Incredible

Greatest Love

"Well, I was born in Miami and grew up in Little Haiti and Liberty City. We moved a lot when I was growing up. We didn't stay in one place for more than a year like we moved so much that I couldn't even memorize our addresses. I just knew how to get there by remembering everything in the area," Alazne said.

"What was the reason for moving around a lot?" Lourdes asked.

"You know still to this I don't know why we moved so much," Alazne answered.

"What was it like growing up in Miami?" Lourdes asked Alazne.

"It was very hard. I grew up around a diverse group of people and I had an identity crisis growing up because of my mixed background," Alazne answered.

"You're Belizean, Haitian, and Rapa Nui, so I know that must have been hard in Miami especially when back in the days, people didn't like Haitians," Lourdes said.

Alazne nodded.

"Oh yeah, I remember in elementary school a lot of kids used to deny being Haitian because of the mistreatment and discrimination that Haitians faced. I was so confused and my friends would be like 'Don't tell anyone you're Haitian,' and I'm like 'Why not?' But then middle school came around and everyone was saying they are Haitian so," Alazne said.

"I remember those days, I used to fight a lot because of that," Lourdes said.

"So what's your ethnicity?" Alazne asked.

"Haitian-Beninese descent of Yoruba origin, I am Haitian-Beninese," Lourdes said.

"When's the last time you went to Haiti?" Alazne asked.

"2019, it's been a while," Lourdes said.

"I was there in 2022," Alazne said.

"Where in Haiti?" Lourdes asked.

"My mother is Haitian on her father's side so that side is from Pòdepè (Port-de-Paix) and the neighborhood called Trois-Rivieres," Alazne answered.

"Oh, Basen Ble (Bassin-Bleu), I've been to the waterfall over there," Lourdes said.

"Really?" Alazne asked.

"My people are from Jacmel," Lourdes answered.

"Oh yeah that's close by," Alazne said.

"Yeah, so I'm gonna tell you when I found out you were from Miami, I had to make some calls to prepare for this interview and one thing I found out...So I wanted to share something with you that I recently found out," Lourdes said.

"What? We family or something?" Alazne asked.

"Yes, we are. Your mother's father is my father's uncle," Lourdes answered.

Alazne gasped.

"What? Really?" Alazne asked, surprised.

"Yup, I even have a picture to prove it," Lourdes replied as she pulled out her phone to show Alazne a photo of Alazne's grandfather with Lourdes's dad.

"Look at this," Lourdes said as she handed her phone over to Alazne.

Alazne grabs the phone, studies the photo, and nods. "Yup, we family," Alazne said.

"Such a small world," Lourdes said.

"Yes," Alazne said.

"Are you dating?" Lourdes asked Alazne.

"Dating is tricky. Everybody is dating the same people and it's like I don't want to be another checkmark on someone's list, you know, I want marriage and more children," Alazne answered.