The covid-19 took away his father and 7 other relatives 3:45
(CNN) -
The Aguirre family lived the American dream.
Then came the nightmare of the coronavirus.
Over the course of 10 years, the Arizona family developed their business.
They went from selling tamales in the back of a minivan to driving a popular food truck and a successful Phoenix catering business - Tamales and Tacos Puebla - with a long list of corporate and wedding clients.
The problem started when Arizona, like other states, began imposing restrictions on businesses and asking people to stay home in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Almost overnight, Ricardo Aguirre said, the business sold out in March.
Then, despite all the precautions against the virus, a family member fell ill.
Then another and another and another.
Now, seven months after the closure, seven people from the large family of Ricardo Aguirre and his father, Jesús, 67, have died from complications from covid-19.
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"I don't want to cry, because I know that God has something better for me," said a moved Aguirre, 42, as he stood in a trailer that contained all that was left of his business.
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"I feel so incompetent," he said.
Ricardo Aguirre and his family in happier times.
Before closing, the family's food truck business was thriving.
They had a prep kitchen in downtown Phoenix to prepare food for catering.
Cooking is in the DNA of the family.
Aguirre's grandfather owned a bakery in Mexico City and was known for his "superior" French bread, Aguirre said, and his grandmother was a chef at a café in Sanborns, a popular department store there.
Tamales, a star dish on the Tamales and Tacos Puebla menu, were from a family recipe that the Aguirre's say they have perfected.
But within seconds of closing, according to Aguirre, customers began to cancel.
All the jobs that were scheduled for the next year were gone, along with the deposits that customers had made.
"My checking account went down," Aguirre said.
"It was like, literally, a matter of seconds, when I started to see my livelihood disappear."
Hope, as it does, prompted Aguirre.
Maybe the business could open for Cinco de Mayo, she thought, and set up a GoFundMe account in the hopes that "the community could, you know, help us" raise enough funds to help the business get up and running again for the celebration. .
However, on May 1, family members began to have symptoms of Covid-19.
Aguirre, his wife, his parents and two of his three children were infected.
His mother and father had long hospital stays and were eventually intubated.
Although at one point he seemed to be on the mend, Aguirre's father died on September 11.
"It was very difficult because we did everything together," Aguirre said, fighting back tears.
Forty-two years by his side.
His mother still has lung problems from the disease.
"It is not 100%, it is between 60 and 65% better, but it is here," said Aguirre.
Family members were careful, wearing masks and constantly using hand sanitizer, and Aguirre says he has no idea how they contracted the virus.
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With no way to make payments, the family's food truck was seized and Aguirre also lost the prep kitchen.
And without health insurance, Aguirre's family faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, showing CNN bills that approach $ 1 million.
Health insurance, according to Aguirre, was simply not affordable.
"It's literally another house payment," he said.
Aguirre applied for small business loans but was turned down because money for the program ran out, he wrote on the GoFundMe page.
It is not easy to figure out where to go from here.
Aguirre is considering an offer to drive a truck, but that would mean leaving his wife pregnant and his mother sick.
And investing to get the family business back up and running carries the risk of shutting down again due to the projected increase in coronavirus infections during the fall and winter.
So let's say I get another place where I can cook, and they pay me permits and everything.
Flu season is coming.
They say it's going to get worse, ”explains Aguirre.
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Next month, the Aguirre's are expecting their first daughter, and she will be named after her grandmother and grandfather: Guadalupe de Jesús.
"We were ready to have a new baby, because we felt that we were financially and emotionally ready to take care of another human being," Aguirre said.
“Now, with this happening, I ask God to give me the strength to get through another day.
That is all I ask.
When asked about his response to President Donald Trump's tweet that said “Don't be afraid of COVID.
Don't let it dominate your life, ”Aguirre's response was kind.
"May God continue to bless you and your family," Aguirre said.
I don't wish you anything bad.
Nothing bad at all. "
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