Mrs. Isabel D. Ruiz-Esparza

Isabel Ruiz-Esparza (née Vieira) died in Albuquerque, NM, USA on June  15, 2018.  She is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, Robert Ruiz-Esparza, their daughters Christina Ruiz-Esparza (San Francisco), Andrea Ruiz-Esparza (Washington, D.C); and Amanda Ruiz-Esparza; and son Rob Ruiz-Esparza (a transplant from Nashville to Albuquerque); and her sole surviving sibling, Mariano Vieira.

Isabel was born in 1929 in La Cienega, New Mexico, USA to Carmelita and Jose Vieira; she shared a loving home with her many brothers and sisters.  Her rich family life with the extended Pino family fueled stories she shared throughout her life with family and friends.

Later, the Vieiras moved to Santa Fe, where she attended Santa Fe High School and enjoyed a robust social life.  Before meeting her husband during Fiesta season, she worked at the DeVargas Hotel and the Department of Motor Vehicles in Santa Fe.

Isabel married Robert, the love of her life.  At the time he was an educator and administrator of public schools; and Isabel began her career in homemaking.  They moved to Bernalillo and eventually started their family.  Later, as Robert pursued his career, they moved to Albuquerque, and then relocated to Isabel’s beloved Santa Fe, much to her delight.

As a homemaker, she took what she learned about sewing from  her mother and sisters. She made beautiful clothes for herself and for her daughters; and she enjoyed the focus, creativity, and challenges sewing offered.

She loved music, mostly the popular jazz songs of her youth, a variety of music from Mexico, Cuba, and other parts of Latin America.  She was an exceptional undiscovered singer.  She appreciated the greats, like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand, among others.

While in Santa Fe Isabel became an art student.  She developed a life-long love of painting with oils.  Over the years she painted pieces that reflected her love of Santa Fe, rural New Mexico, and Northern Virginia.  The one portrait she painted was that of the family’s adored and pampered pet, Muggzy.  Isabel viewed the world through the eyes of an artist and guided her children to the same.

Isabel and Robert accepted an opportunity to work with USAID in Bogotà, Colombia.  They were keen to introduce to, and immerse their family in a Latin culture.  They made many life-long friends in the expat community, as well as with many Colombians.

In Bogotà, Isabel and Robert would throw large parties and hire live bands to play Colombian party music.  Isabel, with little coaxing, would join the band and belt out songs to an appreciative crowd.  She loved to dance and with Robert, danced everything from foxtrots to cumbias. She and Robert combed record stores to collect Colombian and other Latin American music.  It was in Bogotà where Isabel discovered her love of the writing (in Spanish) of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, particularly, Cien Años de Soledad.

Isabel and Robert toured Colombia with their children to expose them to the country’s varied landscapes and treasures.  With her kindness, curious nature, and respect of culture she was a worthy unofficial ambassador for the USA.  She and Robert instilled in their children a lifelong appreciation of the larger world, and emphasized to them the privilege of living abroad.

Two years later, the Ruiz-Esparza’s returned to Albuquerque where Isabel focused on raising her family, and honing her painting talent.  Then the family moved to Quito, Ecuador when Robert worked for UNESCO.  Isabel joined the Damas de las Naciones Unidas, and eventually she was elected its president.  Under her tenure, they secured the support of the Ecuadorian Minister of Social Services to underwrite the expense for the Guardía Infantil, a preschool for the children of low-income working single mothers, mostly domestics.  This project provided the healthy food and education to start those children on a stronger footing in life.  As a private resident in Quito, she helped the cab drivers in her neighborhood facilitate installation of a telephone booth at the head of their parking lane; this improved their income and wellbeing.  After that, she never had to wait for a cab.

As in Colombia, Isabel and the family toured Ecuador.  They enjoyed the rich culture of the Andes and continued their collection of Latin American art, artifacts, and musical recordings.  They entertained a lot and enjoyed friendships with the Ecuadorians, fellow New Mexicans, and the expat community.

They returned to Albuquerque, and Robert continued working in the state’s education sector, and Isabel resumed full-time homemaking, painting, sewing, and visiting with nearby friends and family.

A few years later Isabel and Robert moved to the suburbs of Washington, D.C., when Robert began his work for the World Bank.  As in their previous moves, they fell in love with DC and Northern Virginia.  When Robert was not traveling on behalf of the Bank, they visited historic sites, enjoyed good (and mediocre) restaurants as they toured the mid-Atlantic region.  At home Isabel loved attending performances of all types at the Kennedy Center, and continued to paint, sew, and garden.  She enjoyed home life.

Robert’s retirement returned them to Albuquerque.  While they were able, they would strike out to rediscover New Mexico, visit their children around the country, visit Europe, and take weekend trips to Las Vegas.  Isabel liked playing at the local casinos, where she enjoyed some success, or so she claimed.

Throughout her life, and as her health allowed, Isabel maintained close and long-term friendships from the many phases and places of her life, and her beloved extended family.  Isabel did not consider herself a good cook, but her family and friends thought otherwise.  She made the best flan, chile, coleslaw, and couscous, among many other traditional NM and nontraditional dishes.

Among her hobbies was one that she was able to practice throughout her life, solving crossword puzzles.  A modest guess is that she completed a puzzle or two a day.  When living in Colombia and Ecuador, she solved the puzzles in Spanish.  She loved playing Scrabble in both English and Spanish, often making up her own rules.  Linguistically, she was an autodidact.  She was a creative wordsmith with an artistic perspective.  Her sense of humor was immense.

Isabel passed away suddenly, with family by her side.  She was ready to leave earth.  She always expressed her love to her family, and was completely confident in her family’s returned love.  Robert, and her children will miss her, but believe that she is in heaven, reunited with her other loved ones.

The family wishes that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Doctors Without Borders.