From appearances and backgrounds an unlikely pair – a streetwise Mexican-Italian, fiercely independent and resourceful, shining shoes on the street at age 5, completely on his own since age 13, sometimes without food or shoes, a graduate of the school of hard knocks, self-made and self-taught – a French-English American, brought up in luxury with all the privileges of formal education and white America. Both lonely our entire adult lives before meeting on the salsa dance floor.
What counts are all the things we have in common – a love of the outdoors; distance walking, roller blading, salsa dancing; a passion for animals; common philosophies of life, religion and our place in the natural world; immense respect for each other and for all forms of life; goofy senses of humor. Our home, our haven, is filled with love and laughter, with our many shared memories, sculptured dragon fireplace mantle, wooded yard where we attract and watch various birds, opossums, raccoons; our pet ferrets and fish, our three misfit dogs. Music also binds us as we perform together in a rock band, Celso on drums and Cyndra on guitar and vocals.
Seven years together; health challenges, loss of loved ones, and work issues have only made us stronger. Married for three years, we spend every moment not working together. Not a single day goes by without us commenting about the magical life we’ve finally found. In Spanish, media naranja – “the other half of the orange.” Truly the other half. Cyndra Fye and Celso Torres, Cary
