ABSTRACT
Though most of my uncles were matones (tough guys), one uncle was different from the rest. Uncle Pepe was not really my tío. I guess he was actually my father’s first cousin, or my first cousin once removed. He was much younger than my father and only about five years older than my oldest brother, Alex. I don’t know exactly why, but we called him tío, and we nicknamed him “Quintos” (Nickels) because he worked and gave us nickels and dimes to buy ice cream, candy, and cards for our albums (pictorial histories). My two older brothers and I were very close to him. Quintos always took us on outings to the movies, plays, parks, or museums. Mostly, though, he took us to Chapultepec Park, where we spent many hours playing and hiking.
