Carmen Arenas, (we affectionately call Camucha), she is my friend since childhood, we still maintain our ties of friendship. She asked me to write and publish the story of her life in Colmena.
Carmen lived in Barrio Bolivar-Venezuela with her mom, father and seven siblings. Her mother had to go to Caracas-Venezuela to work and from there she sent them a remittance. Camucha was left in the care of her siblings along with her father, was a cab driver. she got into the cab with her father he told her:
"Daughter, it is good to study because a person acquires knowledge to defend himself in life. Working is also good because it dignifies man. Besides, he who works does not eat straw".
Those words remained engraved in her unconscious. When she finished high school, she started working in a school canteen to help with househol expenses.
When she came of age, fell in love with Ángel Córdova, a worker. They built their little house. During their courtship.
On the day of the church wedding Carmen was waiting for the groom and he did not arrive, he was on his way to the church and a motorcycle ran over him, he was taken to the hospital, they put his leg in a cast and as best he could he arrived at the church to marry Camucha.
Before getting married, she worked as soon as she got married. He forbade her to work. In that marital union they had 4 children. Those were years of happiness.
Several years later. Camucha discovered that her husband had a mistress with whom he had had a child. The problems began. Soon after, they divorced. At that moment, hardship began for my friend.
A night of restlessness, of not being able to sleep, in the face of this bad situation. She remembered her father's words that still echoed in her mind: "Work dignifies man, he who works does not eat straw". He did not sleep all night. At dawn he prepared breakfast for his children, then sent the four of them to school. And he went out to look for work.
That day she traveled almost all over Cumaná looking for work and did not find it. She finally went to the school she quit when she got married.
Immediately, she was put in charge of the school canteen. She started working from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. This is how she spent her life with her 4 children. They were studying at the "Emilio Tebar Carrasco" Technical School to obtain the degree of Medium Technician in Electronics. She was anxious for her son to graduate soon. Many times he came home and told her so:
"Mom, today in class I felt like fainting from hunger." She replied:
"Wait, it won't be long now.
Six months passed, the long-awaited day arrived, her eldest son was graduating. He could not attend to receive his diploma, because he had no apparent clothes for that day. His mother went to the administration of the Institute and spoke with the school's director, explaining everything she had to do for him to graduate. He replied: "Come and receive the diploma for your son.
That day, when he arrived, the auditorium was full of graduates and their families. The Director addressed the audience saying: "At this moment the mother of young Ángel Luis Córdova Arenas, an excellent student with a 20-point average, has just been admitted. Unfortunately he was unable to attend. He delegated to his mother the responsibility of receiving him. She is as deserving of this title as he is, both made a great effort and sacrifice to obtain it". He went up to the podium and the audience applauded, at that moment, he cried with happiness..
Today Camucha is 73 years old, her children are professionals, they have their jobs, their homes with their families live far away from her, but they take care of their food and health on a daily basis.
This is a non-fiction story
I hope you like it
The drawings are by me
Use the translator Deepl
