Hello, my name is Dennis Garcia. I am an author and have written 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 and a review of the life of Candelaria, who led the family out of Mexico in 1903. Today, we’ll take a closer look at the life of Candelaria’s youngest daughter, Rafaela, who was born in El Paso, Texas in 1906.
In El Paso, Rafaela, her parents, Candelaria and Chon, and a brother and sister, lived in an adobe shanty in a very poor Mexican barrio near the banks of the Rio Grande. In 1910, the Santa Fe Railroad, Chon’s employer, sent the family to the heartland of the United States at Dodge City, Kansas. There, Rafaela lived in a segregated labor camp, later called the Mexican Village.
The camp provided extremely limited education services for children, and she did not complete grade school. When she was thirteen, an older man, Cayetano, promised her romance and wedded bliss. The families reluctantly agreed that Rafaela would marry Cayetano. Rafaela gave birth to Irene ten months later, and nine other children over the course of two decades. The friction between the families never ended.
Rafaela and her family lived in the work camp for three decades. The camp was in an open field adjacent to a noisy, smoky, Santa Fe railroad yard. Mexican families in the camp lived in nineteenth century conditions. They lived in abandoned rail cars, tents, and dirt-floor shanties made of throw-away lumber. There were no paved streets, electricity, or running water.
Las Madres details how Rafaela, under those living conditions, provided the care and comfort for the children, as well as the discipline. In that time, and during the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl, she nurtured them with alms for their bodies and souls. She was creative in bringing joy and celebration for birthdays, weddings, and holiday celebrations. And she guided them in times of death and sadness. Her friendships with other women in the Village would last a lifetime.
Rafaela’s sons served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. She became a grandmother during World War II, and many other baby boomer grandchildren followed. In the 1940s, the family had saved enough to leave the Village and move into a house in Dodge City’s east side. Rafaela’s home became a favorite fun place for each grandchild. She always welcomed them with a warm hug, snack, and a treat.
In our next Radio Readers BookByte, we will follow Irene as she and her family combine education and a strong work ethic to secure the security and stability that Candelaria and Rafaela dreamed for their families.
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.
Resources: https://mexicanvillage.weebly.com/
