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Minneapolis Parks Foundation > Common Ground > Stories > Humans of Minneapolis > Humans of Minneapolis: Roberto & Aurelia, Martin Luther King Park

Humans of Minneapolis: Roberto & Aurelia, Martin Luther King Park

In 2016, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation teamed up with Humans of Minneapolis street documentarian Stephanie Glaros to produce a series of 15 portraits of visitors to Minneapolis neighborhood parks.

Here, we’re re-posting Stephanie’s series of portraits of parks visitors from her Humans of Minneapolis blog. Look for all portraits in the series on this blog – 2016 and, coming soon, 2017 – by clicking on the Humans of Minneapolis category.

Roberto & Aurelia, at Martin Luther King Park

“I’m from Mexico and she is, too. We met in New York and then we came to Minnesota because it’s quieter and safer. In New York there were too many gangs.

We come to this park all the time. We’ve lived in this area more than twenty-six years. I take a walk here maybe three times a week. I play baseball on Sundays. Sometimes the whole family comes to play basketball, our three sons and us. When they were younger, we used to bring them here to the playground and the pool. Sometimes their friends ask them to come and play soccer, so my wife and I sit down somewhere and watch. That’s fun. For me, this park is safe. That’s why I like it.

In Mexico, you have to work one week for ten dollars. Here you can make ten dollars in one hour. That’s the reason why a lot of people come to this country, to change their lives. Now I have food. I have a car. I can work, and my son is working, too. He works at Dairy Queen in Edina and I work at a warehouse in Shakopee.

My wife does everything for me. Cooking, doing laundry, cleaning the house. When I come home from work, she’s got my dinner ready. I told her if she wants to work (outside the home) she can, but she doesn’t want to and that’s fine. Right now me and my two older sons are working, so it’s not necessary that she works. She can stay home. I know how to cook soup or rice, maybe. The more easy food. But if there’s something I really like, she makes it for me. I appreciate that. That’s why every weekend I tell her ‘No cooking, I can buy us something.’

She loves me a lot and she watches out for me and our boys all the time. Since we married, she and I have never been separate. No days, no hours, no nothing.”

Listen to Roberto’s story:

Images and content are reposted with permission from Stephanie Glaros/Humans of Minneapolis.

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