Cesar Jaramillo and Natalia Castro
Mexico City, Mexico
Fighting The Autism
— Cesar —
So wonderful things happen when you don’t follow the rules. My father married my mother, which is to say my father was the priest in my mother’s wedding ceremony. And they connected; they had a connection. She was with her first husband in her first marriage. I don’t know how long, but it must have been maybe three to six months, and things weren't working out. She sought my father’s counsel and they fell in love. They fell in love, and he decided it was important to leave the church to marry her.
My parents then remarried in the church, which is amazing. It was a wonderful thing. I was their firstborn. Well, I’ve always thought that I was really meant to be. I truly believe it. I don’t think this was a chance happening. I don’t think I was one of a gazillion spermatozoids getting into an egg and then doing this. I think I was meant to be here.
I also think it means you can’t take yourself too seriously and follow the rules too correctly. And finally, I think it means that whether there are institutions, or governments, or people, no matter the circumstances, you should always try to do the right thing and be honest and open. And good things tend to happen, even in the most outrageous circumstances. When you open your heart and you speak the truth, good things happen.
— Natalia —
I cried so much until I was completely, really, I was empty. I had no more tears. And then I said, “I am going to fight the autism.” And since then, I started working just to take him out of where he was. The way I describe it is when you have someone with autism, at least where Jacobo was, the spectrum is wide, but where he was, it was like he was on an island. But it was an island that was not that far away.
When you’re with an autistic kid, you have him next to you, but you can’t reach him. You have him there, but you can’t connect with him. So, his was an island that I needed to reach, and I needed to build a bridge because the sea was so wild that I couldn’t get there. That was so hard. I think only moms with autistic kids can understand what I’m saying.
I really believe that God started putting the right people around us. I felt so lonely because I didn’t know what to do. Right now, there’s more information about autism, but at that time I was shocked. Little by little I started, and we started finding people who helped us, and taught us. We built a bridge and we reached the island.
Daniel’s Reflection
My dear friends, Cesar Jaramillo and Natalia Castro, were among the very first participants in Portraits in Faith 25 years ago when they lived in Caracas, Venezuela. They were so kind in allowing me to make their early portrait when I barely had an idea what this project was about. This was long before they had started their family and long before I started interviewing people on video. So when the opportunity came up for me to interview them in their home now in Mexico City in 2025, I jumped at the chance.
When we’d first spoken about their faith in those early days of their marriage in Caracas, Natalia told me about the power of taking communion. She said that it was like taking the dust off of a lightbulb that enabled her to see God’s light more clearly. Cesar spoke to me about the fantastical story of his father leaving the priesthood to marry his mother and of being the offspring of that great love. Well, 25 years later, both Natalia’s Spiritual Light and Cesar being the product of a Great Love came out in a different story–the story of one of their beloved children, their son Jacobo, who was discovered to be on the autism spectrum. Natalia said, not just on the spectrum but “on an island.”
My friend Cesar is one of the most loving and love-filled people I know. He is constantly attracting to him and to others many blessings and possibilities. And blessings were what happened when he and Natalia decided to fight Jacobo’s autism and to build a bridge to reach their son on his island. The breakthrough occurred when a very random business deal partner turned out to be related to a well-respected autism expert in Israel. Ceasar quit his executive-level position and moved his family to Israel where Jacobo received nearly 24/7 constant treatment in all the best therapies for autism in the world at that point in time. Eventually, they reached that island. Jacobo became aware of his surroundings and began to matriculate into life.
When I met Jacobo in Mexico City last year, I could not tell that he was “on the spectrum” of autism. When it was time to make a portrait of Cesar and Natalia, I was so grateful that Jacobo was home to join them. Two other beautiful children are part of this family; one is now just entering college.
The spiritual lesson in my friendship with Cesar and Natalia is that the combined power of Great Love and the power of Great Intention is a winning, sacred combination. I am so grateful to know their love as long time friends and as fellow travelers of this sacred plane.
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