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. 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, then we reviewed the life of Candelaria, who led the family out of Mexico in 1903. After Candelaria, we focused on the life of Candelaria’s daughter, Rafaela, who was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1906. Today, we’ll look at the life of Irene, Rafaela’s daughter, who was born in Dodge City, Kansas, in 1920.
Rafaela was fourteen years old when she gave birth to Irene in a lantern-lit, dirt floor shanty in their segregated work camp. Irene was delivered by midwives without the presence of a medical doctor. Rafaela’s husband, Cayetano, and the women in his family believed she was too young to properly care for Irene. They took Irene from Rafaela to their home next door. Irene resided with them until she was a teenager.
During Irene’s childhood, Cayetano’s family allowed Rafaela to visit with Irene, but she still resided in their home. Irene always knew Rafaela was her mother, and when she became a teenager, she pressed Cayetano to allow her to live with him, Rafaela, and her siblings. Cayetano relented, and Irene moved into her parents’ house when she began attending high school.
Irene was an excellent student in elementary school, and with the encouragement of her teacher she enrolled in high school. She performed very well and was one of the very few Mexican students to complete their diploma requirements. She graduated from Dodge City High School in the Class of 1938.
In 1943, Irene married Nicho Garcia from Garden City, Kansas, located fifty miles west of Dodge City. During World War II, they worked at the Army Air Base. She worked on the wing assembly of military planes — a real Rosie the Riveter, while Nicho worked in the carpool.
Irene gave birth to the first of her ten children at her home in 1944. She delivered a daughter with midwives assisting her. Irene became a stay-at-home mom, while Nicho became a postal worker and took part-time jobs to support the family. Despite their large family, Irene and Nicho, over the course of thirty-five years, found the time and energy to work for the Mexican community in pursuit of civil rights and first-class citizenship.
Irene taught naturalization classes for those individuals seeking the rights and privileges of citizenship. They took active roles and leadership positions in community organizations that supported education. Nicho was elected to the City Commission, and Irene served on the school board. In doing so, they served all the people in Garden City.
This concludes our review of the exceptional lives of Candelaria, Rafaela, and Irene.
My thanks to High Plains Public Radio for the opportunity to preview Las Madres with you. You’ll find all four Radio Readers BookBytes on the HPPR Radio Readers Book Club’s page under the Features Menu at www.hppr.org.
Las Madres is available online at the University Press of Kansas, or at your favorite independent bookstore.
