Hello, my name is Dennis Garcia. I am the author of a new book, Las Madres, Spanish for The Mothers. It is a saga of family, hardship and resilience, country and history. It is an empowering narrative of love and hope. Las Madres chronicles three generations of Latina women, including my mother, who, over the course of a century, led the family from Mexico to Kansas. They led with faith, sacrifice, and hard work.
Previously on HPPR, we presented a broad overview of Las Madres. Today, we’ll continue our review in more detail.
The family saga begins with Candelaria, one of the three main characters. Candelaria was born in 1865. She was raised on a cattle ranch in Central Mexico where her parents labored. Earlier, in 1861, France occupied Mexico and took control of the country. Eventually, five years later, France withdrew, but some members of its army remained in Mexico to help the wealthy, the military, and the Catholic Church install a monarchy. During the war that followed, Macario and Maria took two-year-old Candelaria and fled their home to find safety until the end of the conflict in 1867.
Thirty-seven years later, at the turn of the century, Mexico’s unstable countryside, and the impending revolution, drove Candelaria and her family to the safety of the United States at El Paso, Texas. She acted as very few women in Mexico had in the three previous centuries. She left behind the ranchos and the life of labor, and took her family to El Paso, Texas, for a better life.
In El Paso, in 1906, Candelaria gave birth to her youngest child, a daughter, Rafaela. She also became a grandmother in the same year through her son, Abran and his wife who were living in Mexico. She was acutely aware of infant mortality in Mexico, as she had lost children at birth and in their infancy. She regarded children as blessings from God and she felt blessed when she and Rafaela survived the delivery.
Candelaria’s husband, Chon, worked for the Santa Fe Railway in El Paso. The Santa Fe, and other railways led America’s expansion westward across the continent. In support of that expansion, the Santa Fe in 1910, sent Chon, Candelaria, and the family to Dodge City, Kansas, located in the heartland of the United States. On arrival, the family was housed in a segregated work camp.
Las Madres follows the family as they made a new home and became part of a small community despite poor housing, unsanitary conditions, and the deadly 1918 Flu Pandemic. In addition to the hardships of history, Candelaria dealt with the difficulties suffered by her daughters in their marriages. Both Juana and Rafaela married young and encountered disharmony with their husbands.
In pursuit of her family’s protection and guidance, Candelaria drew much of her strength from her faith. Particularly in times of crisis and peril, she was steadfast with a rosary in hand. Her faith extended beyond prayer. She often volunteered with other women in the camp, later called the “Village,” to prepare the small Catholic chapel for morning services.
Candelaria’s life’s purpose was the well-being of her family, and she took them to the door of security and opportunity.
In our next Radio Readers BookByte, we will follow Rafaela as she and her children, including Irene, lived through the events of history: the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, space exploration, and more.
I’m Dennis Garcia for the High Plains Public Radio Readers Book Club. Thanks for listening.
Las Madres is available online at the University Press of Kansas, or at your favorite independent bookstore.
