Pati Ruiz discusses her reasons for making a radical change in lifestyle and moving to the Sierra Gorda:

I grew up with all these values: at my home it was very important to be well-dressed and, you know – all those values, consumer values. A car with six months of use – it was old. Yeah, we had to have a new car.

I became part of that society that gets together every Friday for dancing, for drinking, for surface talking. And I enjoyed it for a while – me and my husband, we just loved that type of life.

But after awhile, I just got enough. And I thought, "God, if that's what the life is gonna be for me, I quit!" And it was an emergency – it was not easy, because I loved the life we used to have. But on the other hand, it was an emergency to take my children out of there, and not to let them grow with those values.

We just had a chance to make a decision. We were looking for answers too – mainly in our spiritual need. If you don't do the changes, you don't have the right to look for the truth anymore.

We decided to move to the Sierra to a place where my husband was born, and we had already built a cabin – thinking [of using it] in summer, or vacations, or weekends. I just closed my eyes and went to the Sierra, like jumping off a cliff.

Return to Pati Ruiz's Story