My complete name is Liliana Cantú Licón, and I'm the third child and last member of my family. My brother Ismael is 28 and my sister Maria Elena is 26 and they're both married. I'm 25 and I live with my parents.
My grandma, Titita, holding little baby me on my baptism day ;)
I was born on September 26th 1973, here at Monterrey. Briefly after I was born, we moved to Tepic, a city close to the West Coast. We lived there for two years, and then another two years at Irapuato, a city close to beautiful Guanajuato.
Isma, Mary and I (I'm the one with the bitter face)
Until then, my dad had been working at a big cigarette company. But then he decided to start on his own as a business consultant and so we moved to Mexico City when I was about 5.
Mother's day festival on 3rd. grade
I studied part of my elementary years at a bilingual school, and the rest of it and junior high at a nuns school.
When I finished 6th grade, I went on an exchange program to Carstairs, Alberta, a beautiful place near Calgary, where I stayed for two months with a beautiful family; my first host family: the James. I'm happy that we're still in touch, and I hope we can meet again someday (Hi Tracy, Mom, Dad, Trevor and Rodney!).
The 1986 earthquakes made my dad decide to start arranging everything for us to move back to Monterrey. On our last year at Mexico City, my sister and I entered a youth group similar to girl scouts but with Catholic instruction, called Cadena, which is part of the Movimiento de Juventudes Cristianas (MJC), a nationwide organization. My brother had been in Escuadron, the boys group, for a long time, and that last year my sister and I enjoyed going camping and met lots of nice friends.
We finally moved back to Monterrey on 1988. My brother started University, my sister started high school and I arrived to my last year of junior high at a nuns school related to the one I had been in Mexico.
My brother decided to start the Escuadron group and he did it very successfully. Six months later, I started Cadena Linden with 7 other friends from school. Starting and coordinating that group for two years is one of my life's greatest achievements, and even though the group suffered lots of modifications after I left it, which resulted in it's exclusion from the MJC, time and the spirit of this system solved things out. On 1999 one of the two Cadenas in which Linden was divided because of it's growth, Cadena Malawi, took the steps needed to be acknowledged as part of the MJC again. Throughout the years, these groups have grown and multiplied, and now the presence of the MJC in Monterrey includes 4 Cadenas, 2 Escuadrones and 1 Conquista (group for boys and girls between 6 and 12 years old).
I have been invited to several activities of Cadena Benton and Cadena Malawi and I feel really happy to see everything is just like it was when I was in Cadena in Mexico City. I'm glad I'll be able to have my children join these groups and learn about leadership, responsibility and friendship in a healthy Catholic environment.
Cadena Linden's first camping activity, December 1990
By the time I ended my time as coordinator, I was already studying my bachelor's degree in Marketing at the TEC.
On December 1992 I saw the movie "The Cutting Edge" and felt a huge desire to go ice skating the next day. And I went again the next day, and the next day, and so on. I entered ice skating classes at the age of 19. Yup, rather oldie. And I'm still ice skating and taking classes, and will keep doing it until I can, because it makes me feel strong, free and graceful, plus it has a great feeling of challenge and achievement.
1994 Figure Skating State's Championship
I competed in the 1994 Nationals, winning 2nd place in my category. It felt really good.
On September of 1993, my International Marketing teacher told us one day that the group Viva la Gente (Up With People) was in town, and that she had invited them to share like an international forum with us that afternoon. So I went. I had never seen Up With People, and I got completely caught up by it. I also went to see the show with my dad, and after the show, when they invited whoever was interested in joining the group to interview, I didn't think it twice.
I interviewed and got accepted, and even though I knew I would travel until July '95 (if I could overload my semesters and finish my degree one semester earlier), I never lost faith. Not even when the few pesos I had gathered by November 94 got cut in half by Mexico's economic crisis.
Graduation day, May 1995
Happily, I got a scholarship from the UWP Alumni Association, and was able to finish my degree by May '95. I joined UWP on July '95. If you want to see some pictures about this wonderful experience, please go to "My year with Up With People".
Coming back was pretty hard. After a year where my horizon grew so much, I had to get used to good old Mexico, good old Monterrey, good old life-at-one-place, all of that with 20 pounds overweight. After a month of my arrival, I broke up with my then boyfriend, and with that, finished a two and a half relationship.
But my family was there to support me, as well as my friends, and soon enough everything was ok.
My last birthday, which I celebrated with all my friends at Parque Plaza Sésamo
And, just like Cadena, that wonderful experience made a huge part of what I am today. Deciding to study the International Communications Master Degree, starting my relocation and cross-cultural training business, my friends, my relationship with Toño, the things I like, what I believe in, the plans I have... That year always has something to do with it.
UPDATE JANUARY 2001:
After Up With People I came back to Monterrey and worked in several places, including Parque Plaza Sésamo, as Public Relations Manager, until I decided to start my own business.
IC (Inducción Cultural, my relocation and cross-cultural training firm) has more clients everyday and I hope soon it becomes a strong company.
Also after Up With People, and after a couple of love disappointments, I found the love of my life in a rather funny way. But all I can say is that, by letting me meet and marry Toño, God granted me my life's greatest wish. (see "Toño and Lili...". and "Pictures from our wedding".
Well, this has been my life for the last 27 years, and the future looks only better and better.
Yup, I'm very happy, and I'm very thankful to God for it.
