Sunday, September 11, 2005

Thanks Pancho

The Cuellar family owned a store in Agua Caliente, Mexico & were living a prosperous life when trouble found them. Everything they worked for & treasured was stolen from them & they were chased from their home and the country they loved. Trouble's name was Pancho Villa.

My Great-Grandfather, Felix Cuellar, was born in Spain. He was a very handsome man with blue eyes & black hair. He moved to Mexico where he met my Great-Grandmother, Simone Martinez; they married and had 16 children. I'm not sure where my Grandmother's place was in the birth order, but when you've got 15 siblings, I don't think it matters.

In Mexico they were considered privileged; in America they lived in poverty. But the Cuellar's were a hard working family & wouldn't give up. When she was a teenager, one of my Aunt's would go to work as a maid & her boss would give her food for her brothers who would be waiting on the street. As soon as they had some food in their stomachs, they ran off to go to work themselves. Even though they had to start over in America and would never again enjoy such monetary pleasures as they had, they found refuge & welcoming arms in America.

When my Grandmother, MamaGrande, turned 16, she eloped with my Grandfather, who was 29 years old. She had my aunt when she was 17 in El Paso, Texas. They had 4 children; my mom being the 3rd. MamaGrande finally kicked my Grandfather out for the last time when she had enough of his cheating.
My Godfather used to tell me that sometimes he'd give my mom & their younger brother lots of water at night so they wouldn't wake up so hungry. Mom was raised with Spanish as her first language, but once she started school, she was only allowed to speak English, unless speaking to her Grandparents. MamaGrande felt this was the best way in order to assimilate.

As a single parent & her oldest 2 children grown, MamaGrande moved out of East L.A. because she didn't want her youngest growing up with the pachucos and gang influences. Mom had to quit high school in the 9th grade to work & help provide for her family.

My parents met & were married in 1946 & have 5 children. 2 of the us have college degrees, 1 has his own business and the other 2 have very successful jobs. My dad passed away in 1993, but he & my mom were wonderful grandparents to 11 grandkids. There are now 2 beautiful great-grandchildren in our family.

I'm a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. I'm sure my ancestors couldn't understand at the time, what possible good could come from their suffering. How could they have known that someday they'd have hundreds of descendants who were thankful for the freedom & the opportunities granted upon birth just because they happened to be born in America.


Technorati tags: pancho villa, Spain, mexicotexas, pachuco, gangs, east la, spanish, english, huachuca, buffalo soldiers

posted by jane at 10:04 PM