Bound for the Promised Land: Part II
The Sentiments of A Woman
by
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My mother was born Angelina during a hot August day in 1900 in Orizaba, Veracruz, on the East coast of Mexico. Her family emigrated from Spain directly and was in trade, and they made enough of a fortune to command respect amongst the leading families despite leading a modest standard of living. Her father maintained a strong work ethic, and established several butcheries and adjoining shops, thus they enjoyed an upper middle-class standard of living. Her mother was artistic and musical, and as a result became a local celebrity, a favorite at parties and festivals where she would serenade her guests and dance while admiring observers pledged her many gifts and golden coins. She was a wonderful personality, and my mother’s delicate constitution needed that sense of the joy of life to see her through the difficult years of adolescence.
Peace reigned in the vulture infested streets of Veracruz towns, La Tlaxcalteca Inn serving hard liquor across the street of their home, and she could see cattle grazing on the ranges in the distance. The charming hill-top missions framed by Mount Orizaba were a source of inspiration to her, but everywhere the blessings of misery shown on the faces of countless peasants, and the brunt was ever borne by the landless Indians. She spoke poignantly of the sad old Indian women who never had illusions about life, content to survive with the little that life permitted them.
Veracruz is one the country’s oldest colonial ports, and it’s main town enchants the visitor with its shaded arcades, their walls echoing with the sounds of wandering marimba bands. This magical mix of sea and song infused my mother with a serenity that carried her through many a sorrow. Ocean-going vessels, flying innumerable flags, holding coffee, livestock, sugar, grain, and large stores of oil are constantly docking at its ports. Only a few blocks from her parents’ home are many cafes, sidewalk cantinas and Victorian-style hotels, all centered around the wide arcades framing the great Plaza de Armas. One could wake up to go to sleep to the sight of her fellow Veracruzanos sipping coffee, gossip about their friends’ affairs, playing dominoes all the while swaying in their seats to the energizing strains of Marimba, as the musicians roved and struggled with their instruments in hand.
It was exciting to live on the coast, my mother recalled, the spirit of the Caribbean had supported her mother, and she sang and strummed on the guitar whenever she could. She also recalled with fondness the tiled roofs, salmon-pink murals, balustrades holding a variety of perennial flowers, ancient churches going back to the early years after the Conquista, side by side with modern office buildings. She always looked forward to Sunday night serenades, or boat trips around the harbor or to Isla de Sacrificios.
She loved the ocean, and I think ocean breezes of the Gulf of Mexico had found their way into her character, because she always maintained an even temper amidst difficulties and dangers. The resignation to suffering and mortality had fortified her in childhood for the miseries she would lend witness to when motherhood brought humiliation and betrayal together with her children. By the time my youngest brother was born it was a rare sight to behold a smile on my mother’s once glowingly delicate face.
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About the Book
The Sentiments of A Woman,
is a story of the American Dream, which recounts the struggle and final triumph
of Isabel Rivera, the subject of this intimate novel. Chapter by chapter we travel through her
life, from trauma to triumph, as she recounts the extraordinary adventures,
famous personalities met along the way, sacrifices endured, and the anecdotes
of economic depression, World War II, and obstacles overcome, from childhood to
maturity, to reach her destination: America.
Changing times and fortunes forced her to move, and she wandered, From
Mexico to California before settling down in this land of "golden
dreams."
A true story based on private memoirs and personal recollections.
The
sentiments of a Woman, Part II of BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND, will
chronicle the personal feelings and experiences of my mother---representing the
other side of the story, which began with Trials
of Manhood.
Both novels begin with their parents and how they met, before 1920 in
both cases, and continue and conclude with all that they lived and experienced,
through revolutions, economic depressions, World War, Modernity and passing
fashions, social changes, immigration, struggle, and achieving their American
dream by 1960. The books conclude with an epilogue of what life has taught
them, and how they see the world as senior citizens, compared to the
convictions they clung to as youths.
About the Author
Frederick Martin-Del-Campo in writing this book set out to establish a connection to his past by writing his biography of his mother, Isabel Rivera. It was a difficult process, but in the course of what seemed like endless interviews, he achieved that link to the past, and found meaning in his own life. It is his hope that everyone may take a spiritual and journey of their own, and find serenity by understanding themselves in the history of their ancestors.
Frederick Martin‑Del‑Campo is a native of California, and studied at UCLA, LAVC, and received a Humanities degree at UMUC. As Frederick's reputation as a writer and poet grows, he works as a teacher of History and ELT studies, while editing his second anthology of verses (MEDITATIONS OF MISERY, a follow‑up of his first book, ON THE HILL OF CONTEMPLATION...1stBooks Publishers, © 2003), and forthcoming biographies of his ancestors in a two volume series: BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND. He feels these labors of love will add to the literature of American and International lore {due for publication in 2004}.