Photo by Chad Brady.
Víctor Zúñiga is professor of sociology at the School of Law, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, in Mexico, and co-author of The 0.5 Generation: Children Moving from the United States to Mexico. Before sitting on a panel for the Zócalo program “Are the U.S. and Mexico Becoming One Country?”—presented with Universidad de Guadalajara at LéaLA book fair at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes—Zúñiga chatted with us in the green room about Monterrey, L.A.’s billboard ads, and his research on the “0.5 generation.”
Who was your childhood hero?
At that time it was Jesus Christ. My mother was very religious.
What’s the last thing that made you laugh?
A billboard ad I read yesterday in Los Angeles that said “I’m going to fight for you as a lawyer.”
What do you think is one thing that unites the U.S. and Mexico?
There are a half million children born in the U.S. and living in Mexico. They are binational children—and bilingual, and bicultural—and they are going to be binational adults in the future, U.S. citizens and Mexican citizens at the same time. That’s a very important fact that will unite the United States and Mexico.
Do you consider yourself more of an optimist or pessimist?
In general, an optimist.
How would you describe Monterrey to somebody who hasn’t been?
An industrial and very capitalistic city. People are looking for money. However, we have a very good university.
Where’s one place in Monterrey that you like to go to?
The most interesting restaurant in the world: El Junoco. Its name means that place below a staircase.
What’s one surprising fact you learned while writing The 0.5 Generation?
I have a lot, because we were having conversations with kids. Kids have a lot of stories. For example, one girl we met was born in New York. She was living in a small town in Puebla, Mexico. She was 11 years old. I asked her, How would you describe New York? She said, It’s horrible. That surprised me.
Where can we find you on a typical Sunday?
Breakfast with my grandsons in Monterrey.