Vanessa, Alberto, and their two daughters have a bilingual family, speaking both Spanish and English. Vanessa is American, Mexican, and Jewish by heritage, while Alberto is Mexican and Maya. They are glad to have found a place in Jewish Gateways' family learning program in which their family's diverse heritages are welcomed and celebrated.

 

Vanessa grew up in Fresno with an American Jewish father and a mother who grew up in Mexico and had converted Judaism. Alberto grew up in Mexico City in an indigenous family, surrounded by a very Catholic culture. Both of his parents were Maya, from the Yucatan.

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Today Vanessa and Alberto live in San Leandro with their daughters Saasil, who is six, and Itzel, who is four. They are expecting a third child this fall. 

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Vanessa is a family physician at La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland. Alberto is the director of programs for the Asociacion Mayab, a non-profit organization that provides services to Bay Area Maya immigrant families, promotes Yucatec Maya cultural values, and serves as a bridge between their community and various organizations and government entities.