Beatriz L—pez Gargallo, consul general of Mexico in Nogales, Ariz., was appointed Jan. 16 to the rank of ambassador by Mexico's President Felipe Calder—n.

Beatriz L—pez Gargallo, consul general of Mexico in Nogales, Ariz., discuses her long road to an appointment as ambassador by President Felipe Calderon.

But she won't be going anywhere. L—pez will continue to serve as her country's consul general in Nogales, said Dalya Salinas at the Mexican Consulate.

The title of ambassador is the highest step on the career ladder of the Mexican Foreign Service and requires a presidential appointment, L—pez said. She was one of five service members elevated to ambassador.

L—pez was raised in Puebla, Mexico, and graduated with a degree in international relations from the University of the Americas in Cholula, Puebla.

"I always liked to travel and get to know other cultures," L—pez said. She has added several languages to her native Spanish - English, Italian, French and a little Greek.

She has served the Mexican government in posts in Denver, Colo.; El Paso, Texas; San Diego, Calif.; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Athens, Greece; and Houston, Texas.

She began her job as consul general in Nogales in May 2005.

"There's no bad post," L—pez said. "I have met good people in all my assignments."

Employees don't always get their first choice of posts, but go where they are needed.

"It's the spirit of the service," she said.

The consulate aids Mexican citizens living in the United States with all kinds of matters, L—pez said. Her territory covers Santa Cruz County, the ports of entry at Nogales and Sasabe and north to Green Valley.

Her office issues documents - passports, birth certificates or a transfer certificate to enroll U.S.-born children in Mexican schools. The consulate also tries to locate missing persons who intended to cross the border and have not contacted their families.

Her greatest frustration is the many dangers faced by Mexican migrants to the United States, L—pez said. "They don't know the desert and they don't know what they are going to face."

During the summer, she and her staff meet with unlucky migrants picked up by the Border Patrol and ask if they want to participate in a voluntary repatriation program.

They show up at the Mariposa Port of Entry at 2 a.m. and work until 3 p.m. seven days a week to offer a plane ticket to Mexico City and a bus ride home to the discouraged migrants.

"These people are very tired and they don't have a cent left in their wallets," L—pez said. "They are endangering their lives."

The consulate tries to aid the migrants with any other needs before they depart for the airport, she said. The shift starts so early because the first bus leaves for the Tucson airport at 7 a.m.

In 2006, the consulate won a "Recognition of Integrity" award from the Secretary of Foreign Relations for its participation in this program, L—pez said.

She encouraged any Mexican citizen in the United States. to contact the consulate for help with any kind of problem. The office is at 571 N. Grand Ave. in Nogales in a green house at the corner of Ellis Street. The phone number is (520) 287-2521. Once a month, the office is open on Saturday.