Sandra and Moshe Guakil’s love story began nearly 1,500 miles from their Phoenix home.
Moshe, 53, traveled from San Diego to his birthplace, Mexico City, to meet Sandra, 49. Giving them two teenage daughters, their union came about because their parents had long urged them to marry within their faith, the married couple of 22 years told The Arizona Republic.
The Guakils are among Valley Jews with ties to Mexico, a country that made history on Sunday when it elected its first president of Jewish background. Claudia Sheinbaum, 61, was projected to win after a preliminary count on Sunday night showed she was leading with 58% to 60% of the vote, according to Mexico’s National Election Institute. A climate scientist and a former Mexico City head of government, Sheinbaum is set to become Mexico’s first woman president upon her Oct. 1 inauguration.
For many Mexican Jews living in Mexico and abroad, this historic election has shone light on their own experiences, as her roots share a close resemblance to their own.