From the very beginning, you can see dozens of people exercising in an athletics track of one of the sports divisions of Metepec in Mexico. Among all of them stands out a group of athletes who sprint at full speed, while leaving behind the rest of the fans. they communicate with each other mainly in Swahili.
Similar Kenyan bands are easy to find in nearby Toluca de Lerdo, west of Mexico City. This place has become his home in recent years, almost 15,000 km from his home country in East Africa.
Despite the vast distance, Kenyans say that Toluca is not so different from them.
And given that the vast majority of them are professional athletes, they assure that the capital of the State of Mexico has almost ideal characteristics for them.
“Toluca is good because of the altitude, and it’s not as hot here as in other places where it’s more expensive to train. My family lives in my country, almost the same in altitude and climate. Therefore, it was not difficult for me to adapt here, It was like being in Kenya.” says Musa Lemiukei, one of the young runners who came to Mexico five years ago.
The highest city in Mexico
Accompanied by the imposing volcano Nevado de Toluca, the highest city in Mexico, located at an altitude of more than 2600 m above sea level. they make it ideal for training due to the presence of less oxygen.
This causes the lungs to open, the capacity to carry blood increases, and the body works more with less effort when returning to a lower altitude.
For this reason, inspired by the experience of other compatriots, Toluca is the main destination in Mexico, chosen by Kenyan athletes who have moved to the country since the late 1980s. live off competitive prizes.
Many are inspired by the experience of compatriots who already live here. Others chose it because of its proximity to the US, either because they lived there before or because they plan to move to a neighboring country in the future, where it is usually more difficult to settle as a resident than in Mexico.
According to Evanson Moffat, which organizes sporting events, Toluca once welcomed about 100 Kenyans. Most arrived by previously hiring a “Mexican manager associated with the Athletics Federation” who is also in charge of inviting for an entry visa to Mexico, assuming their professional representation in the country.
However, Moffat currently believes that the number of compatriots in the city will not reach 30.
“The pandemic forced many people to leave because they stopped running marathons and had nothing to live on. But now we hope they will come back.” – Businessman who moved from Kenya to Mexico in 1998 with a dream “see live mariachi” and are interested in learning Spanish.
learning from childhood
After an hour and a half of intense exercise in Metepek, a group of Kenyans change clothes while chatting and joking with each other.
José Gutiérrez, a young man of only 20 who already competes in some competitions, is the only Mexican who has trained with them.
“I met them in Alameda in 2000. [el parque de Toluca donde suelen correr principalmente] and now I accompany you on Monday and Wednesday because they are very good. Especially Hillary, although now I don’t think she’s running anymore,” he tells BBC Mundo.
Hillary Quimayo, also present in the group, is indeed one of the most prized Mexican runners in the country and beyond. In 2011, he broke the record by running fastest marathon (42,195 km) in Mexico over a time of two hours eight minutes and 17 seconds.
“We live to run and we run to live”The 41-year-old told BBC Mundo to highlight their exceptional dedication to their training and competition, which they plan to return to sometime after the first level.
“Hillary won it all in Mexico,” agrees Rodolfo Obregón, road racing commissioner for the Mexican Federation of Athletics Associations, when asked about the most outstanding Kenyan athlete in recent years.
“At that time, these runners were very attractive to the organizers. It also sometimes makes Mexicans less interested in participating in tests because, being Kenyans, They think that they will have less chance…”, adds Obregón in an interview with BBC Mundo.
Kimayo has an explanation for why his compatriots usually top the list of winners in so many athletics competitions: the vast distances they had to travel in Kenya as children to go to school, return to eat, and make the same trip back and forth to afternoon.
“In total, you could run 30 or 40 km a day without realizing it was exercise. Now everything has changed, because there are many more private schools, parents take their children by car … You will see that in the future you won’t see athletes like us from Africa,” forecast.
Eliud Kipchogealso Kenyan, confirmed at Tokyo 2020 the Olympic marathon title won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and also holds the world record for the course with a time of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds.
sharp vs. ugali
After training, Toluca Kenyans usually meet at one of their homes to have lunch, chat or just hang out.
This time they are hosted by Kimayo at her home, where several of them prepare chicken and salad with ugali (dough made from corn or cassava flour), which they later taste with their hands. “This is how we eat in our country,” they explain with a smile.
During lunch, Lemiukey says that he could not get used to the spicy, so typical of Mexico. Not to tequila, because “it is strong.” What cost him the most when he arrived was learning Spanish. And what he liked most, according to him, was the friendliness of the Mexican people.
Most of them live in small houses to cut costs. “We make a living by running to win prizes that pay rent and send money to our families,” says the young athlete.
However, the lack of testing during the pandemic has caused serious economic hardship for some of them. “Until familiar Mexicans came with food as a gift. That was amazing”, remember.
Relying solely on competition means a fluctuating income that depends on the classification and type of test.
Lemiukey took home 4,000 pesos (about $195) for the last race he won. However, the CDMX marathon is the most important in the country and in which Kimayo won three times – received up to 550,000 pesos ($26,920) last year.
Stay or return to Kenya
Athletics was exactly what united Kimayo with his Mexican wife. The two met in training in 2011 at a park in Toluca, where she only ran as an amateur.
The curious thing is that, without knowing it, they had already seen each other for the first time three years ago, when she attended the marathon in Mexico City as a public and photographed the one who took first place. After a while he realized that that the winner of the image was her husband.
“We have adapted well despite different cultures in every way,” his wife Yeni Nava tells BBC Mundo when he arrives home after picking up the couple’s two children from school.
While the woman believes that Kenyans are generally well received in Mexico, she admits that at first even her own family was surprised to meet someone “come from afar.”
“When we go to races in small towns, everyone is looking and wanting to take a picture with him. And when I walk with the children down the street alone, sometimes they ask me if they are mine, Explain.
In addition to occasional trips to Kenya, the Quimayo family’s life project involves a stay in Mexico, where Hillary wants to expand the school she opened as a coach and where her children, who her mother defines as “80% Mexican,” are expected to grow up.
At the end of a meal at home, a group of Kenyans relax by calling family and friends or watching TV with news from their country. There is a presidential election this August, and some are discussing about who would be the best option.
Lemiukei, who plans to save money in Mexico until he receives an athletic scholarship that can take him to the US to study political science, is very interested in the topic.
“Governments (of Kenya) promise a lot and then don’t deliver. You can’t drive on the roads in the rain, in my tribe women are still very young and without higher education get married … ”, she says.
“So my dream is to study and return to Kenya. And maybe be the mayor of my city represent people and try to improve what is wrong,” he fantasizes with a smile before returning to the house he shares with other runners.
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Source: La Opinion
Mary Moore is an accomplished author and journalist known for her engaging and informative writing on trending topics. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a keen interest in current events and a talent for finding the human angle in stories, Mary’s writing is always engaging, insightful and informative.