25 expat voices: Barbara Franco

Expat: Barbara Franco

Barbara Franco.

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Ana Prado

We asked our 25 featured expats if they have a specific Mexico “moment” or memory—something that always makes them think, “Yep, this is home,” or “That’s what I love about this place.” View Slideshow >>

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Barbara Franco talks about her life in Mexico during the 60s and 70s, from Embassy events to working with the Lacandón and Chamula Indians in Chiapas.

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Organization: American Benevolent Society

Website: abs.org.mx

Originally from:  Sag Harbor, NY, a small village of about 2,000 on eastern Long Island.

Lives in: La Herradura, Mexico City, found by good fortune—and we love it.

Living in Mexico: Forty-two years.

Why did you move to Mexico?

True love. I arrived in Mexico City on a Saturday, met him Tuesday, and we were married three months later.

Tell us about your work with the Girl Scouts and with the American Benevolent Society.

I come from a Scouting family. My Dad was in Troop No. 1 in New York City and my mother was a leader. I started in Brownies at age six and with the exception of about six years as a young adult have been in Girl Scouting and Guiding ever since. From 1972 through 1995 I was commissioner of the North District Girl Guides in Mexico, which was the District taking care of foreigners. In 1982 I was appointed to the World Centers Committee for Our Cabaña in Cuernavaca (there are four Centers around the world), and was President of the Committee from 1988-1991.

In many ways my Scouting and all it stands for has been a mainstay in my life. I was selected for the 1956 RoundUp in Michigan, the youngest Scout among five thousand girls, and was even a patrol leader there. Scouting for both boys and girls is for training leaders and for maximizing raw, innate abilities—I will always be indebted to all those who led me along the way. I am particularly proud of and fascinated by the power of women doing good things, by the efforts of the extremely talented and wise women I have had the privilege of knowing.

As my concerns shifted from children to seniors, I found a true fit with the ABS nine years ago. I served as the treasurer, and when circumstances within the ABS made it prudent for me to serve as the Executive Director, I took on that responsibility. It has been a real blessing in my life: the work of the ABS is essential for the well-being of the community and the people it serves.

What are some of the things you like to do other than service work?

When I was in high school I crewed in the Flying Dutchman class of sailboats with my father, who skippered. We were fifth in the USA and were chosen for the 1960 Olympics, but were unable to go to Switzerland to compete. I still love to sail but don't have many opportunities.

My main hobbies are reading, playing bridge, my family and friends, and the Happy Throwers Dart Club.

Do you have a specific Mexico "moment" that makes you think, "That's what I love about this place"?  

[Years ago] my husband and I were in Mitontic, Chiapas to see the Cambio de Poder (Change of Power) on the night of December 31st, well into the early morning of January 1st. The Maya have been doing some version of the same ceremony for centuries. We wandered down to the falling-down small church which was so beautiful, with pine boughs on the floor, a simple altar, and only candlelight and the moonlight coming through the open spaces in the roof. A gently tipsy old man was gazing up at the enormous full moon with tears streaming down his face. After a few minutes when his contemplation seemed to let up, we asked him what was the matter and he replied: "La Luna ya no es Dios"-The Moon is no longer God. He said Man has stepped on Her and She no longer is a God. The first astronauts had landed on the moon a short time before. This and so much more shows the deep reverence Mexico has for life, traditions, its people, its colors, it flowers, its seasons, everything.

What are both the best and the hardest things about being an expat in Mexico?

Aside from the people, the best is the social mobility. One can be the madrina (godmother) at the wedding of a maid or gardener's daughter in the afternoon and at a formal Embassy dinner that same night.

The hardest is the language—even after all these years, to not really, really know if what is coming out of my mouth is what I am meaning to say, and even less really knowing what is being heard or understood. So one lives a life of exquisite uncertainty, of beauty, of spiritual delight, of choice, and the opportunity to say yes to whatever comes next.