Lazalde's brother who was already living in the United States, sponsored him to immigrate. He arrived with his father and found a restaurant job that paid $1.95 per hour.

"I worked for three years, two shifts," he says. "I paid for everything."

Lazalde's father has since passed away, but his mother is well and living here. He also still has relatives in Mexico.

"My vacations, I spend over there," he says. "My kids need to understand where I came from."

For Lazalde, building the road in Mexico is about safety in a town where during the rainy season, a normally dusty road turns to a muddy mess. "It's really bad," he says. "The river is very dangerous."

Before Tres por Uno, there was a one-for-one program, then a two-for-one, he says. Lazalde took advantage of those programs to raise funds to renovate the church and to build a sturdy bridge.

On the outskirts of Santa Rosa, the old road is still visible. It cut through the river bed. Washouts were common, cutting Santa Rosa off from the highway.

As the sun sets in rural Zacatecas, Avila points out projects that have become reality since he took office. A library, a gas station.

But his wife, Monica Esavula, says there's one more thing she needs to show us. She opens the doors of the Sain Alto ambulance, which is empty, except for a stretcher. She points to the empty space where medical supplies should be.

"They're expensive," she says. "Tell them we need this."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com