Mexican Boy - The Story Of Pablo (1961)

[Music] Treat. I am Pablo. In your conference, you would call me Paul. Every morning, I walk down this road to the school in our village. It is a beautiful road through the mountains and fields of corn which are everywhere in our country, Mexico. To me, these mountains are like a wall around our village, hidden down in the valley. Only the bell towers of our church peep above the trees. It is a very old church in a very old town. Papa says, "Our church was built 400 years ago." In the center of the town there is a park we call the soalo. The biggest building is the town hall, the palacio where the president of the village works. The school is the next biggest. Before the bell rings, we play in the yard, talk with our friends, and listen to music from the record. Then the principal in a loud voice tells us to line up quickly. When we are all in the right line, the talks to us and we listen to him. Then we march to the classroom. The girls sit on one side and the boys on the other. Sometimes there are many grades in the same room because the principal says we do not have enough rooms. Senorita Gomez is our teacher today. She tells us about the ruler, about how to measure. And I wonder how long is my foot. And I think I will be glad when school is over today, for it is the day of the market. One day each week, the people come from the country and from other villages to buy and to sell the things which they have grown and made. Everything which we need is sold here. The fruit and vegetables, the meat, dishes and pots and pans which the people make in their houses. There are big pieces of cloth of many colors and dresses for my sisters and mama. Cool drinks, lemonade and the red Jamaica water like cranberry juice you can buy for 20 cents which is maybe 2 cents in your country. But I do not stop today. I think about them my new shoes all the time now as the day grows closer. I want these shoes, black and shiny and stiff. I have never worn shoes like these. Always I wear guaraches on my feet. I want the shoes to wear on the feast of the virgin mother who watches over Mexico. On this day, our family will make the long journey to the shrine of the Virgin of [Music] Guadalupe. I will walk to the shrine in my new shoes, but I must work to get them. When the sun comes up, the day of work begins. The men go to the fields, take the cattle to the pastures. In our house, which is made of adobe, mud bricks. We all sleep and eat in the one room. When I wake up, I hear the pat patting sound of mama making the tortillas round and flat and toasting them for our breakfast. It is a very nice the making of tortillas made from corn. They are like bread to us. We eat tortillas every day. As I shake my piggy bank, I think what I will do today to earn more centavos. Soon maybe I will have enough to buy the black shoes. On the wall above papa's bed hang his two hats. I am glad to see them there, for I know papa has not gone without me to the fields. There is his old sombrero and his beautiful charro hat from Guadalajara which he will wear to Guadalupe on the feast of [Music] rever. It is the most beautiful thing he owns. This hat from Guadalajara. All the men of our town would like to own it. We are very proud of it. My papa and I. When the tortillas are ready, we eat the breakfast. This morning, mama has made tacos, which are rolled up tortillas with beans or meat inside. Papa and I think they taste very good. So does Carlos, my big brother who is 13, and Lolita, my baby sister, who likes the tacos all over the outside as well as the inside. Papa laughs when he sees me, always with my piggy bank. He says, "Do I think the Santavos will run away?" I say, "They will run only to the shoe man. This morning I see mama is not so happy. My sister Christina, she is sick and does not eat with us. She is sick with a large fever. Mama is sad. And I am sad when I look at Christina because I think how very bad She is not better in time to go with us to the shrine of the virgin. All the days now she rests on her pate and each day she is not better. Papa and Carlos go to work in the fields. And today I will go too because it is November, the time when there is no school. Mama and Lolita wave goodbye. As we leave with our mules, we call Canela and Pimeto. Today we will climb high up in the mountains to work in the may field which belongs to papa. From the may plant we get many things. Material to make cloth and paper and medicine. Today papa shows Carlos how to get the pul which is a drink. The pul runs down into the center of the plant where we have chopped a hole. Every few days we come and dip out the pul into a jar. Some of the fields like this one papa owns. Other fields where we work belong to all of the people of the village. The beans are ready to pick. Next to tortillas, I think we eat more beans than any other thing. Some of the beans we will keep. And some we must give to the other people who own this land too. Sometimes we work in the woods where it is shady and cool. I think I like to work here the best where the bananas and the coffee grow. Papa and I must use the ladder to pick the coffee beans. It is better to pick only the red beans because they are ripe. But sometimes we get the green ones in our sack too. When we have picked all the beans, Kapa and I carry them home. We spread them on the ground to dry in the hot sun. When all of the coffee beans have turned brown, then we will sell them and people in other countries will have good coffee to drink. [Music] Besides the mules, Canella and Pimento, we have cows, too. And always we must find a place for them to eat. In the part of Mexico where we live, it does not rain for many months. And sometimes it is hard to find food for the animals. In the dry season when there is little work in the fields, Carlos and I help papa to make the adobe bricks which are used to build houses. We push down the earth. Then we mix it with water until there are no more lumps. The bricks will bake in the sun until they are hard. Papa will trim them with his machete until they are smooth. Then they will be ready to sell. While we are doing the work of the men, mama does the work of the women, which I think is maybe like the work of your mother. She sews and takes care of the [Music] children. She washes the clothes in the river and rubs them hard on the stones to make them clean. When we come home from work at night, papa is very tired. And I am a little tired, too. But I am not tired anymore. When I see what papa does, he gives me centavos for helping him. Right away, I think of my shoes and what I will do tomorrow to get the rest of the money. The plants in my garden have many new tomatoes on them. I pick them and carry them in my hat. I go straight to the market to sell them. I shout, "How fine are my tomatoes?" Soon a lady from the city buys them all. The centavos jingle in my pocket as I walk through the market to the flowers where sometimes a lady will ask me to carry her lilies or carnations when she has many other bundles. But today no one asks [Music] me. So I run to the steps of our church. I like to look up at the tall bell towers. Someone else is looking up too. They are people from another country who come from far away in cars to take pictures of our church. I ask the man with the red face and not so much hair if I can wash his car. He asks me if I am big enough. I say I have washed many cars and will do a good job. He says then I can wash his car. It is a very beautiful car. I wash it until it shines like black shoes. When the people come to see the car, I think they are happy. It is so clean. When I see the savos he gives me, I know he is happy. Now at last I will have them. The shoes. I run down the road to tell mama the good news. Something is not good. It is the new doctor who comes all the way from Mexico City. He tells Mama what to do for Christina, who I'm afraid is very sick now. The doctor pats my head. I do not like this. Mama tells me what is the bad trouble. Christina needs a new kind of medicine or she will not be well. We do not have the money for this medicine which cost very much. I think very hard of my new shoes of Christina. Yes, mama. We have the money in my piggy bank, in my pocket. There is enough. The day before the feast, before the sun comes up, we eat our breakfast by candle light. It is a very special breakfast with thick chocolate to drink. Crispina is well again. I am happy she is well and can go with us to the Virgin of Guadalupe. I do not think of my new shoes in the park. Already our neighbors are beginning to gather for their long walk to Guadalupe. My father does not wear his chro hat. He does not answer when I ask where it is. At last, the journey begins. At first, we follow the roads. Then we travel straight across the hills. Now we see the pyramids built by the Indians of Mexico hundreds of years ago. As I rest on the steps, I feel very small. The pyramid is so big. We have climbed and climbed as the sun set and we spend the night in the village of our relatives. From here we can see the lights of Mexico City spread out below. In the morning the great day begins. The women carry fresh flowers to put on the altar of the Virgin. [Music] Soon we passed the great green warriors who guard the entrance to Mexico [Music] City. It was here I wanted to put on my new [Music] shoes. We enter the gates of Guadalupe. There are many [Music] people. Some of them walk on their knees to see the Virgin. There are bands playing and processions. There are women singing and carrying flowers. [Music] We kneel down on the cement to say a prayer to the [Music] Virgin. I cannot believe my eyes. Thank you papa. Papa has put these shoes in my [Music] hands. I know now why papa does not wear his chro hat too. That the virgin looks down proudly on papa and me as I wanted her to. And not because of a fine hat or a pair of shiny shoes. [Music]