Foreign Service officers may come and go at the United States Consulate General in Guadalajara but an essential part of the mission’s vertebral column is its Mexican employees.
At the end of last month, Public Affairs Specialist Manuel Bañuelos retired after completing 35 years with the U.S. diplomatic agency. He was the consulate’s longest-serving employee.
For the greater part of his career, Bañuelos served as an intermediary between the consulate and the local media. His knowledge of the needs of journalists hungry for news and the obligations of a U.S. State Department mission made him an invaluable figure.
In a recent interview, Bañuelos noted that the Consulate has almost doubled in size to around 180 staff since he arrived in the early 1980s. He described the relationship between the U.S. and Mexican employees – split more or less 50-50 – as “generally very good,” but noted that locals have to “adapt their personalities” to the cultural differences.
“If you are unable to do this, then you are in the wrong place,” he said with a smile.
Relationships between the U.S. Foreign Service personnel and the facility’s Mexican employees tend to be fleeting, as their tours of duties are normally restricted to three years. Bañuelos, however, has served under 11 or 12 consul generals (he couldn’t remember the exact number), starting with Irwin Rubinstein and terminating with current incumbent Tanya Anderson.
A communication sciences graduate, Bañuelos has witnessed the gradual “professionalization” of the Mexican media over the past three decades, and noted that the consulate has played its part in advancing this goal by offering programs and seminars to journalists.
In addition to dealing with the media, his duties have extended to organizing exchange and speaker programs, and coordinating with the many local and regional groups that the consulate’s Public Affairs Section interacts with on a regular basis.
As for the future, Bañuelos said he cannot see himself inactive. He has been offered some classes and hinted there maybe some opportunities for consultation work.
The Guadalajara Reporter extends its congratulations to Bañuelos on his retirement, and thanks for his valuable assistance and friendship over many years.