Fidel Robles (english)

Fidel Robles
Un Sueño Americano Hecho Realidad
Escrito por  Andrés Neidig

“The Federales are coming!  Call the women!  Get the musicians ready!  I don’t want any dead men!”
         
Don Juan Robles Martinez would call on everyone at his ranch to prepare for the arrival of the Federal troops at his ranch in Las Carreras, Mezquitic, Jalisco, Mexico.  Usually the troops would come looking for young men to either join their forces or be shot then and there.  Don Juan knew this, so he was prepared.  Better to organize a dance and a banquet than to lose his men and women.

Don Juan Robles Martinez was born a little before the start of the Mexican Revolution.  Orphaned at the age of 9 he fended for himself under very difficult conditions.  At the age of thirteen he went to work at the mines in Zacatecas.  A boy still, but working as a man.  After two years at La Noria de Molinos he headed back to Jalisco and with the small savings he had he fulfilled his dream of becoming a cattleman.  He developed his ranch in his hometown of Las Carreras and in spite of his youth he was well liked and respected.  Men older than he would come seeking his advice and counsel.

He married Lidia Ortiz Madera and having survived the atrocities of the Revolution, Don Juan settled into raising his family.  Arnulfo, Fidel, Amparo, Guillermina, Leonila and Juan were his children.  The Robles were having a great life until 1957 when Don Juan passed away.  A year later, Arnulfo, his oldest son was murdered.  Perhaps these tragedies helped shape the future of Fidel Robles who like his dad also lost his father at a tender age and who also like his father would rise to become a leader of his family and a man of honor.  Fidel Robles, son, student, cattleman, immigrant in search of The American Dream.

On November 14, 1947, Fidel Robles was born at the family ranch at Las Carreras, Mezquitic, Jalisco.  His childhood was like many others in his town.  But like many others his young life was also full of responsibilities.  Living in the farm was hard.  There were lots of chores for him and his siblings and the loss of his older brother and father made him mature beyond his years.  He attended grade school in Mezquitic and his mother sent him to junior high school in Valparaiso, Zacatecas.  His family thought he would make an excellent priest and made arrangements for him to attend the Seminary.   

When Fidel arrived in Mexico City a lot changed.  Although he had made a few deals buying and selling cattle at the family ranch, he was amazed by what he saw at La Merced, one of the Capital’s largest market.  He forgot his studies and began his carreer as a business man.  When his mother found out she came for him and told him: “ I have a lot of work for you at the ranch.  You want to study; then I am sending you to Veracruz”.
And off he went to Santiago Tuxtla and Jalapa.  He still remembers with fondness his time at the Seminary and although he did not become a priest he values that experience as one of the best in his life.  In 1970 he decided to move up north and he landed in Denver, Colorado.  The next three years he lived in California and went back to Mexico to marry Josefa Bañuelos.
 
Josefa is a native of Valparaiso and Fidel had known her and her family for some time.  She has nine brothers and sisters and grew during a better time for Mexico.  Well, a better time relatively speaking.  Her parents and grandparents lived during the Mexican Revolution.  Those were hard times.  Mexicans fighting Mexicans.  Brother against brother.  It was common to see families torn by the war.  Josefa’s relatives were rebels fighting against the Federal Government.  General Santos Bañuelos, her grandfather was one of the  Revolution’s big names in the state of Zacatecas.
 
Although life was good for Fidel and Josefa in Mexico he had already experienced life in the U.S. and realized that living in America was what he wanted for his family.  Thus, by 1988 he moved his wife and sons to Denver.  He had been working in construction since 1985 and within two years he owned his concrete finishing company.  Fidel did not want to just relax and have a normal life.  He wanted to make his imprint on Denver. Fidel and Josefa worked for  Shaklee Products, a company that sells a large number of vitamins in the area.  Soon they were promoted to supervisors and were allowed to form  their sales team.  Fidel had become aware that the company was not really targeting the Hispanic community so he and Josefa recruited 35 Spanish speaking salespersons and the results spoke for themselves.

A third job opened up and Fidel found himself leading a maintenance crew in charge of cleaning the Mile Hi Stadium.  And if that was not enough, Fidel and Josefa were also selling jewelry to their friends and family.  It all started when one of their relatives had travelled to Guadalajara, Mexico and brought back some pieces of gold jewelry.  Josefa had invested one of her paychecks to pay for these items.  Their products were well received by the community and El Centenario was born!

Their first location was at 26th and Federal in Denver.  The store is not only a jewelry center but also carries a complete line of clothing for the cowboy.  Brand names such as Wrangler and Levi are common and they also carry one the largest variety of cowboy boots in Colorado with prices starting at less than $100 and up to $650.  Hats are good sellers at El Centenario from straw hats to “Tejanas”.  Horse saddles are also found and reatas.  The jewelry sold at El Centenario is of the highest quality and they also have the services of an in-house jeweler that can make repairs instantly or create original pieces according to the wishes of clients.  Money transfers to Mexico and other countries have been very popular but one of their latest items has been a tremendous hit in the Hispanic business community; telephone cards.  Fidel sells them to 426 stores in Denver and the front range.

“Gracias a Dios”, thanks to God, Fidel comments on the success of his business.  He owns a fair amount of real state in the city, state and in Mexico.  He and his wife have a lot of brothers and sisters.  Because of this, Fidel was able to expand into other areas of town and up in the mountains.  Josefa’s brother, Jesus Bañuelos, operates El Centenario #2 in Lakewood and with his brother Jose Manuel they also run El Viejo Oeste.  Salvador Bañuelos runs El Centavito.  Fidel Robles Junior owns El Centenario #3 in the mountains in the town of Edwards, Colorado.  His brother, Cuco Robles owns El As de Oros in Denver.  Younger brother Omar Robles has been left with the responsibility of overseeing the total administration of Fidel and Josefa Robles empire.  He handles this while he still goes to college where he hopes to graduate in International Business Administration.

Fidel and Josefa have 5 sons; Fidel Jr., Cuco, Omar, Erik and Esau.  Obviously, Fidel Robles the man from Las Carreras, Mezquitic, Jalisco, Mexico, has realized The
American Dream!

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