Francisco Cortes Rivera: We all owe him a debt. I met him last week. Apart from a yellow shirt and a three-pronged bib, what stands out about his appearance is the smoky smell of his clothes. I had asked to speak to someone in rank, not a desk officer. well there i had it.
When I address an interviewer’s profile, as was the case, I try to start with a different question than usual. Something that politely annoys my interlocutor and helps (sometimes) to establish a better dialogue. I almost always plan the question early, but 90 percent of the time I turn it around at the last minute. The tone, the look, the face of the interviewer gives me patterns in the moments before I begin.
As soon as the talk began, questions came to my mind for Commander Francisco of the Forest Fire Division of the Zapopan Civil Protection and Fire Department. 57 year old man and one of the most trained technicians in fire fighting. For 33 years it has looked after, protected and monitored our forests.
I thought it is a good idea to start the interview with the start of your day. It was nine o’clock.
-what time did you get up today?
“I haven’t slept today,” he replied. I’ve been coming from work since yesterday when I woke up at six in the morning and to date we have dedicated ourselves to fighting two fires.
I was the only one confused. With the integrity of his face, his upright posture, and his shoulders thrown back, Francisco looked like nothing but a man who was tired and hadn’t slept all night. You have to pay close attention to his gaze to find even the slightest hint of fatigue in the background.
They explained to me that they cannot stop fighting early in the morning when they are faced with wildfires. This would mean losing all the work earned during the day. He also told me about the spectacle when they fight fires at night: they see a delayed concert of unimaginable colors and burning flames.
Sometimes they walk for more than an hour carrying six liters of water and their equipment to reach the battle front. They also know that a sudden change in wind direction can be fatal.
Regarding his days off, Francisco explained to me that “theoretically” he rests on Saturdays and Sundays (but we have wildfires every weekend during the dry season).
I asked the commander what he would do after the interview: return with 68 forest firefighters to fight two fires. He was very generous in taking time off from work to interview me. I ignored it.
The talk made me think.
In their fight on May 6, “El Canelo” Álvarez, the heroic symbol of independent and sovereign Jalisco according to the slogan of the state government, won $14.5 million. According to the Zapopan payroll, in the first half of May, Commander Francisco received 9,870 pesos.
Politics and market actors can impose ideas in the public sphere. But in private everyone chooses his heroes.
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