I remember the first time I met Tinky’s family. It was Easter 2005 in Acapulco. I was very nervous since I didn’t know what to expect and after all of Tinky’s wonderful stories about her family, could it be as good as it sounded? The whole event reminded me of the movie, “A Walk in The Clouds” which makes Tinky laugh every time I mention it.
Meeting the family, extended family and everyone who orbited the Gonzalez de Castilla and Primelles household was a joy to a new comer like me and everyone made me feel right at home, especially Tinky’s mom and dad.
After meeting Luis, he reminded me so much of my own father, as we bonded over football, learning the history between the Manila-Acapulco trade where we spent countless hours over beers and cigars over the years. We also talked about his passion as a hotelier and discussed the quality of service of restaurants and hotels we visited – his last visit to Manila included a visit to the MaCallan bar in Solaire and was a joy for him as, from what I felt, reminded him of those days gone by. On some occasions when talk veered to the hotel days, we would talk about the American Express ad he did in the early 80s.
It was then that I knew the man who was to become my father-in-law and eventually someone I considered my own father to be such an important part of my life.
Luis was a kind, generous, and gentle person. Even after battling MS for over 18 years, he stood tall and was more elegant than most people I know, and he never let his illness bother him nor did he allow it to bother anyone around him. He was always generous that way. Anyone who knew Luis will say so and will surely add, “he is such a gentleman, muy elegante”.
You could tell from the stories he told of his childhood with his best friend Alejandro, Tinky’s godfather, to the way Luis spoke to the shoeshine person in Polanco in front of Galileo. You could hear the sincerity in the tone of his voice when he asked you about your day to wanting to know about your work or what you thought about the last Clasico and the prospects of Ronaldo next season. You never saw he was feeling bad because he never wanted you to see; he always had a ready smile and wanted you to feel comfortable around him.
When his grandchildren went to visit, they always checked if their Pitti was in his favorite chair to make sure they said hello before going off on their daily romp with Mimi and Paula. He would always look at them with fondness, including Diego who would try to dial Mimi and Pitti on Facetime at odd hours – but Pitti and Mimi always had a big smile no matter the time difference.
It was a pleasure to spend our holidays in Mexico with the family because I always looked forward to those conversations or watching his favorite PBS shows together or shocking him with my latest taco adventure in the park. I think he was always curious how far I would take my food adventures and based on an early foray for pig ear and snout tacos and tacos de cajuela, I think he was most impressed. Especially when he saw the amount I was having for breakfast one morning standing on the corner of the park, alone, chatting with the old lady from Michoacan about her food.
Our relationship grew stronger as the years went by - from the wedding, to the birth of our first son, Diego, and the births of his other grandchildren – baptisms, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries to all of the family events in between, including the passing of his own father, Emilio, a few years ago. I am honored to be considered part of the family and a son to him and Marianne and to share the joys and sorrows a family has in its lifetime.
Today, he will be sorely missed by his wife, Marianne, daughters Tinky and Paula, his son Luisito and grandchildren, Diego, Alvarito, Andres, Paulita, his sons-in-law Alvaro and myself, his brothers and sisters – Mini, Pablo, Ana, Emilio and Fernan, his work friends, his expat Polanco gang from all over the world, but more importantly, Pepe who will never know his Pitti but will learn all about his life through the funny stories that the family always has at the ready when we talk about his love for the movie “Oh brother, Where art thou,?” to Willie Nelson to his fondness for cigars to the history of the GdCs in Vera Cruz and the Quatro Quadra hat or their Cuban heritage of his mother’s family to the many stories of the “occasional” back-seat-driving that Tinky, Paula, and Luis complained about but secretly enjoyed.
We will miss Luis when we remember the trips to Houston, the road trips to Acapulco and around Mexico, the recent big family trips to Asia and France and finally, to the place where he wanted to retire – Fussen – where he also spent his last days. There are too many things to count.
Luis taught us so much about life through his strength, his humor, his frailty, his perseverance, his passion and his love for his family as these will always remain a constant reminder on how to live our lives full of kindness, generosity, and happiness.
I came across this poem which will always remind me of the gentleman and the path he laid out for the future because Luis simply and deeply loved and cared for his family and friends.
I will forever miss you, Papi.

The Bridge Builder
BY WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”


The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”