He died young; age 47…
My mother was not impressed with the father that gambled away his birthright… Yet, his mother, Alta Gracia, stepped in and raised, the unwanted/precious child, my mother. In a land where "scarcity,” is the law of everyday; she was an embroidered gown wearing princess at the expense of… her aunts, his sisters… perhaps, that is how they felt…. especially the envious one, the one that ended up fostering my mother’s children. She is still in competition with my mother for the role of queen matron of this heroic narrative of island proportions. So… strange.
Yes, my mother’s story resembles… Cinderella’s archetypical tale. My mother is a singular being, the talented and explosive daughter of a talented and highly intelligent, man that was not father to anyone, ever. She had her first child early. Her age changes depending on who tells her story. According to her aunt she was fourteen when the affair started. Yet, by her own account, she was almost seventeen when my oldest brother was born. Her aunt says different. Those two will never agree on facts. Thus, one can guess the truth is somewhere in-between, perhaps. (I just called my Aunt Gladys in Santo Domingo, the sister of Rafael Ricart. She swears he NEVER beat my mother… who to believe?).
(Edited on March 16th, 2014)
One thing I know: my mother was a beautiful young woman. She inherited her father’s good looks and her mother’s compulsive love of keeping a clean hut. She is scrupulously clean. You could eat øƒƒ her floors… She’s a good cook, too. So… you would not starve in her presence. She’s the kind of woman that can keep an army fed while whistling boleros.
I inherit that buoyant spirit and ability to serve food with grace. Thank you, Mama. Read more, HERE:
My Grandfather was a cockfight addict. He blew through three inheritances. It was supposed that he would take care of his sisters. He never cared for anything other than the thrill of the “sporting life,” as taught to him by his father, a wealthy cockfight connoisseur from Spain, who fell in love with Santo Domingo, married a Dominican woman, Alta-Gracia, and let himself be swayed by the glamour and decadence that only this Caribbean nation and with its enduring promise, provides to its immigrants, which come from all over the world.