Chavela's Journey-Dr. Louis Gonzales

Throughout the past, women have been known to be the history keepers of their culture, the ones who have kept the family spirit alive  Throughout history, women have been commended for their courage in standing firmly at their posts through wars, severe storms and hurricanes.

This oral account of Chavela, the last Mexican historian of the Gonzales family is about Tomasa, the keeper of our family’s flame. Those of our generation have been fortunate to learn first-hand the power of tradition through hearing first hand the oral accounts of our people’s lives, the stories of the experiences of their day and of the men and women who made tremendous strides against all odds and whose faith and courage were tested and proven.

One might say that this is a story about any immigrant, actually, except that the mode of transportation which got them to the U.S. differs. It is about pulling up roots and leaving friends and family behind, making do, getting by, coping, and forging new lives in a place that promised prosperity, but which often, was met with a deep racial divides and rejection.

There are many people that helped put this historical translation together.  I would like to first thank Irene Dhillon for the loan of the cassette tapes she recorded of her mother Ysabel and was gracious enough to entrust me with her valuable recordings.

Many thanks go out to my father Luis Gonzales for sharing his memories with me as a young man and for passing on his humor, kindness and his wisdom. Thank you to my Madrina, Margaret Hulsey for her memories of her mother’s stories and for the love and patience she has taken to share these memories with others.

I wish to thank my Aunt Ysabel, “Chavela” for maintaining such keen observations of life throughout her one hundred years and for recounting her childhood struggles against adversity during the hard times of the Mexican Revolution era.

This book is dedicated to all the young readers who, through birth, have been touched by   this great lady. I can only encourage you to take a look at where you are today and reflect. None of what you have gained in this world has been by accident or coincidence. It took strength both mental and physical that had its beginnings in yesteryear.

We are never divorced from our past. We are in company with it always and it is what unconsciously guides our present.  Never forget that all our responses today reflect the experiences and roots that lie in the past.