When grandma stopped sewing, we knew very well that it was time to sit down and listen to her anecdotes. The stories came naturally, without forcing them, each day they were new and more interesting. To discover them through my grandmother's stories was to succumb to a storyteller who interpreted the sounds and emotions of the protagonists as if they were her own.
I was a spectator who never missed those afternoons, there was no television at home and no friends to play with, so I spent my evening vacations listening and imagining the testimonies that grandma told us.
One in particular had a great impact on me when I was just a toddler, it happened when my grandmother was a little girl. Her brother had married a Waruu Indian and had paid her a large dowry that her mother had disapproved of. My grandmother's mother was against the union, but it was my great-uncle Antonio who would end up deciding.
Cuando la abuela dejaba de coser, sabíamos muy bien que era hora de sentarnos a escuchar sus anécdotas. Las historias salían naturalmente, sin forzarlas cada día eran nuevas y más interesantes. Descubrirlas a través de los relatos de mi abuela, era sucumbir ante una narradora que interpretaba los sonidos y las emociones de los protagonistas, como si fueran suyos.
Yo era un espectador que nunca faltaba en aquellas tardes, no había televisión en casa ni tampoco amigos con quién jugar, así que me pasaba mis vacaciones vespertinas escuchando e imaginando los testimonios que nos relataba la abuela.
Una en particular me impactó mucho cuando apenas era un párvulo, sucedía mientras mi abuela era una niña. Su hermano se había casado con una india de la etnia waruu y había pagado por ella una dote cuantiosa que su madre había desaprobado. La madre de mi abuela estaba en contra de aquella unión, pero fue mi Tío abuelo Antonio quién terminaría decidiendo.
The Indian woman had a beautiful face, her hair brushed her lower extremities and her singing brightened up the evenings of the 1940s. Her name was Piache, which in the Waruu language means "Pearl" although it also had 30 other meanings including stone, granite, porcelain and also described a person whose heart was as hard as a rock.
Piache did nothing at home, she just rocked in a hammock that her mother had woven especially for her. Her routine consisted of rocking the hammock and singing until she was speechless, my grandmother hated her because she didn't help with the chores, let alone cook. She was not a good friend either, as her Spanish was very poor.
Uncle Antonio arrived promptly every afternoon with gifts for his young maiden. He was really in love, that time was very prosperous for the family; all the men had come of age so they had begun to work. The house was left alone in the daytime, only the women were left in charge.
La india era de hermoso semblante, su cabello rozaba sus extremidades inferiores y su canto alegraba las tardes de la década de 1940. Se llamaba Piache, que en el idioma waruu significa "Perla" aunque también tenía otros 30 significados entre ellos piedra, granito, porcelana y también describía a una persona cuyo corazón era duro como una roca.
Piache no hacía nada en casa, solo se mecía en una hamaca que su madre había tejido especialmente para ella. Su rutina consistía en mecer la hamaca y cantar hasta quedarse sin habla, mi abuela la odiaba porque no ayudaba en los quehaceres y muchos menos cocinaba. Tampoco era buena amiga, ya que su español era muy pobre.
El Tío Antonio, llegaba rápido todas las tardes con obsequios para su joven doncella. Estaba realmente enamorado, ese tiempo fue muy próspero para la familia; todos los hombres habían alcanzado la mayoría de edad por lo que habían comenzado a trabajar. La casa se quedaba sola en el día, solo las mujeres quedaban a cargo.
My grandmother's mother would go out to the fields to sell empanadas and leave my grandmother in charge of everything. One day while she was washing on the banks of the Gache River, she was surprised not to hear her sister-in-law's cheerful singing, but she didn't pay much attention to it and continued with her work. When he finally returned home, he realized that Piache was indeed not in the hammock.
So he decided to go and look for her. She was very afraid, in that place there were plenty of beasts that could eat the poor girl. My grandmother went down a path where there was an old tamarind plantation, Piache was addicted to that fruit and always went out to look for more, but she was not eating fruit, she was resting hanging from a rope around her neck, she was kneeling and while the wind blew her hair caressed the ground that shaded the tamarind.
Quickly my grandmother tried unsuccessfully to help the young woman, but she was no longer breathing. That tragedy had just begun, her mother, her brother and the whole family were going to see for themselves very soon.
La madre de mi abuela salía al campo a vender empanadas y dejaba a mi abuela encargada de todo. Un día mientras lavaba en las riberas del Río Gache, se sorprendió al no escuchar el canto alegre de su cuñada, sin embargo, no le prestó demasiada atención y continuó con su labor. Cuando por fin regreso a casa, se dio cuenta de que Piache en efecto no estaba en la hamaca.
Fue así como decidió ir a buscarla. Tenía mucho miedo, en aquel paraje había infinidad de bestias que podían comerse a la pobre joven. Mi abuela fue bajando por un sendero en el cual había una vieja plantación de tamarindo, Piache era adicta a esa fruta y siempre salía a buscar más, pero ella no estaba comiendo fruta, sino que descansaba colgada de un mecate alrededor su cuello, estaba arrodillada y mientras el viento pasaba su cabello acariciaba el suelo que sombreaba el tamarindo.
Rápidamente mi abuela trato sin éxito de ayudar a la joven, sin embargo, esta ya no respiraba. Aquella tragedia apenas comenzaba, su madre, su hermano y toda la familia iban a comprobarlo muy pronto.
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