A number of years of ago, in the midst of working on a
business plan; I opted to work for a temporary employment agency to have some
cash flowing in. One sunny Friday morning, I received a call for an
assignment; I was advised that it would be in the immediate area.
However, late in the day, I was notified that the assignment
would be in the middle of the most heavily traveled corridor, my first thought
was to gracefully decline, but on second thought, I knew it was best to honor
my commitment.
In th following weeks, I would encounter a young,
soft-spoken man, Manuel, who I would meet at the door as I was attempting to
dash out in the evening to get that two minute lead on traffic, and thus get
to the gym, then home to work on my project. Our conversations were
always short, and went something like this:
Manuel: In a few days I will be going to
Cuidad Obregon, Sonora, to bring my parents to San Jose for a little
vacation.
Helyn: My mother had a half sister, that
she never met, that lived in Obregon
Manuel: What is your aunt's
name?
Helyn: Antonia S. I have some photos of her
when she was in her early 20's; do believe she was born in 1929. The only lead
that I have is a Christmas card she sent my mother over 20 years ago before
her passing
Manuel: I could try and locate her with the
address on the envelope
Helyn: You have not seen my messy stack of
photos, and papers that I have been attempting to organize for several
years
Over the next few conversations, Manuel continued to pursue
me with questions,
looking back, I do not know why I was being so
evasive
Manuel: This is your last opportunity; I
will be taking my parents back to Obregon in a few days.
That evening, I skipped going to the gym, and went straight
to my disorganized stack. Well, lo and behold, staring me in the face was the
Christmas card.
Upon his return, Manuel summoned me to meet him in the
cafeteria. When I arrived, he suggested that I better sit down. Then he
presented me with some photos he had just developed, and I instantly
recognized the lady in the photos as my mother's sister. My heart skipped a
beat.
Manuel proceeded to tell me that while he was at his
father-in-laws home, he had told the family to excuse him as he was going to
go out to attempt to locate an aunt for a co-worker. Manuel said that his wife
asked for the name of the lady and he replied that she was a much older woman
and he did not think that she would know her, but that her name was Antonia
S.
Manuel said that his wife gasped..."what do you mean...she
took care of us..she was my second mother". With that, the family sped
off in pursuit to find Antonia. The had several detours, but with the help of
neighbors they finally found her.
On Saturday, I called my Tia Antonia, and I immediately
wanted to go and meet her and her family however, I was told to stay
away from the hot Sonora sun and to come when the weather was a bit
cooler. I was delighted to hear that in a few months her grandson would
be getting married, and that her older brother, Tomas, would be attending the
wedding.
So off I went with a camera, recorder, pens and
notepads.
I returned with a treasure of Oral History from Tio Tomas,
which is priceless. Also, I was given a photo of my great grandmother,
Dionisia Magallanas, her name, I had never heard.
I was told the story of how their mother, Efedelia Herrera,
ended up in Tepic, Nayarit from Tlaltenango, Zacatecas. I felt a bid of
sadness that my mother never knew the other side of the story.
Talk about fate, and 6 degrees of separation.
Sadly, Tio Tomas passed away a few years later.
Oh, by the way, my newely found cousin had been engaged to
marry the brother of Manuel's wife when they were young. Actually, this is a
very long story with lots of twits and turns, but I have attempted to make it
as brief as possible. And yes, I finally met Mrs. Manuel, a very special
lady,...it was as if we had known each other for a long time...she said that
she still get chills when she recants the long story.
Helyn de Castaneda
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