The contents of this blog are mine alone and in no way do they reflect the viewpoints or opinions of the Peace Corps nor the government of the United States of America.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Gab, Gabo, and 2012

First and NOT most importantly, I'd like to report that after 2 1/2 months of consuming a diet of butter, grease, sugar, and carbs, I've managed to remain more or less the same weight, probably because of the daily miles I try to walk, a pastime which has the twofold benefit of saving me money and keeping me trimmish.  


On to more riveting news: I had the privilege of visiting one of Gabriel García Márquez's ten siblings, Lijia García Márquez, in her house not far from where I'm staying.  If you're not literary minded, you should know that Gabriel García Márquez is considered by many to be the most important author in all of Latin American history and one of the most important of the 20th century, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 for his magnum opus One Hundred Years of Solitude.  Plus, he is my favorite author, and I have read quite a few books. I first met Lijia in a nearby panadería on my first morning in the barrio.  I could tell at once that she was quite garrulous, even for a Colombian, when my host mom repeatedly kept trying to say good-bye and she would repeatedly begin another dramatic parley, not much unlike grocery shopping back home.  It wasn't until after we left that Naifir told me she was GGM's sister, and I was shocked-- her shoes weren't shined, nor her dress new, and she was shopping at my local panadería!  According to the biography of GGM I'm reading, he has turned down interviews offering $50,000, so why, I wondered, would his family be living in the conditions of the average city-dwelling Colombian?  


When I arrived with my Spanish teacher, Joao, and mama Naifir at the appointed time, Lijia came to the gate feverishly dusting a statue of an eagle while profusely apologizing that her house was not clean enough for visitors yet.  I figured this was a polite way to decline the visit, but then she began inquiring if I knew anyone back home who would be interested in buying some family photographs so that she could purchase medicine for her diabetic, convalescent husband.  She had tried calling Gabo, as GGM is affectionally referred to, but his wife, that "hija de la puta," wouldn't put her through.  Evidently, GGM's wife and the in-laws don't get along so well.  Anyhow, we returned after an hour or so and were finally invited through the gate via a shout indoors from her husband, a typical Colombian man, who while his wife was in the next room amorously told me I resembled a telenovela star and that I was "a poem, a beautiful poem."  


While we continued to wait for Lijia, I snuck this shot of her living room--



Also, here's a popular family photo.  There are several versions of this; I saw two different ones in Lijia's house and there's another version in the biography I'm reading as well.  They apparently cut and paste different people into the photo according to their own personal taste, but in all Lijia is just to the left of Gabo, who is at top center in the white guayabera.  


Lijia finally emerged in a formal dress, freshly bathed and frantic that she couldn't buckle the strap of her heels.  I felt odd that she was really that preoccupied about her appearance.  During the visit, I found her to be sincere and entertaining.  She was difficult for my Spanish teacher and me to steer conversationally, as she answered one question by first telling another story that would help you to know the background to another story which would lead to an answer to the question.  She whispered and looked behind her as she told us family "secrets," different versions of events I'd read in the biography by Gerald Martin.  This Latin Americanism struck me as distinctly cultural.  Martin says in his Introduction that during the initial interviews for the book as he was beginning to research and make inquiry into the author's life, Márquez told him, "Whatever you write will be the truth."  There doesn't seem to be a value on one single truth here; it's all dependent on the storyteller, their perceptions and current whimsy at the time that determines which version you'll hear.  The actual event doesn't even really seem to be the focus; there's value in simply the telling of a story.  


After three hours and only getting an "answer" to three questions, it was time to go.  As to why Gabo doesn't support his family more than what would be expected in such a case, I can't really say.  For one, I don't know if what I'm told is really the truth, and secondly, I don't want to betray my new friend's confidence. Lijia is excited to have me back next week to show me more pictures and is even more excited that I'm going to Cartagena where more of her family resides, including Gabo at times.  She is eager to introduce me to two other brothers and their relatives and has even inquired whether I could possibly live with one of them during my service.  I'd be tickled to meet more García Márquezes, but whether Lijia's invite is just a story, I won't know until I get there.  :) 


The next day, I visited a pueblo where two Peace Corps Response Volunteers are working in the area of disaster relief.  During this year's rainy season, Atlantico, the state of Colombia I'm living in, suffered flooding that was reportedly worse than Hurricane Katrina.  The region experienced in one month a year's worth of rain and hundreds of thousands were displaced.  Volunteer Bob Arias works with the children and Shirley Sherrod focuses on the women in a pueblo called Campo de la Cruz.  What is their work?  Sewing is Shirley's guise and popsicle sticks Bob's.  Shirley comes with a new pattern or blanket she's working on to show the women while the youthful 73 year old Bob introduces new trinkets, all the while socializing and, of course, laughing.  Truly though, their work is in simply bringing the women and children together after facing the traumatic flooding of their homes.  Because most of the community's men go to Venezuela to work during the year, these women endured this frightening upheaval alone with their children.  Yet, as an outsider coming in, I couldn't really tell that these people had recently been in life-threatening danger or had experienced any great loss.  They, in Colombian fashion, were all smiles.





Well, mostly all smiles.  :)


Lunch with Shirley and Bob (not pictured).  Even though it's sweltering, we still eat hot soup for lunch.


Today is New Year's Eve, and Naifir is currently working on a sancocho, or a big-ass soup.  The ingredients are many and the flavor will be strong.  I just saw some chicken feet laying alongside some other meats and vegetables to be added.  I'm hoping for a serving sans feet tonight where I'm sure I'll be seeing more of this--

Naifir pouring whiskey.


I'm ready to ring in my first full Colombian year.  In GGM's biography, Rodrigo García Márquez, the firstborn son, says of his upbringing, "There were two things you just had to know.  One was the great importance of friendship.  There was a huge emphasis on the sheer fascination of other people and their lives.  It was my father's drug.  You had to know about their lives and all their business and you had to share in other people's experiences and share your own with them... We were brought up to be completely unprejudiced, except in a couple of significant respects.  Firstly, Latin American people were the best people in the world.  They were not necessarily the cleverest, they might not have built a lot, but they were the very best people in the world, the most human and the most generous" (GGMA Life).  


I welcome a year of sharing in the lives of the "best people in the world!"  Truly, they are among the most generous I've known.  To Colombia 2012!

5 comments:

  1. Wow... What a visit.. You tell the story better than reading a novel! Hope you had fun bringing in the new year. I am sure it will be a year of many life changing events and one of many more challenges. I admire and adore your adventurous spirit. My wish for you in the new year is that you remain curious and stay in perfect peace and happiness! Happy New Year! Love you Baby,
    Mom

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  2. Amanda I really admire what you are doing with your life. It sounds very exciting. You truly do tell a good story. It makes for a very good read. I saw your mom today & she sure does miss you. I will follow your blog as I can.

    Jamie Harris
    (your mom's friend from ATT)

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  3. How are you doing Amanda? Have been thinking about you. Hope all is well... Jamie

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  4. Hi Jamie! All is well. I've been telling myself to update this blog, but I haven't done it yet. I've been at my permanent site for three weeks now, and though it's taken a bit of adjusting, I'm very happy to be here and start working. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, and I will post an update soon. Take care and give my mom a hug from me next time you see her, okay? :)

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  5. take care Amanda. Yes I will give her a big hug for you!

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