded his resume to include motorcycle taxi driver and amateur construction worker. But, you guessed it, the financial puzzle pieces just wouldn’t fit. Time to roll the dice again! And where does the adventure land them? The U.S. of A, baby! Cue the stars and stripes and all that jazz.
So, flash forward to meandering through the Gap like they’re on some cross-country reality show challenge. I’d see the Arias clan every now and then, probably wondering if they were secretly training for a family Olympics. Eventually, our paths diverged like an emo teenager’s taste in music, but social media kept us together like that one clingy friend you can’t shake off. Then, the newsflash: they made it! In March, they waltzed right into the U.S. of A, applying for asylum like they were signing up for the quirkiest game show ever.
Cut to almost a year later, and Mr. Arias is reminiscing about the moment he turned into a temporary hill enthusiast. “It was like, bam, out of nowhere,” he recalls. “My stomach was like, ‘Oh hey, let’s empty the contents,’ and I’m like, ‘Dude, not cool!'” Those hills – the real MVPs of this story, clearly.
Now the Arias fam is chillin’ in Palo Alto, California. Mr. Arias is waiting for his work permit, and his wife is moonlighting as a manicurist (gotta keep those nails fabulous, right?). Their kiddos are crushing the school game – son heading to fourth grade, daughter rocking kindergarten. And you know what Mr. Arias says about that fateful photo where he paused for his hillside heart-to-heart? He admits he felt like a total lightweight in front of his kids, but hey, that’s ancient history now. “I rolled the dice and won the game!” he exclaims. “I took a chance for them. It’s like beating that impossible level in a video game – victory feels sweet because I brought my whole crew to the finish line.” 🏁