I remember it as if it were yesterday that he was the heart of the family, always lighting up the mood and making everybody laugh. I was perhaps too young to understand his jokes and goofiness, but it wasn't until when I moved to the United States and would spend every summer back home that we became close. It was during his last years that were the most bittersweet moments of my life. Papa Ponchito, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012. It was also my mother's second year in the United States raising her family. There were no explanations why or ever a cure, just like cancer.

He was a loving father, grandfather, and the kindest human being, lived a long life fulfilled with struggles and happiness