Liliana Garcia-Rivera:  

Life I was born in Bakersfield, California. Okay, don't laugh!! I attended McKinley Elementary and Our Lady of Guadalupe before moving to San Diego in 1973. I don't remember very much from McKinley Elementary but I do have fond memories of the good times and good friends I had while I attended OLG and lived on Broad Street(i.e. Michael Behill, Vickey, Pat, Lee, Estella, Carmen). During that year of my life I was known as "Julia." My best school years ever though were at San Diego High School. In high school a lot of people knew me as Smiley. I was in Thee Casulettes girls' club (some of the girls in the club from our class were Marisela Hernandez, Martha Hill, Carolina Hernandez, Lolly Adame, Rosie Magaña). Tony Gastelum was my boyfriend, and I drove a navy blue 1978 Monte Carlo. FAMILY I have two beautiful daughters, ages 11 and 15. The youngest looks like me when I was a kid and the eldest, looks a lot like her dad. Benny, my ex-husband, and I are good friends and co-activists working together with Barrios Unidos Hoy Organizados (BUHO). The man in my life whose pictures you see in my albums is Dino Valdez of Chula Vista, California. He is a software engineer and a sports buff and enthusiast. COMMUNITY One thing remains constant: I firmly believe that in order to have lived a full life I have to give back to my community and my people. I've bounced around a bit, have done the "living in Eastlake/Otay Ranch" thing and am back now in my family home in Sherman Heights. I'm looki...Expand for more