(Ond day I came home from school and asked my Mom, Lucia, why she never told us about "El Viejo" or "La Llorona." The girls from school told me about them, and I felt left out like I wasn't a real Mexican. Mom said that she never wanted us to know about these things because she did not want to traumatize us.) Here is her story: When she was a little girl her mother had told her if she misbehaved or not go to sleep when it was time to sleep something bad would happened to her. She told her that "El Viejo" would come, get her and take her away. She wondered, "Como sera 'El Viejo' que me quere agara?"
Her fears took over and she found herself very scared of him. One day while she was out walking, she came across a strange looking man riding a horse. He was a man from India. He sat upon his horse with a blank expression on his face. He had a turban on his head with a little ball on his forehead right above and between his eyes. It was full of his long hair. She saw him and ran the entire way home. Once inside her home, she told her mother she had seen him. She has seen "El Viejo" riding down the rode upon his horse. She was very frightened he was coming for her. This is what she told her mother, "El Viejo, el viejo, lo mire!" To which her mother's reply was, "Andale, te encansa el viejo y te agara."
HER FAVORITE MEMORY/WHAT SHE LIKED BEST ABOUT HER MOTHER, MARIA:
Lucia said that wherever she went her mother was always there beside her. She loved to be with her Mom. Her Mom was her best friend in the world. If you see the wedding photo of Francisco, and Lucia with Maria in the middle, you can tell that Maria felt the same way about Lucia. Her face has the saddest expression on it.
LUCIA'S PET PIGS:
Her first pig was named Chacha, and her second was Patricio.
Chacha was a female black and yellow pig. Chacha only loved Lucia. Her mother, Maria, would try to get Lucia's brother, Juan, to take the pig to the hill to eat and drink, but she would not go with him. She did not like Juan because he was mean to her. Lucia would talk to Chacha and ask her to come to her. Chacha would come to her happily and oinking all the way to Lucia. Lucia was happiest when Chacha was by her side.
Chacha got pregnant and it was time for her to deliver
her piglets. They fetched the family midwife to help her deliver her piglets. The midwife was Lucia's Tio Cesario's wife, Geronima. Geronima did her best with her midwifery knowledge and skills to assist the pig to deliver her litter, but Chacha died. Lucia was sad.
Later when she was 11-year's-old she received Patricio as a pet. He a white male pig with a white band that looked like a belt. There would be no dying during birth for him. He was the runt of his litter. Lucia received this pig from his owner. Lucia thinks the man did it because he thought the pig was not going to make it. (This reminds me of Fern.) Patricio was dying when Lucia first got him.
The man told her, "Let's see how good you are at raising it. Take it and give it some masa."
He got better and lived. He, too, would follow her everywhere. He would go with her to the store and even try to climb up the ladder to be with her. She would often sit up on a ladder propped against the house and he would cry as he would try to reach her. Her mother, Maria, was astonished at how much Patricio loved Lucia. Lucia was happy to have such a fine pig. She would talk to him and he would grunt back at her. This was truly a special pig and according to Lucia a very smart one too. He was only her pig for a little while. The family had to give the pig away and Lucia was heartbroken.
