Manuel Ramirez

by Gretchen Crowe

You can’t miss Manny walking around with his red Denver VOICE vendor vest, with his pony tail and cane, and if you get the pleasure to meet him, he’ll remind you of the nice, lost uncle or brother you think you should have known before.  Born in Denver on May 25, 1950, the last of 11 siblings, Manny still regularly visits his brother, who is 85 and lives on the West Side, as well as his sister, both of whom celebrate their successful efforts to quit smoking.  Manny is set to get housing in June. He vends the paper and patiently stays outside until he is able to move into his residence.

Manny’s family history is unique and interesting.  His mother’s father was from Spain and owned haciendas and ranches in Zacatecas, a city in the silver mining district in Mexico. His mother’s mother was from Chihuahua. They met in church in a very Cinderella-esque story, where his grandmother grew up with very little, and married this very wealthy landowner.  During the Mexican revolution led by Pancho Villa, all his grandfather’s lands and haciendas were taken.

In 1916 Manny’s father, a Mescalero Apache, walked over the border and met Manny’s mother in El Paso, in church.  They were married in Denver.  In a family twist, Manny’s father had actually ridden for Pancho Villa for four years beginning at age 22 before he crossed the border.  He tended the horses and the wounded, and was honored for his service with the same moniker, “Pancho,” a name of respect, earned through brave deeds.  Manny shares his father’s love of horses.

Manny moved to East Los Angeles in 1966, and in 1969-1971, proudly served in the Navy, completing two tours in Vietnam and working in a fuel refilling center for aircraft carriers and their escorts.  Two of his brothers served and all made it home. 

Readjustment was difficult and Manny said he had his last flashback in 1995.  He was in East L.A. for 13 years and then Pasadena for 17 years.  He was homeless a couple of times in California, and said “If you’re going to be homeless, Santa Monica isn’t that bad.  I was beach front for about a month.”

Back in Colorado, Manny became homeless in November 2008, having injured his hand while waiting to start a job at Star Sausage, and by the time he healed, the job was gone.  He couch-surfed for a while, making sure not to overstay his welcome at any given place and he utilized shelters on and off. 

Manny has become a staple with the VOICE. “Since I’ve been involved,” he said, “it has helped me with my self-esteem, my dignity and I haven’t been broke one day. When I get my own apartment, I’m still going to vend the paper; it makes me smile and gives me something to do.”

Manny would like to dedicate this profile to Marguerite Dantico.  Marguerite passed away March 23 and was Manny’s girlfriend of nearly four years.  “She had a heart as big as Texas, and she didn’t even get an obituary,” he said.  Not having a phone, Manny did not know about her passing nor her service.  “The Lord didn’t want me there.  He must have had some work for me to do, but it still hurts,” he recalls.  “I would have done anything for her.”  Please take a moment of silence and remember Marguerite Dantico, and by doing so, celebrate Manuel Ramirez.

Comments

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