Remedios: Stories of Earth and Iron from the History of Puertorriqueñas

279 Pages·1998·31.955 MB·English

by  Aurora Levins Morales

S
REM
ED
O
I
AURORA LEVINS MORALES
STORIES EARTH
OF AND
IRON FROM THE HISTORY
PUERTORRIQUENAS
OF
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REMEDIOS
AlsobyAuroraLevinsMorales:GettingHomeAlive(withRosarioMorales)
REMEDIOSife
StoriesofEarthandIronfromtheHistoryofPuertorriquenas
Aurora Levins Morales
BeaconPress Boston
—
SE BR
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.W7
M67„
1998
&?1
BeaconPress
25BeaconStreet
Boston,Massachusetts02108-2892
www.beacon.org
BeaconPressbooks
arepublishedundertheauspicesof
theUnitarianUniversalistAssociationofCongregations.
©1998byAuroraLevinsMorales
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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Thisbookisprintedonrecycledacid-freepaperthatcontains
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LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
LevinsMorales,Aurora,1954-
Remedios:storiesofearthandironfromthehistoryofPuertorriquenas/
AuroraLevinsMorales,
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
isbn0-80—70-6516-1(cloth)
1.Women Literarycollections. 2.PuertoRicanwomen
Literarycollections- 3<Wom^en^rprimesagainst. I.Title.
)Q7I.W7m67 IQQ8 ^
—
ioTHT99287 DC2i 98-17498
tf&DEDICATORIA
TO LAS MUJERES OF MI FAMILIA.
Aurora "Lola'MoureDiaz
1910-1993
Tryingtounderstandherlifegotmestartedonthisproject.Forherlaughter
and bitterness, melodrama and vulgarity, perfumed soaps and sharp
tongue,herself-pityandself-mockery,forthewayshescreamedwithplea-
surewhenwearrivedonavisit,andalwayscalledmehersantanieta,andfor
theeducationshenevergot. Here,abuela,Ikeptmypromise.
RosarioMorales
Formymother,whotaughtmetospeaktruthinmyownvoice.
IfIhadnotknownhowtoreadwiththeintensepleasure
Icopiedfromyou
devouringstoryanddeliciouslanguagewithequaldelight
. . .
Ifyouhadnotgivenmethealphabetearly
sothatIhadalreadyclaimedthepageandthetellersvoiceformyown
Ifyouhadnotbeensuchapersistentdiggerfortherootsofthings
sothatIalwayswantedtoknowthehistoryandworkings
ofwhateverhappenedtome
. . .
VI DEDICATORIA
Ifyouhadnottaughtmethatlife,howeverhorrible,
wasalwaysinteresting
. . .
Ifyouwerenotsostubbornaboutgettingthingsright
. . .
Ifyouhadnottaughtmethesimpleandpermanentpleasureofcolor,
pointedoutpineagainstsky,therichbrownoncreamofsnailshells,
particularbitsofthesunsetskytobeadmired,taughtme
thenamesofyourpaintsandhowtomixthem,
givenmethesixty-fourcolorboxofcrayonsincludingmagenta
Iwouldnotbealivetoday
Ifyouhadnotbyyouroutrage,taughtmethemeaningofsolidarity
andfightingagainstodds,
Iwouldnotbehere.
Iwascapturedbytheenemy,
insecret,withoutyourknowledge,
againstyourwill.
Youwerenotabletopreventit
anymorethanthemotherswiththeirphotographs
carriedeverywhereonpicketsigns.
Buttellyourselfthis:
ifIhadnotbeenyourdaughter
Iwouldnothavesurvived.
AliciaRaquelOtisLevins
whosebirthinspiredmetoundertakethistask,whoenduredyearsofwait-
ingforMamitodojustafewmorepagesbeforeshecouldplay,andwhoen-
thusiasticallycheeredmeonanyway, requestedstoriesfromhistoryonthe
way to school, has memorized numerous pieces from Remedios and tells
everyone,includingstrangersingrocerystores,howproudsheisofme.
Also, for Dori, climbing trees, peering into smoky kitchens, listening to
DEDICATORIA VII
stories,worryingabouttheoutcomesofhistory,refusingtoknuckleunder
toconquistadoresandforIrisCruzAgostini,companionofmychildhood,
withwhom I madegardens ofwildplants, atestolen tangerines, and told
stories.
IthanktheSpiritwhogavemelifeandmademeastorytellerintimesofdan-
ger,courage,andpossibility.