Hector Chacon

Hector Chacon - Iron Man in actuality Hector Chacon is my father and my hero. Ever since my brain could process memories, he has been Iron Man in actuality.

He grew up in Guatemala with his two brothers, Julio and Oliver, and one sister, Lecit. He not only grew up with three other siblings, but was also in deprivation of money. In such a hard life it was easy to understand that he was in search of a better place; a utopia. By the age of 15 he moved to the U.S.A in the small city of Inglewood in California. He attended Inglewood high school without knowing the English language and succeeded (earned straight A's). After he settled down he met a woman and had a son, Joshua Chacon. The rough times were to come soon.

He attended college (CSULB) and raised a child at the same time. Paying for his child, college, house, and utilities seemed impossible, but somehow he was able to prove otherwise. He rose to the occasion. Being an adolescent, I never knew the pain and hard work he put in. It wasn't until I grew older and noticed when he would crash on the bed, when he would fall asleep at 2 in the afternoon, when he would work day and night 4 days in a row, when he would say "I'm doing this for us, I promise one day we'll have a house and a dog and no one could bother us."

Later on through his life, his heart started to fail him. The blood wasn't properly placed throughout his heart and he was sure to die without surgery. I remember crying in the car because I was young and it was the first time I saw my father break into tears and lean his head against the wall and then stared at me, saying nothing but silence. I always had a sense of guilt that somehow his heart problems were present because of me. He finally underwent a very dangerous heart surgery and was able to live.

Through the rough, horrible, morbid, and painful times, he was still standing above all. He stood and he laughs because he knew he would keep his place and never budge, not even a foot. This man is my father, this man is the person who raised me, the person who keeps me sane, the person who makes me insane, the person I secretly cannot stand but love. He is Iron Man in actuality.