el tercero

Hi, I’m Tony, a life long learner, wonderer, and designer at heart based in Minneapolis. I am a first generation American born citizen and the first to attend college in my family and earn a degree, multiple degrees in fact. I am also a third generation Mexican immigrant. My grandfather immigrated to Texas with his family, which included my father. His family later moved to California where I was born and raised. I am both the third Tony and the third generation of Lopez’s to have lived in this country.

Being the third represents a big part of who I am but it also represents so much more. The number three is represented in sports, religion, literature, cultural beliefs, mathematics, and art. Phrases like hat-trick, the holy trinity, the three little pigs, the genie and his three wishes, good/bad things happen in threes, and third times the charm are all common examples. More specifically three has significant meaning in architecture and design; its the first odd prime number, the minimum number of sides and points that form a shape (triangle), the three dimensions that define space (length, width, height), the three states of an element (solid, liquid, and gas), and the rule of thirds principle.

These illustrate the diverse ways in which the number three holds importance and symbolism across different domains of the human knowledge and experience. For me and my family it signifies the collective struggles, sacrifices, and successes that have shaped our identity and defined who I am today, in Spanish “the third” simply translates to el tercero.