The owners, staff, and clients at Tacos Frida all share a common bond – they’ve got family in Mexico, and they’ve been watching the cartel violence unfold from afar, helplessly worrying about the safety of their loved ones.
“I try to talk to them every day, you know, my mother is, my mother is there now, my father is there. I think you always have the feeling of relief when you know they are safe, And you’re always worried when you know they need to do something outside of their place,” said Enrique Chan, the owner of Tacos Frida, whose parents are currently living in Mexico.
Raised in the mountainous state of Oaxaca in a small town called Salina Cruz, Chan says he grew up aware of the violence around him but still felt safe — a sense he says has vanished as criminal organizations have moved into the region over the years.
“When I was 18, 19-years-old, I remember going to nightclubs and feeling safer. I think right now, just the question of or the decision of going to a nightclub, you’re very aware now that it’s something that can happen,” Chan explained.
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Now, as a resident of Canada and business owner for the past 12 years, Chan says he’s not surprised by the escalation from the cartel, as he’s noticed a gradual change in his home country over the years — that doesn’t feel like the home he knew growing up.
Adding that he’s worried for his family, who are paying the price as they’re witness to burning cars and proliferating violence in local businesses.
“They don’t feel safe, you know, they, they, we have, I have friends over there that have taken the decision of closing their businesses,” Chan began to explain.
“For example, I have a friend who has a restaurant, a pizza place, and he just took the decision to close, you know, because of this, they don’t feel safe anymore and the staff don’t want to go work too because they don’t want to go outside of their places,” he added, emphasizing that it’s the reality of everyone he knows in Mexico right now.
Which includes his parents, who he says only leave their home to buy necessities.
Chan says he’s wrestling with the guilt of being safe here in Canada, but says he’s doing his best to help his parents from a distance, who are still safe and doing well.
“Sometimes I send money to my father, for example. I try to avoid as much as possible, let’s say, a large amount, and I divide the amount in like, like less amounts or something like that. You need to go to the bank around, I don’t know, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. when there’s like more people,” he explains the precautions he and his family must take as other criminals have begun taking advantage of the chaos and committing crimes themselves.
But Chan says that while he understands the need to address the erupting violence in Mexico, he still hopes others can see his country for what it truly is — a country with beautiful things to see and experience as well as and great food.
