damian trujillo: hello, a"comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today we celebrate los tres reyes magos, the three wise men. they're in our studio on your "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: well, at first, we wanted to bring the story to you here on "comunidad del valle" once again, the exhibition of teotihuacan at the de young museum again is up and running. it's going to end soon, so we want to make sure that we get you all out there. here is our recent interview with one of the curators there at the museum. damian: it's called "teotihuacan: city of water, city of fire," the new exhibition at the de young museum in san francisco. with me on "comunidad del valle" is raquel garcia del real to fill us in. boy, you sent us some very fascinating pictures and images. describe what you're doing to take us to teotihuacan

in at the de young. raquel garcia del real: yeah, so this exhibition is really, really unique. it's about over 20 years of collaboration with mexican government and el inah, which is the national institute for anthropology and history. and what we have for you at the museum is over 200 artifacts, many of them recently excavated, new findings, so stuff you have never seen before from this city of teotihuacan, which is a city that is in central mexico and it predates the aztecs. this city was flourishing around the year 400 common era. and we have beautiful murals from them, we have objects made up of obsidian, seashell, jade. and this exhibition is really good 'cause it's really showing you a lot of their culture and a lot of the art that they were producing, but also how teotihuacan was a city.

damian: now, i've been to teotihuacan, i've climbed one of the--or walked up to one of the pyramids there. raquel: yeah. damian: talk about [speaking in foreign language] talk about how you feel when you even talk about teotihuacan, and the history of it, and how it takes you back to your early ancestors. raquel: yeah, well, a lot of us, a lot of people have gone to teotihuacan. you've gone up the pyramids, you've walked down the street of the dead, gone to the sun pyramid, the moon pyramid. but it's really interesting to come to the exhibition and see the art that was being made, and think about the people who lived there. they're the early american ancestors, and it's--and right now, teotihuacan is a unesco heritage site. so, it's really part of the latino heritage, and i think coming to see the exhibition and learning about the people who lived there, what were they doing, and how big teotihuacan was. it was a city had over 100,000 people. damian: talk about how sophisticated maybe the population was because when you start thinking of indigenous

cultures in the western hemisphere, you think, well, they weren't as sophisticated as the european. but talk about how sophisticated the culture and the people were back then. raquel: well, first off, the city, there was extensive urban planning. the city is aligned on a grid system, and it has this major avenue. so, obviously from the beginning, they knew what they were doing. and it was also not just like--it was an economic hub, but it was also a cultural and religious hub. so, people from all over central mexico and all over mesoamerica, even from the mayan region, from guatemala, yucatan, they were--they knew about teotihuacan and they were trading with teotihuacan. so, it was this very, very huge metropolis. it had a lot of extensive network. and their main, main trade item was obsidian. mesoamericans, people from the americas, did not have metal. but instead of metal, they worked with obsidian, which is a

volcanic rock, and they could make any sorts of tools with it. so, that was part of their major source of economic trade. but they also had extensive trade with regions from oaxaca, people from zapotec regions, people from veracruz, and the mayans. and they were trading seashells, they were trading jade, feathers, cacao. so, this is more--teotihuacan was more of this big metropolis where people were also coming in for the religious aspect of it 'cause the pyramids in teotihuacan were temples of worship. damian: and how much did astronomy play in designing teotihuacan? i mean, you're not a historian, but you know a lot about it, a lot more than i do. but i'm sure astronomy played a lot in it. raquel: yeah, and that's a great question. and there's extensive research done about it, and there are many theories and hypotheses where definitely, like, astrology, the stars, the sun and

the moon did play major roles in the organization of this city, in the layout of this city. and, but those are discoveries that we're still trying to--trying to figure out 'cause as we're learning more about teotihuacan, it's actually not answering more questions, it's creating more questions for everybody. so, that's one of the great things about coming to see the exhibition, that it's--after you see the exhibition, you see the artworks that were made in teotihuacan, it's kind of like, "i want to know more." like, "i have more questions now. who are these people?" so. damian: well, it's a beautiful exhibition over at the de young, and there is the web address for more information. and it runs through february, right, february 11? raquel: february 11. damian: it's fascinating, the exhibition at the de young. in fact, i learned from that that my ancestors were from teotihuacan, and then after the big fires, they migrated south, or i should say north to the town of--or the state of guanajuato in a town called chupícuaro. so, very fascinating.

up next here on "comunidad del valle," the three wise men, los tres reyes magos.

the three wise men are on our show. well, it's about time at least one wise man was on this show. with us here, we're celebrating el día de los tres reyes magos. with me is gabriela sepulveda. she's an entertainer, she's been on this show before here to tell us all about the celebrations at the children's discovery museum here in san jose. we have the tres reyes magos, three wise men behind me, and la rosca de reyes. welcome to the show, everybody. gabriela sepulveda: hello, thank you for having us. damian: and gabriela, you brought with you melchor, gaspar, y baltasar. gabriela: yep, in the flesh. damian: talk about the celebrations for those who might not understand the three wise men, la leyenda. talk about if you can briefly. gabriela: yeah, of course. you know, it's a beautiful tradition. i've heard a lot of it from my parents, they're latinos, right? so, it's mainly celebrated in latin countries. but pretty much it's this idea that, you know, you put up, you know, a shoe, you know, by your door at night. and then you write a letter to los tres reyes, like

oh, i would like this and that, or i would like this, you know. and then they will bring you a gift. so, that's how it works. from when i've heard from my parents, they take it really seriously. it's even more important than, for example, santa claus. damian: well, because i know that we've celebrated the holidays in mexico when i was a kid, and it wasn't about santa claus, it was about los tres reyes magos. and so, talk about the significance historically about los tres reyes. gabriela: yeah, well, of course. well, i mean, they were the ones, you know, that with christ, right, that went and brought him the gifts when he was being born. so, it's a really--you know, it's religious in a way, you know, of course, but it's also very spiritual, very spiritual. so, i think it's a beautiful tradition. and it also, like you said, it ties in historically to, you know, historical events that really happened. so, it's beautiful, and i think it's really cultural. and like i said, because it's so cultural and we live in such a diverse community, events like these really bring people together and really educate them on these different cultures. it really brings awareness and appreciation to that, which is really important. damian: yeah, and so, the three wise men will be with you--or are with you this entire weekend at the children's discovery museum.

gabriela: yes, and i actually get to sing a song with them on stage, which is "los tres reyes magos." so, it's a beautiful event, i love that part of, you know, being with them on stage. it's wonderful. damian: you might give us a small taste of that in our next segment, so you're going to be with us for a couple of segments. but this is a whole weekend. i mean, it's been all about this celebration. gabriela: it's the sixth and seventh of january. so, the event, it starts off on saturday, it's from ten to five in the afternoon. and on sunday, it's from 12 to 5. i will be performing on saturday after two. so, it's wonderful, you guys can't miss it. there's going to be so many activities that you can do, like you know, do papel picado, you know, traditional latin crafts. or like try la rosca de reyes, right, which is absolutely delicious. as well as i will be performing. like i said, there will be lots of music and entertainment. and you'll also be able to make tortillas and try them, yummy yummy yummy, yeah. and also make muñequitos, you know, from the leaves of corn leaves. so, it's wonderful, and you get to learn so much. damian: now, you've done this many times there at the discovery museum.

talk about the reaction on the faces of those who are not latino, who are there to witness and, i mean, i'm sure that they're drawn to it, and in awe, and looking at the three wise men. gabriela: yeah, when i'm performing, i absolutely love seeing people, you know, from different cultures and different ethnicities. you're going to be there and be--you know, me singing my mariachi songs, and be able to see their faces, and be like, wow, you know, like in a way like in awe, right? like, "wow, this is so beautiful." or like people coming up to me and being like, "wow, i love your dress." because i do wear, you know, long, you know, big, traditional mexican dresses. and they really do like it, and it's such a beautiful and it's such a warm energy. and let me tell you, it's the 20th anniversary, and we have a special treat for you guys. this year, we're going to have a camel and a donkey, a real life camel and donkey. so, it's going to be amazing, you guys can't miss it. it's going to be awesome. damian: what does that say about how we celebrate cultura? because it's not just--i mean, some people might think it's a religious celebration. it's cultura-- gabriela: definitely more. yeah, no, it's totally grown to me a more cultural things. and like i said, you do so many like--in this event, not only you're going to be in with the three kings,

but there's going to be, you know, papel picado, and everything, and traditional, you know, mexican food. you're going to try tortillas and la rosca de reyes, so it's all things like that that really come together and really makes such a beautiful event, just being, "wow, wow, this happens," you know. or compare and contrast like, "oh, i do this in my culture and this does." but it also goes with the whole goal of the museum, which is inclusion, right, and respect for everyone in our community. damian: yeah, absolutely. well, there's a significance to the bread, the sweet bread we have here. it's called roya--rosca de reyes. we're going to explain that in our next segment. and also, we might get a taste of what gabriela here is going to sing there at the celebration. but it's happening, it's been happening all weekend, so you'll want to make sure that you are headed out to the children's discovery museum. it ends at 5 o'clock there today, and so there's a web address. we'll be back and hear a little bit of music and song by gabriela sepulveda. stay with us.

magos, and gabriela sepulveda here on "comunidad del valle."

briefly before you give us a little taste, this is called la rosca de reyes. and what you don't want to do-- maybe you do want to get the monito. talk about there's a monito inside, there's a baby jesus inside. gabriela: yeah, i mean, i think that's what makes it so fun. that's one of my favorite parts of this whole tradition because essentially, right, you cut la rosca. and then they're like--in this case, there's two, there's two hidden baby jesus' hidden in here. and if you get it, the thing is that you have to do una fiesta, right, which i believe is the second of february, right? so, es el día de la candelaria, i believe. i hope i pronounced that right, but yeah, so it's amazing. so yeah, so it's a lot of fun. and you know, you make tamales or do, you know, whatever you want. and i love that tradition. it's really about bonding. damian: so, it's somewhere around here is the little baby. but you don't want to bite too hard into it because you might-- gabriela: oh yeah, of course not, we don't want that to happen. damian: and so, give us a taste of what you'll sing. gabriela: well, this is la canción, this is the song of los tres reyes magos. [singing in foreign language]

[singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] damian: yay, beautiful, que bonito. oye, at what age did your parents say-- [speaking in foreign language] gabriela: oh my god, i was little. i mean, they would call me the showgirl because i would make parties at my house. i would sing selena, i would put on--i would make skits. and i actually recently debuted on a telenovela, which is funny because i'm more of a singer, but now i recently made my debut as an actress. so yeah, actually went for telemundo, it was incredible and it was wonderful, it was a wonderful experience.

damian: the last time--or the first time you were on the show, you were about this big. and now, "mira nomás, ya hasta me ganaste." but what has kept you doing in, you know-- gabriela: definitely my passion for what i do. and also the love that i receive for my followers and my family especially because, you know, this career is-- it's really complicated. it's not an easy career. you need to have lots of passion and lots of, you know, discipline and really wanting to, you know, succeed in this career. so, because of their motivation and they're constantly always, "you know, you can do this." and you know, my followers saying, "you know, you got this." it's just that motivation that you really need, you know, to get up every day, you know, get started working, start practicing, and getting, you know, work done, so yeah. damian: well, again, it's happening at the children's discovery museum all weekend long. it ends at 5 p.m. on sunday, so make sure you head out of that. any final thoughts, gabriela, before we let you go? gabriela: yeah, i mean, events like these really bring the community together, and it's really important to, you know, just learn from everyone that forms a part of it. and like i said, respect is important, and events

like these really open your eyes. so, look at the long-term. you know, look at how your children will react, you know, when they see, you know, all this culture. and being able to know--like i said, open their eyes and be able to, you know, grow in appreciation for another person's culture or their own. damian: yeah, that's beautiful. and finally, i mean, these are the mexican santas, right? gabriela: yes, mexican santas. i love that, yeah, the mexican santas, it's perfect. damian: well, thank you so much. gabriela: thank you. muchas gracias. damian: three wise men here on "comunidad del valle," all weekend long at the children's discovery museum for their great celebration there, los tres reyes magos. and there is all the information on your screen. thank you so much. up next here on "comunidad del valle," we'll continue with more interviews, stay with us.

in your comunidad on que pasa. ♪ ♪

damian: and happy birthday to our compañeros. ♪ ♪ damian: and here is our contact information. you can follow me on twitter, my handle is @newsdamian. also, pick up a copy of el observador newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday before you head out to the children's discovery museum for the celebration de los tres reyes magos. we're going to leave you now with an interview. we wanted you to meet once again, in case you missed it, the new mexican consul general right here in san jose. pasa usted. damian: he is the new mexican consul general here in the city of san jose and surrounding counties. juan manuel calderón is my guest here, el distinguido.

a graduate of unam. welcome to the show, sir. juan manuel calderón: thank you very much. damian: and welcome to the south bay. your thoughts, first. you've only been here a few weeks, what are your thoughts on-- juan manuel: i have 3 weeks in san jose, the city of the silicon valley. it's a beautiful city. and we have many, many things to do in this beautiful city. we cover four counties. this is the mexican consulate, but you know, we have 15 mexican consulates around the united states. in california, we have 10 mexican consulates, but i am proud to be in this beautiful city. damian: and you've--i mean, your diplomatic duties have taken you across this country. you've been in seattle, you've been in different parts of this country. juan manuel: yes, and my first assignment was in seattle, washington, in 1992, long time ago. my son was born in seattle. damian: is that right? juan manuel: my second was in san bernardino, california,

my little daughter born in california. and then i was in mexico city, i was in caracas, venezuela; miami, florida; chicago, illinois, and the last assignment was in tucson, arizona. damian: are they the same needs, the same needs in those different parts of the country, or is every region a little different? juan manuel: well, every mexican consulate has similar characteristics, but it's a different work. for example, if you are at the border, at the mexican consulate, the border in tucson, it's different work that you have in san jose. it's more protection at the mexican border, and here it's more issues of consular service. damian: and so, the president says, "i need you to go to this other city," and the senator approves your assignment.

you don't have a choice, you're going. juan manuel: yes, i have to. i belong to the mexican foreign affairs. damian: okay, office of foreign affairs. juan manuel: yes, if--i don't know, if the president says, "you have to go to china," i have to go to china. but they decided to send me to san jose, i think it's a very good decision. damian: i think it's for both of us. how much do you miss mexico, though, to live there and to smell the smell? 'cause it's a--i mean, you land at the benito juarez airport, and it's a completely different smell, it's a smell of culture, it's a beautiful scent. juan manuel: we miss many things. i miss my little granddaughters. i have two granddaughters. but you know, my job is to be here, i have to be here. i enjoy everything in mexico, but also i enjoy it in any place in the world. if you belong to the mexican foreign affairs, you have to, how do you say, to enjoy your job, to help the people,

to give the best for the mexicans as a mexican citizen. damian: what is your vision for your office here? i know, again, it's only been 3 weeks and you're still trying to look around and assess and see what's working and what might need a little tweaking. but what's your vision for your office? juan manuel: my vision is to cover all the mexican consular services for my community, to give the quality service to the mexican community and the foreign community. like, the american citizen, they want to go to mexico to do some business, or to work or study, to give the best that we can do at the mexican consulate. damian: you've sat around, i've seen a lot of pictures, you were getting around. you've been to radio stations and newspapers, and you've met news directors and everybody else. how important is that to be able to hit the ground running and meet the people who you're going to be dealing with? juan manuel: and what's important is they have to know

that the mexican consulate is in san jose, and we have to work with anybody, in any ways, political, tourist, do commercial promotion, and for the most important to give the protection to the mexican citizen in this special area. damian: all right, well, the mexican consulate is in south san jose. there is the address and the phone number for more information. your office is very busy because i see the twitter posts, i see the facebook posts. you're working early in the morning, late in the evening, you're working on saturdays. how vital is it to be able to provide that service? because i mean, a lot of our paisanos, they're working until, you know, the late hours, they're working on saturdays sometimes, so i guess you're trying to extend those hours to services. juan manuel: well, let me say that, for example, we have what we call consulado mobil. we go to, like, salinas. we go until saturday, on sunday, we give you the service to provide the mexican community.

we have to work, we have to give all services to the mexican community to know that we can--they can reach us to get the consular service. damian: talk about your commitment to your conacionales, your paisanos, and the fact that maybe if they come into your office, your office as a consulado, they're the priority, they're first. it's whatever their needs are, and your staff is there to assist them. juan manuel: yes, of course. yes, the idea is if you went to the mexican consulate, you are a mexican citizen or you are american citizen, you go for something. the idea is if you want to get something from the mexican consulate, like matricula consular, a mexican passport, or you want to know how to do business in mexico as an american citizen, we can help you. the idea is to give the best service for everybody who goes to the mexican consulate.

it's my vision, it's my target to give the quality service to the people who go to the mexican consulate. damian: we talked to--we've had your predecessor here many times before. and his duties kind of changed after the presidential election in this country. it was more invigorated. talk about maybe how busier the consulates across the nation have been since the election of our new president here in this country. juan manuel: well, i think that all the consular--mexican consular in the united states, we keep it busy all the time, especially when we have a new administration in the united states, for everybody, for anything, but especially for protection of the mexican community. we have to go to where the people work, we have to work where the people study, we have to work for anything. we have a program to visit mexican citizens

in jail or at the hospital. but we keep busy all the time, but especially when we have a new--the new administration. we have to see what happens our people. damian: how important is it to get that message from the mexican president to the different consular offices and say, "here's some money you need to--for your legal defense, if you will, of our conacionales in the united states"? i mean, because what the president did--what the mexican president did after our election here, he threw resources and he ordered the consulates that don't forget about their mission is that the mexicanos are foremost. juan manuel: yes, we have this kind of special program, but before we have similar programs, but today we give you more budget for covering this kind of service that we have already. damian: you have--is your family here?

because i know that since you're traveling and all, you say your grandchildren are still in mexico? do you have some family here, or how does that work? i know it's difficult. juan manuel: not right now. my wife is in mexico city. i live in san jose alone, but they are going to come in to visit, and maybe they are going to live in san jose. damian: all right. what is it that you miss most? is it tacos ola, is it el tenampa, or is it cicero's, what is it that--what restaurant do you miss most in mexico city? juan manuel: my house. damian: ¿verdad que sí? juan manuel: yes. damian: well, that's great. any final thoughts from you in being in this new assignment as a new mexican consul general here in these four counties that you cover? juan manuel: i say--would like to say thank you, damian, for this kind invitation.

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