Unofficial Sister Cities

From: Liz Jones
Series: A Village Away from Home
Length: 09:04

Communities divided by the border discover new ways to stay connected. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Unofficial Sister Cities
From: Liz Jones

019_small About 3,000 miles south of Seattle you'll find a small Purepecha village called Quinceo. You've probably never heard of Quinceo. But most people there know all about Seattle – the Space Needle, the rain…even the traffic. People in Quinceo estimate half of the town packed up and went North, mostly to the Seattle area. KUOW's Liz Jones introduces us to our unofficial sister city in the rural heart of central Mexico.

More from Liz Jones

Growing Pains (08:52)
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A look at the tensions in a new immigrant community.

Follow the Money (09:02)
From: Liz Jones

A look at the economic forces that push the Purepecha from home and pull them toward Seattle.

Childhood Interrupted (09:02)
From: Liz Jones

A look at how immigrant teens grapple with identity issues.

A Hidden Community (08:58)
From: Liz Jones

A look at how an indigenous Mexican migrants adapt to city life.

Village Away from Home: 5-Part Documentary (49:53)
From: Liz Jones

This is a complete version of the 5-part series.

Piece Description

About 3,000 miles south of Seattle you'll find a small Purepecha village called Quinceo. You've probably never heard of Quinceo. But most people there know all about Seattle – the Space Needle, the rain…even the traffic. People in Quinceo estimate half of the town packed up and went North, mostly to the Seattle area. KUOW's Liz Jones introduces us to our unofficial sister city in the rural heart of central Mexico.

Broadcast History

Aired locally on KUOW.

Transcript

(Ambi: churchbells, street sounds in background, fade through intro)

I’m sitting on a rooftop in Quinceo, Mexico, a town perched on an 8-thousand foot peak, jutting towards the clouds. In one glance, I can see most of the town. Across the road are several traditional Purepecha homes - one-room cabins built with planks of pine wood and shingled roofs.

But they’re dwarfed on every side by new, two-story giants. They’re built with concrete and brick, or what the locals call “materials,” …bought recently with money earned in Seattle.

One house under construction belongs to Hermillo Salmeron. He’s a likeable guy in his mid-40s with a slight beer belly. We walk though the unfinished second floor of his new house.

Hermillo: Here I’m going to put the kitchen, the stove, the chimney, and here like a table. So we can eat here. Then a balcony over here.

He pauses to greet a neighbor below...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

About 3-thousand miles south of Seattle you’ll find a small Mexican town called Quinceo (keen-SAY-oh). You’ve probably never heard of Quinceo. But the indigenous Purepecha people who live there, know all about Seattle – the Space Needle, the rain…even the traffic. People in Quinceo estimate half of the town packed up and went North, mostly to the Seattle area. In part 4 of our series on the Purepecha migrants, KUOW’s Liz Jones explores our unofficial sister cities in the rural heart of central Mexico.

OUTRO:

Tomorrow, in the final of our series ‘A Village Away from Home’, we take a look at some growing pains of this new community in South Seattle.