VIDA — 7
Soledad Buenrostro
(Continued from Page 6)
her name and in mama’s name.
She let Gloria continue mak¬
ing a fool of herself, ‘'Yes, I
know, I lied to you under the
pretense that he was going to
tell mama’s secret. Well, Sole-
dad, I think that she did have'
a secret. I knew it. You knew
it. Pap& knew it. We all knew
it though we never dared reveal
it. Soledad, she loved pap&. She
always pretended to hate him
because she was crippled but
she really loved him.
It wasn’t his fault she was
like that!
Soledad, please don’t kill papa
by taking him away from here.
You always loved what mama
loved. Soledad, love papa! You
have nothing else; and well, he’s
not so close to ME anymore.
Soledad, why can’t you share
each other’s loneliness?” Glo¬
ria could say nothing more. She
cried and cried in Soledad’ s
bed, but Soledad gave no res¬
ponse. She was untouched by
her sister’s display of tears.
Her only amazement was that
after so many years, so much
had been exposed. Such .few
words had said what had been
kept silent for years.
“Mama,” she thought, “Now
I have your treasure. I have
Gloria and Papa in my clutches.
Now I can tear them to pieces
like you never dared to because
you were so good. Thank - yoii,
mama. Now they’ll pay.”
Gloria suddenly got up and
dried her tears as she heard the
door bell. “It must be Father
Refugio.”
Her last remarks were, “So¬
ledad, why are you so cruel?
We’ll wait for your response in
the living room. Please don’t
take long. Papa is too old to
wait much longer for you to
decide on his destiny. In your
power is to decide to tear him
away from his loved home,
from mama, from all of his
happiness. Soledad, remember
mam&, Soledad.”
iSoledad sighed with relief.
Her soul had been released from
eternal slavery. “Rafael, now
they’ll pay!”
She had decided to be firm,
not to hear Father’s pleas and
say, “All of you, Go to Hell!
Leave my house. Leave me with
mama, leave!”
Since this was a day of feast
she would make her face more
lively with a little make-up so
she could show them the joy
in her face. As she saw her
face in the mirror, she felt her
aging face. As she applied the
‘Concha Nacar’ cream she re¬
membered how mama used to
say this cream helped the skin
stay young. She felt every cur¬
vature in her face. Her yes
were wrinkeld ; each wrinkle
showing her past sorrows. Her
forehead was layered, expound¬
ing every facet of her life: The
wrinkles around her mouth
showed that once she knew how
to smile.
“How I resemble mama. How
proud I feel to be like her. How
I wish to act now just like her
heart would have told her to,
firm and . . .,” but her thoughts
are interrupted and without
another moment of reflection
she bursts into tears . . . She
clasps her medal tightly and
close to her heart ...
A few moments later the bed¬
room door opens and a shadow-
like figure enters the shallow
living room. Papa sits alone in
a corner by the fireplace, hop¬
ing to catch the only warmth
generated in the house at that
moment. Everything was cold,
everyone was cold. Papa was
satisfied with the warmth of
the fireplace.
Gloria’s eyes penetrated into
the translucent figure. She did
not know whether it was her
sister standing by the door or
just a shadow-like figure of So¬
ledad. Soledad, the eternal vir¬
gin.
Father Refugio finally breaks
the silence, “Hija, que te pa-
sa?”
Soledad responds, “Nada Pa¬
dre. Solo iba a la cocina a arre-
glar la merienda de papa. Ya
esta muy viejo para malpas ar¬
se, padre. No le hubiera gusta-
do a mama verlo tan triste
у
solo.”
Chocolate
о
caf6, mi querida
familia? Para mi es igual. To-
do siempre sera igual, hasta
que muera mama.”
Soledad, Soledad, quien te
quiere?
MECHA OUTLOOK 1974 - 75
Por Armando Duron
!n the lost six years MECHA has grown from a
Mexican-American dub, to an active Chicano organi¬
zation. This did not happen suddenly, nor will it con¬
tinue as a natural process. MECHA will continue only
with our constant striving for what we deserve . equa¬
lity and justice.
In this quest, v/e must establish our goals for the
year so that they are in line with the overall objectives
of the movimicnfo.
It is clear that the Chicano community at Loyola
is now ready for the third stage of development. The
first stage was acceptance into and by the University.
The second was establishment of institutions that will
insure the continuity of Chicanos at th s University. The
third, though not necessarily final stage, is the mainte¬
nance of such institutions as the Chicano Studies De¬
partment, La Mesa Dirediva, and the Chicano Leader¬
ship Grant.
It is to this end that MECHA must strive this year.
We are ready for it, although more than likely the Uni¬
versity is not. And there ex;sts our first challenge —
making the University ready for this third stage.
MECHA is an entity which provides a Chicano al¬
ternative to campus life. A Chicano can involve himself
in the Dance Group, the teatro, VIDA, the radio show:
“Alma”, tutorng in Venice, counseling at the Venice
Boy’s Club, Chicanos for Law, Chicanos for Creative
Medicine, the Farmworkers, La Mesa Directiva, and
Student Government. There is room for every Chicano
to learn, participate and contribute in any of these
activit:es. This doesn't mean that you can’t start a new
program within MECHA. We have grown because of
the innovations of Chicanos throughout the years we
have been here.
In our quest we must remember that we are a
familia — thaf concept which is the fundamental es¬
sence of our people. We must also remember that we
are all endowed with different talents which we must
use to the fullest extent. We must respect each other
and help each other. Lastly, we must remember that
we are here because of the hard work of those who
came before us and that we have an obligation to
those who will come after us.
I want to welcome all new Chicanos into Loyola
and hopefully into MECHA. We need you, as you need
us, and we hope that you will make full use of your
talents, whatever they may be, for the advancement
of our people and our cause.
“Of the community, for the community. Por La
Raza habla el espiritu."
