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Chapter 10: Ain't we got funFiestas' music, solemn rites brighten two cousins' livesBy Carmen DuarteThe Arizona Daily Star Cousins Nala (Mama) and Tita prepared for Las Posadas and their annual part in the procession through the dirt roads and paths of 1920s San Antonio, N.M. The two were poor in earthly goods but rich in their faith.
Nala and Tita loved Las Posadas - loved holding the lighted candles and walking in a procession of about 60 people under a blanket of stars. The children, accompanied mostly by women, proceeded from house to house re-enacting the journey of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter in Bethlehem. They found no room until arriving at the home representing the inn where Jesus and Mary were finally given shelter. The marchers gathered in the home and took to their knees. Nana Leonarda led a novena, (usually a nine-day series of prayers) that was started and completed that same evening. It was followed by a second novena to Santo Niño de Atocha, who sat on an altar decorated with Christmas ornaments of green, gold, blue and red. Elderly women had trouble getting up off their knees after the long prayers. Nala's and Tita's knees seemed glued to the floor, but a quick rub and they were ready to go. They could hardly wait to taste the food prepared by their abuela and the other women. All headed back to Nana Leonarda's house, where the celebration continued. Nana Leonarda's daughters and neighboring women served the flock, easily numbering 300. Families in the area and from the surrounding hills came to enjoy Navidad . Tamales of red chile con carne, enchiladas, soups, rice and chicken dishes lined the tables. Cookies, cakes, hot chocolate and coffee ended the meals where adults and children became one. After the meal, families dispersed and went home. The religious ceremonies were solemn and far different from the dances and fiestas in San Antonio. The fiestas brought laughter and music - this was the rural Hispanic version of the ``Roaring '20s.'' Guitars and accordions were pulled out. Uncles, including Pedro Contreras, Crispin Bejarano and Andrés Bejarano, belted out familiar tunes for husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends who gathered at the casa de madera, the wooden house built near Nana's especially for dancing. When Nala and Tita grew older, they joined the others at the fiestas. The cousins would find a corner and sip beer brewed illegally in the nearby hills. The two became happier with every sip of the liquid made from maize and orange leaves. The experienced drinkers swallowed whiskey made by bootleggers who lived near El Cerro de Don Cándido, named for San Antonio's founder, Cándido Telles. It is now called Kanister Peak, for a man who homesteaded nearby. Tita remembers a dance when a bad batch of beer made the men deathly ill. Nana Leonarda treated half the community with her home remedies. The dances were also a time to make money. Nala said relatives sold enchiladas for 25 cents a plate during the dances. Los bailes were held twice a month. When they visited in July, Tita and Nala roared with laughter recalling how they and the other children would have their own dances. They made music by banging cans. Someone would sing, and boys would ask the girls to waltz. They were in heaven when Nala's mother, Dolores, bought a phonograph for her older daughters and they played records. ``Now we were dancing in style. We had a real orchestra,'' said Nala, laughing so hard that she had trouble catching her breath. Childhood was brief. Nala, at 12, and Tita, at 16, worked like adults. Some girls their age were already married. But Nala slipped back into a childlike freedom with Nana Leonarda. It was with her abuela that she tasted her first hamburger at the Greenlee County Fair, an event both went to each year. Nana Leonarda loved the burgers and would share one with her granddaughter. She could not afford two. Nala and Tita also loved going to the Duncan Theatre when they could spare 10 cents. Nala remembers seeing her first silent motion picture with her abuela. Later, she would enjoy the wondrous talking pictures. Her favorites were Gene Autry, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Roy Rogers and the child star Shirley Temple. The movie screen invited them to worlds much different from their own harsh reality. Life became especially harsh in the summer of 1929, when an epidemic of fever swept through the region. It struck households, including my Mama's, like the angel of death.
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Ch. 1: Field of death
Ch. 18: The New Deal
Ch. 24: Cotton pickers and copper miners Ch. 27: The family doubles its size
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