Where: Los Torres Primary School
When: 6.6.12 12midday to 4.40pm
Who: Saul,Chela,Holly,Abel (Cedesa), Gary, Lee,
David, Enrique, Lisette, Don, Laura (+ Steve & Visitor Carly from New
Zealand) (Rotary), approx. 500 adults plus 100+ kids from 22 communities
Warning – long report –
last inauguration is the excuse!
Purpose: I was led to
believe the purpose of the day was inauguration of 14 cisterns of the final
phase in Los Torres, full circle from the first visit in late 2008 & first
project early 2009.
We
Rotarians arrived in convoy to Los Torres approx. at midday.
Many
people were already gathered, lots of pick ups parked trying to snatch any
little shade from small mesquite trees. A huge tarpaulin was strung over a rows
of small school chairs, most already occupied, tables were placed to receive
the large enamel pots & buckets of tortilla’s wrapped in embroidered cloths
to stay warm!
Balloons
alternating pink & white were strung over the entrance, a large group of
small girls rushed me & each one giving me a hug.
There
were posters of photos of all the famiies in Los Torres proudly standing in
front of their cisterns, & groups of small children gathered pointing out
their families, or laughing at their photos.
We
only began the tradition of each family photographing their cisterns in one of
the later projects, but Los Torres had decided to go back & photograph each
of their families – 84 – lots of posters!!
Concha
& Chuy the 2 women who have been instrumental in organisation in this community
from before we even arrived with our
projects, gave me welcoming hugs & then spun off to busy-ness readying
things, Holly & huddles of other women dotted around from many other
communities.
We
mingled, chatted, & shook hands with more than 100 people, before miming
shaking hands with the rest – realising we’d be there all day if we continued.
This was shaping up to be a massive final inauguration.
Pages
of info on each community were strung in plastic sleeves on a rope high up
across the entrance. Men were lingering in any shady spots they could find
replete in their best western shirts, embroidered belts & cowboy hats, I
greeted those I recognised, with a general nod of acknowledgement to the
others. Other men were carrying huge pots of barbacoa (lamb/sheep) cooked in an
underground oven, with steaming large banana leaves – hmm looking forward to
that!
The
teachers had the children ready & primed with sound equipment in place to
begin, a long table decorated with beautifully embroidered cloths & special
florist bouquet arrangements of carnations & greenery – I fleetingly
thought, how had they gotten those all the way out here in the desert (special
trip?)…
More
hello kisses & hugs from all the faces I recognised from the many events,
assemblies, project days, & regional meetings that we had now amassed between
us. Familiar eyes, aprons, special earrings for special events, everyone in
their finest.
Gary
laughed & asked me if I was running for president? I dismissed him with a nervous
laugh & wondered what the heck he was talking about. He asked if I’d seen
the electoral poster with my name on it, again I kind of laughed & moved
onto other hellos…
I
looked up & saw a photo of me from the Tierra Blanca project, Saul & I
had tried to take a photo of a particularly old woman, in her fine apron &
ready for work with a big hat on. She had refused to smile, so we made it our
business to steal one from her. We had cajoled, explained & even pleaded,
all the time being met with a staunch refusal… I snuck round beside her &
wrapped my arm around her shoulder, then I tickled her ribs, & she couldn’t
help it, a smile broke across here face & Saul just managed to catch the
last of it…& one of me throwing my head back in a fit of laughter… Anyway,
this apparently was my election poster, along with slogan “Laura si cumpli” (loosely
translates to – she keeps her word).
There was a resounding clunk & I realised – oh my god, they are honouring
me here today!!
A
wave of panic came over me – how can I get out of this? rushed into my head…
This should not be happening, we should be honouring the team & the
communities, this is wrong… I’m sure I flushed an instant magenta! Finally (30
seconds later) I thought, oh well, hopefully it will be short & sweet &
this has involved massive organisation & co-ordination, I have to respect
their efforts…
Well,
so it began, we were asked to take our place at the big table, & the
presentations started.
Gifts
were presented to me from many communities, a huge glass jug & glasses, a
picture of a lush garden, a tin lizard & miniature wheelbarrow, a box of
hand painted mugs! Hugs & tributes, I’d already begun crying, this was
going to be long!
There
were dances by adults, dances by kids, speeches of gratitude, retelling the
stories, long crushing hugs, Concha led the proceedings announcing each of the
next items, each of the communities were asked to do the chant…bim bom va –
each community was called out in turn, stood up where they were & chanted
the bim bom va chant ending with “laura, laura Ra Ra Ra”, this lasted an
excrutiating lifetime, while every community yelled their loudest! There were
even people from Palencia & 3 Esquinas in the municipality of La Paz 2
hours away!
Then
more speeches, including one composed by Ivar & read in his absence in English
by Gary, & in Spanish by Lee, with David standing beside us holding up a
photocopied lifesized mask of Ivar’s face over his own (on a paddle stick) –
thank god for that, everytime more tears came bubbling, I looked at Ivar’s
smiling 2D face on David’s lanky frame & couldn’t help but laugh. I was presented
with a certificate, a pen to continue writing & beautiful silver cuff from
Ivar & Paty (exquisite scandanavian style!)
This
continued for what must have been an eternity for the kids standing in full
uniform & full sun, as more speeches, (tears fully streaming as Chela
recounted our team exploits & gave thanks for our collaboration) songs
& dances were performed, & eventually this all concluded, after some
hilarious solo songs by a couple of older women, & the banquet began.
Plates
of steaming pozole, rice, chicken mole, barbacoa, tortillas (still warm!),
large jugs of juice water, until we couldn’t eat any more…
People
ate, Chela called a meeting in a different part of the school (she can’t help
herself, never miss a chance to organise!). We found a knife (the barbacoa one
hastily cleaned & pressed into service to) cut the 2 huge cakes bought by
Rotary, into a million pieces to make sure all that line up got some… David
dished out serviettes & whispered, cut them smaller Laura, there’s a lot of
people! The kids (&
some
adults) lined for ½ hr waiting patiently for their little piece of cake, it
took me a while to realise that the usual “can I have a bigger piece?” which
would have been the norm in our culture didn’t happen, each recipient was happy
with whatever they received, not one asking for a bigger piece, even if some
were only crumbs – it struck me additional confirmation, these humble people
have no expectations, & are just so grateful to receive anything.
Rotary
colleagues peeled away, many people from the communities piled back onto the
pickups, with empty containers & full tummies, huge hugs & calls of “don’t
forget us, & remember you’re always welcome in our community” as they drove
away in clouds of dust… Holly & I
walked to find the cistern whose ribbon we were to cut. Eventually we all gathered (the families in
Los Torres involved in this final phase, bringing the number of cisterns in Los
Torres to approx. 96% of the number of families! We cut the ribbon, hugged,
cried, laughed. I lingered a little longer to hear the extreme gratitude &
pride of the woman who’s cistern this was. Her husband spoke very good English with
a very strong accent – he had, it turned out – been in Florida for 22 years!
I
asked the woman if she had children, she said only 2, she would have had more
but her husband left , she spoke with sadness retelling how he had only
returned 8 mths ago & had left when her daughters were 3 & 5, the
oldest was standing there today a mother herself! The woman had tears in her
eyes, & a stoic strength about her. We walked to her gate, through her
proud garden, geranium cuttings & plants in cans, she retold – for my ears only – how she had
raised those children solo, here in this desert with no money & support for
22 yrs – she had not been part of the previous phases as she didn’t have the
requisite time to commit to the participation, & she was sooo relieved
& grateful to finally have a cistern, despite the absence of her husband… We
hugged & I felt an overwhelming rush of her pain & strength with
massive sadness, having been deserted & yet a sense of I survived – but did
it have to be that hard…
What
a day! What a project!! – this has been an amazing journey for all involved,
the communities, the Rotarians here & away, the team!! We have all grown
beyond description & know so much more than that first hot dusty day we came driving
into Los Torres in 2008 – who would have guessed!!!
LOVE
LAURA
LAURA
