Monday, September 7, 2009

R.I.P. Chueco

Marcos Ramirez: missed but never forgotten
by Elma Gonzalez and Omar Arce

Every day twelve teenagers between the ages of 16-19 die from motor vehicle accidents. On Sunday morning, August 30, 2009, these statistics hit close to home when a former SOH Raider lost his life in a car accident. Known by his friends and family as "Chueco", Marcos Ramirez had just graduated from SOH last school year; he was barely eighteen years old. Marcos was coming back from a night out at Tijuana at about 4am, when he asked some friends to give him a ride home. As the the car drove through Camino de la Plaza, it engaged in an improvised street race with another car. According to Sgt. Delimitrios, the cars sped up and just as they approached Dairy Mart Rd. both cars - a Mercedes-Benz and a Toyota- lost control resulting in one vehicle smashing against a pole and the other rolling over to the side of the road. Although the cause of the crash is yet unclear, the fatal repercussions are all too apparent.

Last Monday, August 31, more than 200 students and alumni came together to honor Chueco's memory in a walk to Camino de la Plaza. Wearing white t-shirts, holding flowers, and carrying posters, the crowd walked for 20 minutes and once they reached their destination, an altar consisting of flowers, candles, and pictures of "Chueco" was created. Mrs. Ramirez engaged everyone in a heart warming speech in which she affirmed she "saw Marcos in the face of everyone that attended," and was very grateful for the support and solidarity given by everyone present; but most importantly she took that time to advise everyone present to "learn from this misfortune", to understand that there is only one life and it is up to us to protect it. His dad talked about Marcos' virtues, " He was a great son, he had such an easy going attitude. He never got in trouble. And he always had a great smile on." After such an accurate description of Marcos, tears started to roll out of everyone's eyes. Following these two speeches, Aldo Ramirez addressed his brother Marcos by saying, "I know you are in a better place now." The ceremony ended with one final cheer for Marcos Ramirez, " Chueco! Chueco! Chueco!"


Francisco Soto-Garcia, another alumnus of the class of 2009, was one of the persons who saw him last. "We crossed the border together after the party. He asked me If I wanted a ride. I said no thanks." He never thought that would be that last time he would see his friend Marcos -only fifteen minutes before his death.


We as teenagers sometimes do not think about the consequences of our actions, and it is only with such fatal events that we open our eyes.


Every single person who knew Marcos Ramirez could tell you that he was a great soccer player, a great friend, and that he had many good things coming his way, but the problem with life is that you never know when it will be over; for Marcos it might have been over too soon, but his death was not in vain. Raiders have developed a deep awareness of automotive safety. We now know the consequences of not taking this task seriously. As his mom said, his memory would remain a part of all those who loved him.