RE: [ranchos] Re: Margarita's rememberance of Jerez, Zacatecas

[Irma GomezLucero <igomezlucero@...>]

Maria,
	I thought about this a lot this weekend.  I spent some time with my
folks this weekend.  My parents told me the same thing.  They pray the
rosary and have masses said for the dead.  They also reminded me that the
cemetery only holds their bodies, not their souls.  I guess this says it
all.  Wow!
Irma 

-----Original Message-----
From: readysetgo95814 [mailto:nena@...] 
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 11:25 PM
To: ranchos@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ranchos] Re: Margarita's rememberance of Jerez, Zacatecas

Wow Irma, your Dad sounds just like mine.  The last time I went to San
Nicolas with him I asked about going to the cemetery where my grandfather is
buried and he had no interest in doing that. He asked me why I wanted to go.
I explained to him that I might find some valuable genealogical information
there.  He said there were not many headstones and there were mostly wooden
crosses on otherwise unmarked graves.  I still would like to go and see for
myself and plan do so sometime in the future.

I also asked him about dia de los Muertos and why we were never told about
or practiced the custom. He replied that he never did either. 
When I asked him what my grandparents did to honor the dead he told me that
they prayed the Rosary.  Now that I am researching our genealogy and have
found that for the last 300 to 500 years our ancestors were Catholic I
understand the reason.

Maria

--- In ranchos@yahoogroups.com, Irma GomezLucero <igomezlucero@c...>
wrote:
> I envy you Linda.  I tried to get my dad and family in Mexico to
take me to
> the cemetery where my grandmother was buried.  My dad interrupted
and
> refused to take me there.  His response was, "Why do you want to go
to a
> place where everyone is dead when you have all of these live
relatives?"
> Okay how do you respond when your "live" relatives are staring at
you.
> Enjoying history, I have always "enjoyed" going to cemeteries
because there
> is so much history there.  No, I don't like funerals though.  Next
time I
> will go on my own even if I have to walk there.
> Along the same vein...  a few years ago, I was asked to do a
cultural
> presentation of sorts to my daughter's class around Halloween.  I
decided to
> build "un altar" for El Dia de los Muertos.  When I asked my
parents about
> this custom, they said, " We don't do that.   Once we bury our 
dead, we go
> to church have Masses said for them, pray for them, but we don't
hang out at
> cemeteries."  I actually had to do research on the custom which
more a
> combination of Indigenous beliefs coupled with Catholocism.  I felt
this was
> a wonderful way to honor your family which has passed away.  I
built an
> "altar" to my grandparents.  I had my daughter explain what every
item meant
> to my grandparents.  Her classmates were surprised to find out that
she had
> never met my abuelitos.  My goal was to remind these children to
talk to
> their grandparents, ask them questions about themselves, etc.,
before it was
> too late.  It was an awsome experience for all.
> Tonight I will see my folks, and plan to ask them more about
cemeteries in
> Mexico.  I didn't know they buried individuals on top of others.  
Yep, I
> have more homework to do before I visit the cemeteries in Mexico. 
> Irma
>  
> 
>   _____
> 
> From: Erlinda Castanon-Long [mailto:longsjourney@y...]
> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 10:13 AM
> To: ranchos@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [ranchos] Margarita's rememberance of Jerez, Zacatecas
> 
> 
> The whole idea of death in the District of Jerez is different than
here
> stateside.  I wanted to visit all the cemeteries I'd found in the
research
> records.  Our host could not understand my desire to go to
cemeteries, he
> said the past was the past!  He did take us to the cemetery in Los
Aros/Los
> Haros, I found all the names I have been researching clear back to
the
> 1750's.  One could almost feel the ancestors... I also went to the
cemetery
> in El Durazno.  They absolutely refused to take me to Panteon de
los Dolores
> in Jerez, they said enough was enough...
>  
>  I did notice in Jerez that coffins are sold in shops that display
them in
> the window, that was kinda shocking to me. They said when someone
dies they
> have to be buried within 24 hours since they don't embalm.  In El
Durazno
> they have the "viewing" in the home then go to the church for the
service
> and then carry the coffin on their shoulders,complete with
Mariachi's if
> they can afford them, and walk the 1/2 mile to the cemetery in a
procession.
> I found lots of huge marble monuments but all cemeteries were badly 
> neglected because they don't like to go their unless it's to bury
someone..
> they do not go to visit and pay respects. Everyone in El Durazno
paid for
> the land for a cemetery 20 years ago and when a family member  dies
they are
> "prepaid" for burial.
>  
> The burial practices were different in the old days too.  They
would put up
> to 5 people in each grave, removing the bones to the foot of the
grave and
> then putting the new 'box' as it was described to me... I was
standing over
> a neglected Alcala grave and noticed something round so I bent over
to pick
> it up, turned out to be a leg bone much to my surprise.. After
getting over
> the shock I moved some dirt, reburied the bone and said a prayer
for the
> ancestors and me!
> I would highly recommend visiting an ancestral homesite if it's ever 
> possible, it's very humbling and highly emotional to walk the
ground your
> ancestors lived on.
> Linda
> 





 
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