Biography Hermann Luyken

I was born on March 10th in Cuautla, a mid-size town in the state of Morelos in Mexico. My parents had moved there after marrying. After the birth of my brother Walter though, we moved back to Mexico City where I was raised.

We were raised bilingual. With our mother we spoke Spanish, with our father and his parents German. Among ourselves we preferred Spanish as our whole surroundings spoke so. We also went to the German school "Alexander von Humboldt" in Mexico City. There half of the classes were in German and half in Spanish. I spent my school time there from Kindergarten with 4 years up to the "bachillerato", the Mexican high-school.

Foreign countries always interested me. Therfore I wanted to go to university in a foreign country. Because of my provenience and because I have relatives in Germany the decision was easy. So I came to Karlsruhe (Germany) where I studied chemical engineering from 1979 to 1985.

My time at university wasn't easy at the beginning. I had left a lot in Mexico, my family, my friends and my roots. And this in spite of beeing half German. But with time I got used to Germany and learned to love this land. Now I like living here very much.

After finishing my study I was hired at BASF where I still work. BASF is a very big chemical company. Then, over 50 000 people worked at the company facilities in Ludwigshafen. From the beginning on I worked in the research and development area, at first as a technical support eingineer for experimetal plants and later in the process development. As of now I am working at the development of an intermediate in the production of polyamide (nylon), a resin that can be used for maufacturing garment filaments and is increasingly been used in the manufacturing of cars. I find my work very exciting as the task is varied and demanding.

Shortly after beginning working I met my later wife, Gladys. We married 1999.

As a child my parents gave me a chemical experimental kit for Christmas. This definitely formed me. I find everthing that has to do with chemistry extremely interesting. Because of this I became a chemical engineer.

Another passion of mine is travelling. On my first self-organized trip I was 16. Then I visited my uncle Hans in Canada together with a friend. We travelled by bus from Toronto back to Mexico City and visited cities such as Montreal, Boston, New York and Denver. Later, as a student, I was able to travel through several European countries as a knapsack-tourist. Since I have been working we have been able to afford farther destinations, even as our travelling style hasn't changed very much since my univeristiy times. As such we always travel on our own and stay at affordable hotels. During our trips we have met many nice people who where full of living energy. The nicest where those who had the least.

As a student I jobbed at the computer center of the university to help pay for my living. This was my first encounter with computers. Then there were no PC's and no internet but I soon learnt how to write computer programs and how a computer works. Since then I have a special interest on computers.

Another hobby of mine is playing guitar. Unfortunately I have almost no more time to do this. There is only a limited amount of time available and my job takes quite a bit of it so that many interesting things remain untouched.

And on the sports side I like swimming. I go every day and just feel great since I do it. When we travel one of my main concerns is if there will be a swimming pool where I can do my exercises.

At the meeting of the family association in Bensheim in 2005 I was elected protocol keeper of the family. I always have been interested in my genealogy. As a child I avidly read the Chronikblätter in Mexico. Then everything seemed far away and unreachable. Never would I think that I would participate in a family meeting or even contribute to the association. In order to bring the family members tighter together and to share the available information easier and better I decided to take advantage of the new technical possibilities and to build up this website.

Ludwigshafen am Rhein, 2.10.2005

Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico, 1959
Mother Mireya, and Hermann

Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico, 1960

Mexico City, 1964
Hermann, Walter and Elisabeth

Mexico City, 1964

Mexico City, 1965

Hacienda San Francisco de Paula, Mexico, ca. 1965
Hermann, friends Adela and Dexter Clow,
Walter, Mireya, Hermann and Elisabeth

Hacienda San Francisco de Paula, Mexico, ca. 1965
Hermann and Walter

Mexico City, Februar 1967
Hermann, Elisabeth and Walter

Mexiko Stadt, Juli 1968

Isla Mujeres, Mexico, April 1971
Walter and Hermann

Sunday River, Maine, USA, 10.2.1976

Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico, 21.5.1976
Hermann, Manuel González, Andrés Dehesa, Federico Holländer

Karlsruhe, Germany, 18.9.1981
Student job at the computer center

Agra, India, 23.3.1985

Köln/Löwenich, 14.5.1989
Walter and Hermann

Germersheim, Germany, 8.1989
Hermann, Elisabeth and Walter

Bangkok, Thailand, 10.1.1994
Hermann and Gladys

Ludwigshafen, 25.8.1998
At BASF

Ludwigshafen, 29.10.1999
Civil wedding

Kerikeri, New Zealand, 24.3.2003

New York City, 10.9.2003
Gladys and Hermann

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
16.11.2005

Germersheim, 6.1.2006
Helga, Hermann, Mireya, Gladys and Hermann

Iguazú, Argentina, 17.11.2006

St. Jakobs, Ontario, 2.6.2007
Hermann and Hans

• There is no reality, only the own perception.

• Life is an exciting matter.

Links Hermann Luyken

Internal links
• Birth announcement, family bulletin 1960, page 305 (German)
• Census, family bulletin 1960, page 320 (German)

   Series "Mexico's Contribution to the European Cuisine"
• Avocado, family bulletin 1993, page 41 (German)
• Corn, family bulletin 1994, page 97 (German)
• Squash (zucchini), family bulletin 1995, page 137 (German)
• Paprika (chilli), family bulletin 1996, page 201 (German)
• Beans, family bulletin 1997, page 244 (German)
• Tomatoes, family bulletin 1998, page 342 (German)
• Vanilla, family bulletin 1999, page 418 (German)
• Cocoa, family bulletin 2000, page 478 (German)

• Website Luyken, family bulletin 2006, pager 199 (German)
• Remarks on the Luyken website, family bulletin 2007, page 207 (German)