La Casa de los Amigos: A Quaker Community in Mexico City

December 2010
Mexico City

What a privilege it's been to "work" for La Casa de los Amigos--Friends' House--in the center of Mexico City. La Casa, as it's best known, is the only Quaker presence in Mexico City, and a center for all sorts of social justice activities.

La Casa is a place of worship, a center for refugees and migrants, and a center for peace and economic justice. It also has a library of 6,000 volumes that houses the largest collection of Quaker material in Mexico. But most of all it's a guest house that offers simple accomodations to thousands of people annually from all over the world. And it's in this capacity that I first became acquainted with La Casa in June 1999 on my first visit to Mexico City. Over the years, on myriad visits to the city,this is where I stayed or, if there wasn't room, across the street at the Gran Hotel Texas. It has always been my "home away from home" in this super-city of 30,000,000 people.

La Casa has been a presence in Mexico City since 1956 when the Quaker Community purchased the home from the estate of Jose Clemente Orozco, one of Mexico's most influential muralists of the 20th Century. (He, along with Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Rufina Tamayo form the Pantheon of "the most famous" of the last century.)

For over 50 years La Casa has offered hospitality, service and Quaker witness in Mexico City.

How exciting to be part of it.

When I was here in September, I made a visit to La Casa, this time asking if there was something specific I could do for the winter. After identifying myself as a librarian, all converstaion halted. No librarian had worked with the collection in seven years. Would I be interested? I set up a meeting with the director, Nico, and...bam...I had a job. Volunteer, of course.

I love working at La Casa. In this monster of a city, it's like Cheers for me: when I walk in the front door everyone knows my name. I am part of a larger group of people, mostly volunteers from the United States, most of whom live on site.

I love this job for a variety of reasons. Some days I don't get there until 2:00 pm; some days I don't even go in; other days I'll work all day.

I also love it because of the space the library occupies. It was Orozco's studio for many years--thus the reason for the huge windows that a) let it a lot of light and b) could be opened to remove the murals he'd paint there.

I love this job because I can not tell you how many times I've been diverted with the material I'm working with. I'll stop, sit down and read for awhile. How interesting to learn more and more of the Quaker tradition and then apply it as the day progresses.

It's been a blessing.

I also get diverted by the wonderful people I meet at La Casa--visitors from all over the world, many of whom I've gotten to know.
People like Val and Tey from Singapore who left high paying television executive jobs to spend five years biking around the world.

People like James of Nevada who just finished his PhD in Latin American Studies and who knows more about Mexico than any one I know. How many times have I stopped work just to chat with this interesting guy.

People likle Garth and Angela, and their daughter, Salex, from Oregon who spent three weeks at La Casa. They operate an organic farm and Garth is a consultant for many organic farms in Mexico, Central and South America.

When I left librarying at the high school level--a job that I can honestly say at this juncture that I hated and would have ultimately killed me--to be back in a library and loving in. Bt that is the beauty of librarianship--we all have an MLS, but the spokes emanating out that training are limitless.

So I'll be here for awhile, and it looks as if this can be an ongoing venture--a win-win situation for both La Casa and for me.