QUEZADA, Eduardo C. V.

[eddie quezada]

EDUARDO CRISTIAN VELA QUEZADA

NICKNAMES: Ed, Eddie, Quesadilla
AGE & BIRTHDAY: 23 (12/31)
HOMETOWN: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
RESIDENCE: Apartment in Boyle Heights
PROFESSION:  Aspiring teacher / food truck entrepreneur
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

FATHER: Victor Vela Rodriguez
MOTHER: Maria Quezada Lopez (née Cuervo)
SIBLINGS: José, half (26); Luis (25); Gabriela (19); Pablo (half, deceased); Silvia, step (17)
EXTENDED: Juan Venega, step-dad. Shit ton of nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws
OTHER: Paco, cat

My parents are both Mexican natives, my mother from Hermosillo in Sonora and my father from Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua. Both with dark hair, dark eyes, rough pasts, from big families, who wanted to get out of Mexico for a better opportunity promised in the mixing pot of America. My oldest brother José was born to my mother during a prior relationship, then came Luis when she hooked up with my birth father soon after. They quickly married and divorced, my sister Gabby being the parting gift. My father was involved with the wrong people for as long as we could remember, and couldn't escape the life even when he was out of Ciudad Juárez. He was lucky to get away -- few do -- but working in hotels and restaurants wasn't always enough to make ends meet, before he returned to old, even worse ways out of habit. He was convicted for raping our neighbor, although he got away with more than that. Afterward we dotted a trail of temporary homes up Mexico, eventually landing over the border in Las Cruces, New Mexico when I was seven years old. My mother dated around, we were surrounded by close family when needed. My brothers were both in gangs from a young age, it was the way of life where we came from and the only way we knew. And always accessible, whether or not you were "good" at it. We were raised to look forward to it, as if predestined, because it was prevalent and expected of us. Our friends and relatives had the tattoos, money, guns, connections - and with those also came the convictions, arrests, deaths and crime hand-in-hand. My mother worked multiple jobs as a housekeeper and elderly caretaker, rarely around to keep track of us. She married a taxi driver, moved us to Albuquerque, and had my younger brother Pablo who died two years ago in a drunk driving accident. Growing up, we didn't have much at all. We moved around where we thought we could make rent, got evicted anyway, ended up going hungry if we didn't steal or take church donations. My mom babysat and made telemarketing calls, but more money was flowing to her drug habit than to us kids. We were taken by Social Services probably two or three times, and my whole childhood is a blur of that kind of turmoil. We moved around, passed through Arizona to California, living in Pittsburg, Fresno, and Hayward. Growing up, I looked up to my brothers. I didn't know about the affairs of my family, what was going on, who was who or who was blood, but they were my heroes. I loved my mother as well, but forgot about my father as my step-father rose in his place and taught me what I know now, helping to raise me to better values and morals when he didn't put up with the bullshit around us. He, along with one of my high school teachers, pulled me out of the life that contributed to my brother Pablo's death. I was mixed up with the wrong people, doing the wrong things, selling and taking drugs, didn't give a fuck who I hurt or what happened to me... I was going down the wrong path because I didn't think there was any other meant for me. Not for the first time, I brought a gun to school. Had multiple tabs on my permanent record file for detentions and referrals, and everything else under the sun that could hold a kid back/recommend you for juvenile attention. One of my teachers caught me, called me out on my poor report card and threatened to have me expelled. Then he told me that I had potential, but I was wasting it; just like his dead son had, victim of a dope deal gone bad. He was disappointed, but he gave me a chance, and a glimmer of hope. Sounds cheesy, but after that I wanted to change for the better, and ended up being the first in my family to graduate with a high school diploma. I then went on to college in Southern California, qualifying for any scholarships and grants that wouldn't put me into unimaginable debt, while working in restaurants and as teacher's aides to rake in money. I first worked as a dish washer, then filled in as prep cook, server and sometimes chef while the places I worked went through staff changes. My boss was impressed enough to send me working with the restaurant's catering business, where my coworker Mario and I started developing our own ideas and menus. We worked at a fusion restaurant, found a really cool, lenient boss who helped us start a food truck of our own, called "Taco Libre." We offer tacos, tortas, quesadillas, tamales and fajitas that only us legit Mexicans can authenticate, because people here in LA think we're all Taco Bell. Nah man, not even. Meanwhile, I've earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish Education, being my native language, aiming to become a high school teacher sometime soon. I've passed the certification exams required for the state of California, completed additional coursework and credentials program, currently work on teaching experience after my twenty-third birthday last month. I want to make something of myself, which is what America is all about, right?








_{10 THINGS EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT ME}

_{5 THINGS I NEED IN LIFE}

_{5 TOP FOODS}

_{MY 5 LOVES}

_{5 THINGS I WANT TO DO}

[/s] Check
- Tour a volcano
- Survive a plane crash
- Jump off a cliff/bridge
- Conquer the wilderness[/ul]



_{5 FAVORITE MOVIES / SONGS}

_{5 THINGS I'D NEVER DO}

_{5 THINGS YOU WOULDN'T KNOW}

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ALIAS: Susan
AGE: 20
PLAY-BY: Gabriel Burger
CITY: LA
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Radio - SPM