White peacock

The summer after my first profession back in 1974, I went to Mexico City for a six-week course in Spanish. One of my classmates was a college student from California. I believe his usual name was Rick Moreno, but we used Spanish names and so called him Ricardo.

He came to mind the other day because a place near us has a white peacock.

That summer in Mexico and for two other summers later, I lived with the Carmelite friars at the Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, often popularly known as La Sabatina. The monastery was directly across from Chapultepec Park, which had a zoo among other attractions in its extensive grounds. As students, we made more than one trip to the zoo to practice conversation. There was a beautiful white peacock that strolled around with its tail in full display.

I always commented on the peacock, and Ricardo would tease me that I was prejudiced in favor of white things because I was so white myself. His last name, Moreno, means dark or brunette, and he was. Our Lady of Guadalupe is often called La Morena, because the appearance of the image on the tilma is of a young woman with dark skin and dark hair.

Anyway, I always denied I was biased against dark people, although I had grown up in the discriminatory south during the segregation era. At least, I hope my biases have grown less influential over the years and that I do not let them influence me in negative and destructive ways when I become aware of them.

But our neighbor's white peacock made me think of Rick Moreno out there somewhere. I hope he is well.