Briceli Gil Garcia always feared she’d mistakenly marry a cousin or distant relative.
Coming from a traditionally large Mexican family from a small town in Michoacan state, the South Florida native’s concern was certainly valid.
Luckily for her, a young Puerto Rican man would cross her destiny in late 2008 in the clubs of Tallahassee, Fla. Gil, then a student at Florida State, met Rafael Llavona, who was visiting from Armstrong Atlantic State in Savannah, Ga.
The two had to shout to communicate over the loud dance music, but they immediately connected while talking about Latin American historical figures and philosophies.
Did Llavona ever think he’d fall in love with someone from a different culture?
“Yes, but I thought it was going to be a white girl because that’s all I ever dated before her: white, blonde hair, blue eyes,” he said. But the olive-skinned, hazel-eyed brunette Gil is “the complete opposite. There’s just something about her. Her mind was where my mind was.”
Gil also had one telltale sign that Llavona was the guy for her.
“He was the only one that I had talked tomy mom about,” she said. “He was the first guy I had ever introduced to my parents. And that’s one and done. As soon as I introduce one guy to my family, that’s it. That’s the person who’s going to be my husband.”
They married in 2011 and have recently settled in Fayetteville, where they took up jobsin the University of Arkansas housing department and the UA bookstore.
BORIS AND CATHY
Boris Bogomilov was born in the Soviet Union, and his Jewish mother had always hoped he would marry a Jewish girl.
But after being captivated by James Clavell’s novel “Shogun,” Bogomilov felt more of an affinity toward Asian women.
He grew up in Bulgaria, received his medical degree from the Medical University of Varna and did his residency at the State University of New York at Brooklyn. It was there in 1997 he met the Asian woman of his dreams, another young resident named Cathy Luo.
She came from the West China University of Medical Sciences of Chengdu, Sichuan province. The geographical and cultural differences between the two were not a problem, for they immediately found common ground and mutual attraction.
“What I think actually united us was very common values,” Bogomilov said. “We do believe in education, hard work and honesty. The rest is secondary.”
Also, they were both born to similar political, economic and social climates.
“He grew up in Bulgaria, a Communist country. And in China, we learned the same textbooks,” Luo said. “While he learned the Bulgarian version, I learned the Chinese version, we all learned from the same kind of people.”
But Bogomilov jokingly disagrees.
“In Bulgaria, we consider China the Maoists, and we’re considered the Leninists. So we didnot believe really that the Chinese practiced the true Communism. We thought that we’re the true followers of Marx and Engels,” he said as they both chuckled.
Now firmly settled as doctors in democratic and capitalistic Fayetteville, Luo specializes in pain management and rehabilitation, while Bogomilov practices cardiology and electrophysiology.
They are proud parents of three girls who are growing up with three different heritages and who are encouraged to speak Russian, Chinese and English at home.
FOOD FIGHT
While both of these couples get along very well, the source of discord for each is in the cuisine of their countries.
“Cathy likes it really spicy, and I don’t,” Bogomilov said. “She likesthe Szechuan style, and I like more of the Cantonese style.”
Llavona and Gil have a similar battle of spices, as Gil likes it hot while Llavona’s palate is not accustomed to it.
In Northwest Arkansas, Llavona has a hard time finding the Puerto Rican food products that are prevalent on the East Coast, and Gil is still adjusting to his weekly requests for dishes containing plantains.
The culinary difference is also a source for linguistic battles between the two native Spanish speakers.
One of Gil’s first instances of culture shock was when her father-in-law asked if she wanted “jugo dechina.”
“’I don’t want juice from a Chinese lady,’ and then he was like, ‘Oh, it’s orange juice,’” she said.
Other Mexican versus Puerto Rican battles include naming rights to peanuts (“cacahuate” or “mani”), drinking straws (“popote” or “sorbeto”) and pastry turnovers (“pastelillos” or “empanaditas”).
Llavona jokes that whenthey have kids, she will speak Mexican Spanish to them, but he’s going to “teach them the right one.”
Still, they both agree that the main focus will be teaching the same family values that helped them unite their lives in spite of the borders they had to cross to find each other.
Jose Lopez is managing editor of La Prensa Libre.
Style, Pages 25 on 02/14/2013