He fled his home country because they thought he was a “cursed child” and eventually conquered Hollywood

Before living in the capital of Oaxaca, Jimenez had a very unhappy childhood as he suffered discrimination, bullying, classism and racism in the town of Tututepec, which was divided between mestizo and indigenous people , where he had to flee due to two scandals. His innocence aroused opposition from the Catholic Church.

“I come from an Aboriginal family, the son of very poor farmers. I started to feel discrimination when I was eight years old, but I wanted to break that barrier and join the ranks of mixed-race kids, but it was very difficult. They made fun of me because I was the principal at school. Wearing the same clothes for five days and always being hungry.

“Sometimes my mother would ask me to buy a leg of beef and cook it all day long and make soup. “That was my food,” he said doubtfully. “Because my parents never had money to buy bread or meat,” he added road.

The designer recalled that those children were very harsh towards him and that he suffered deeply from their cruelty.

“There was a time when I almost came into conflict with people because I was doing things out of innocence and others were doing things for attention. Neither my parents nor the people could stand these things,” he added. “I was beaten very badly by my father because they complained about me hitting mixed-race kids, because the older kids hit me, and my father hit me because I let them hit me. “Everything was against me, it seemed like everyone was Against me,” he said in a regretful tone.

The consequences of his innocent actions mark his fate. “I did something regrettable that the townspeople didn’t accept because they accused me of it and wanted to lynch me,” he said as his gaze disappeared into infinity, his face Became sad for a few minutes.

He explained that coming from a pagan family, he was unfamiliar with the rituals of the Catholic Church at the age of eight, which caused him great problems.

“One Holy Thursday I saw all the school children walking to church. Followers. When I entered the church I saw they were giving them some cookies or something and I thought that was it. So I kept training until the turn to me.

“They gave me a ‘cookie,’ which was actually the host, so the kids started shouting: ‘Don’t swallow it, don’t swallow it, because it’s a sin,'” he said. “I was confused, I was scared, I spat at her. The whole congregation stood still because of what I had done, but I did it out of confusion. This is one of those scandals with very serious consequences,” he recalled.

Two years later, Jimenez was the subject of another incident that outraged the town’s residents, who began to believe he was a “cursed child.”

He said that when he was 10 years old, he was working as a shepherd to the Infant Jesus in a hotel and discovered what he believed to be a phenomenon: fireworks.

“I saw these lights for the first time in my life and they were like a phenomenon to me. They gave one to every child but not to me. I was surprised and like any child I wanted to experience holding a firework feeling, but no one would lend it to me, and when I asked the child who represented the angel, he said no, and I struck his arm. The light of the spark fell on the sawdust, igniting the altar, and then one house after another caught fire. ,” he recalled.

When the procession arrived at the church, everyone realized that the Baby Jesus had been burned to death, and the church bells immediately rang, announcing the tragedy.

“When we arrived in El Zocalo, people asked who was responsible for the fire, and someone said my name. They said, ‘It was Federico,'” he recalled. “From then on, no one wanted to talk to me anymore, they thought I would always be a ‘cursed child’. They even wanted to lynch me.”

Once he reached legal age, residents decided to send him to jail.

“When I was about 14, the town doctor discovered my condition and took me out of town and sent me to a boarding school in the state capital,” he added. “I slept in a bed for the first time and it was a really good experience, but it didn’t last long because after two weeks they kicked me out of boarding school because I had a head infection and it was contagious Sex.” Jimenez contracted ringworm, a skin disease caused by a fungus that can affect the scalp, skin, fingers, toenails or feet.

To fight the infection, Jimenez was forced to sleep in the square, wash his car, sell newspapers, and clean his house and yard. But there is no evil without good accompanying it.

“Because I managed to scrape together the money for medical treatment, I went back to boarding school for a few years and, to my dismay, suffered bullying even though I was able to work on the weekends because my dream was to go to university.” One woman I was given a mat to sleep on, the only thing I had. I started studying day and night. “Finally I did it,” he said excitedly.

Jimenez’s luck changed when a visitor from Florida offered him a $20-a-month scholarship. “Everything is amazing. With this money I paid for rent, food and books. “I am already an ordinary student,” he commented.

However, he began to feel pain again when he had to greet his family in his room as they arrived in the capital. “They invaded my space, my life. “We were a poor family in a big city and $20 was no longer enough,” he said.

But all was not lost, luck knocked on his door again. Smiling from ear to ear, he said that by chance, he attended a conference of anthropologists where he met his now-wife, Ellen Belber.

“She was of Jewish descent and, of course, she had conflicts with her family because she married me and I had conflicts with my family, but we defended our love and our relationship lasted, unfortunately, 53 years The thing is, Alan passed away a year ago,” he said. expresses frustration.

Today, Jimenez carries Allen’s memory with him, recalling the emotional merry-go-round of his life, continuing to design jewelry and participate in cultural and charitable events, surrounded by celebrities from the environment. Maybe he no longer sees Cher or Beyoncé, but he continues to write his story and work as an indigenous Oaxacan in the United States, overcoming obstacles, shaking hands with celebrities and gaining recognition.

On November 16, the Mexican government will award Jimenez the “Outstanding Mexican of 2023” medal at the Plaza of Culture and Art. This scene will write a new chapter in his film history and will surely give way to the next one. The silver design is sure to be the star attraction.