My Name is Y… <em>the</em> Y

I had my first swimming lessons at the Y — well at “La Guay” since that happened in Mexico — I also saw my older brother get kicked in the face by a girl during a Karate championship, his nose bled; I played dozens of basketball games too in various locations in Mexico City. It wasn’t until I was old enough to party that I learned that the Y’s full name was actually YMCA through the Village People, and it wasn’t until later that I learned it stood for Young Men’s Christian Association. Being Jewish it baffled me for years that they allowed me to swim there or that they allowed my brother to get kicked in the face — being Jewish in Mexico means young Christian men don’t swim in your JCC (Jewish Community Center) and they don’