Wisdom Wednesday: A Grandmother's Love

Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca (1893 - 1998)


"Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever."   - Author unknown

My grandmother, Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca,
Chicago, about 64 years old, 1956.

One of my earliest - and warmest - memories of living with my grandmother, or Abuelita Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca was our first night in her home, as she said her bedtime prayers.

We had moved to Mexico City in early 1964, and we stayed with her at her home for a couple of months while my parents, Gilbert and Joan (Schiavon) Huesca, looked for a suitable home.

Despite her limited space, Abuelita made us feel welcome and right at home.  Her English was no longer what it had been when she spoke it at home with her parents, Francisco and Maria (Amaro) Perrotin, but she still understood it fairly well. She hugged and kissed us tenderly and laughed along with us as we sat in her tiny painted wooden chairs.  

We could not have been happier to have so much attention.   I think we somehow figured out in our own childish way that a grandmother's love knows no language barriers. 

My parents and my two youngest sisters slept in the living room.  I thought my other sister and I were the lucky ones when we found out we would get to sleep with our grandmother in her large, soft bed.  

She was deeply religious. Wrapped in her black rebozo, or shawl over a soft flannel nightgown and wearing thick dark socks to keep her legs and feet warm, she tucked us gently into bed, turned off the main light, and lit a couple of candles in tall red glass jars covered with images of the Sacred Heart and Saint Michael the Archangel.    

The candles now being the only light in the room, she knelt at her bedside and recited the Rosary. This was followed by various prayers, first to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, then to Virgin of Guadalupe, and lastly to Saint Martin de Porres, her favorite saint.  Walking purposefully around the room, she stopped at each photograph and reverently lit the votive candles in front of them.  The pictures were beautiful and numerous; they covered all the walls of her room, her two dressers, and the bedside tables. 

She prayed for the people in each of the pictures:  her parents and grandparents, her beloved husband Cayetano, their children and grandchildren, and her beloved sister Blanca Perrotin. She seemed to leave no one out, even though ours was a large extended family.

About 30 - 45 minutes later, Abuelita climbed into bed with us.  I think she was surprised I was still awake, especially after our long journey, but I could not take my eyes off her.  The toasty warmth of the tin heater in the corner, the flickering candles in the room and the dancing shadows on the wall, together with the family pictures and the images of God and all the saints smiling down on us made me feel safe and loved and blessed.  I had never  witnessed anyone talk to God as intimately before this night.  We pulled the covers way up to our foreheads and cuddled together in the soft glow as we fell asleep, my grandmother stroking my head.

Copyright ©  2013  Linda Huesca Tully

Did you know, or are you a member of the Huesca or Perrotin families ?  If so, share your memories and comments below.

Wisdom Wednesday: A Father's Influence (Part 1 of 2)

Gilbert Cayetano Huesca
   (1915 - 2009)

The Huesca-Perrotin Family
Left to right:  Delia Domitila, Victoria, and Gilbert Huesca; Catalina
(Perrotin) Huesca; Cayetano Huesca (standing), Mario Huesca and Maria
(Amaro) Perrotin (both seated); Blanca Perrotin; and Eduardo and Enrique
Huesca.  Notice my father, who was about seven years old in this photograph:
 even as a young boy, he loved wearing neckties, just like his father.
 Orizaba, Veracruz, April 22, 1923

For as long as I can remember, nearly all the stories my father, Gilbert Huesca, told of his life as a young boy included his parents.  During this early period, his father, Jose Gil Alberto Cayetano Huesca, was a major influence on his life.  He credited my grandfather's vision and wisdom with forming his values and his own style of parenting, and he never spoke of him without a deep tone of reverence. The recollections that follow are told in my father's own words, taken from our many conversations over the years.
                                                                                            - Linda Huesca Tully

                                                                                                            

"We returned in about 1919 to Orizaba from (our two year stay in) Chiapas.   My Tío - or Uncle, Felix Francisco "Pancho" Perrotin (my mother’s older brother), his wife Ester, and their daughters, Catalina and Celia, welcomed us at the railroad station, and they looked for a Catholic school for us in Orizaba, so we could learn the Creed and the catechism.  

"Tío Pancho had red hair, like my brother Mario.  He worked on the railroad.  I think he was an engineer. He and my father were very close, like brothers.  Tia Ester was a very beautiful, petite lady.

"Every Sunday we would visit Tío Pancho and Tía Ester.  They had a very nice home in Orizaba.  He had a big, high stove, and he always seemed to be cooking on it.  I think he built it himself. Catalina was the oldest, and Celia was maybe 6 or 7 years old.  I don't think I played with them because they were older than me, but they guided us like angels.

"We were living in Orizaba when Tío Pancho died, so it would be about 1921 or 1922.  We all went to his funeral.  I remember seeing the casket and everything.  His was the first funeral I went to in my life.  

- - - - -

"When I was a young boy, I raised silkworms.  I used to cut sleeves for them from mulberry trees. Fascinating!  I used to spend hours and hours playing with the silkworms and making little nests for them.

"My father was a very wise and industrious man.   We were 11 children in all, and he did his best to provide for us and give us a home and a good life.  He needed to provide beds for all of us, so he bought a hotel.   All of us worked in that hotel, from oldest to the youngest, whether it was washing windows or mopping floors.  And the youngest ones had to help, too, even if it was to carry something for my mother.  I had to make all the beds every morning before I went to school.  Not half-way, but the right way:  with perfect corners, no wrinkles, and the sheets tucked in neatly and evenly.   My sister Catrín (Catalina) used to wash the dishes.  There were a lot of dishes.  My brothers, Enrique and Eduardo, helped with many things, but one of those was meeting the hotel guests at the train station and delivering their luggage to the hotel.  My father used to emphasize to us, 'We are a team,' and we did work as a team, every single one of us.

"Along with the hotel, he established a restaurant for the convenience of the guests.  It also helped him to feed our family: 11 children, my parents, plus my grandmother, my aunt Blanca, and of course the workers at the hotel, because we did have some people there to help us. My mother did all of the cooking.  She was an excellent cook.

"He wanted us to be good athletes, so he built a roller skate rink and a bowling alley.  All the people in the town used to go there.  I think the bowling alley was the first one in the town, and my father built it himself, with my brothers and I there, helping him.  It is not easy to build a bowling alley, because you have to keep the lanes very level and observe standard regulations.  Everything has to be planned right the first time, and everything has to done precisely.   My father was particular with every detail.  We could not rush the job, and he involved us in all the steps.  So we learned more than just how to bowl.  We learned how to be patient and how to plan our work and how to do things right.

Two of the Huesca brothers:  Eduardo (second from
right) and Enrique (far right), with the wagon they
used to transport luggage and small freight from the
railway Station to the family hotel, circa 1928.

"My father also opened a casino.  Not a casino like the kind in Las Vegas, but one with card and game tables.  We all learned how to play cards and how to be dealers and watch the players. My father would look in the direction of a player and then at us, placing his forefinger below his eye.  This gesture is called, 'ojo,' which in Spanish means, 'Keep an eye on that person.'  And we would watch the person to make sure they were not cheating.

"I suppose that because I was very young, I took things literally.  In 1921, when I was five or six years old, a general came to the hotel to rent a room.  He was a great big man, and he had a very impressive uniform with shiny buttons and a lot of medals.  But I could tell there was something about him that my father did not like.  My father needed to leave the room for a few minutes, and I guess he was concerned that the general might take the money from the cash register. There was no one else there with us, so he turned to me and discreetly pointed his finger below his eye - 'ojo.' When he returned, there I was, with my eyes open very wide, and my index finger pressed against my lower eyelid as I watched the general - all business!

"My father's face turned white.  This was in the days right after the Revolution.  In those days, you had to be very careful around the soldiers, especially the army officers, because if they thought you were against them in any way, you could be killed.  They did not ask questions but they could shoot you and that would be it.  But maybe the general could see that I was just a little boy and was very innocent.

"Another time a lady came to visit at the hotel.  She was a large lady.  My father told me to bring her a chair.  Well, I was still very young at that time.  I brought her two chairs and pushed them together for her.  I thought I was being helpful, so my father's reaction surprised me.  He was so embarrassed!  He just looked at me, speechless.  What could he say?  The lady stared in shock at the two chairs for a few moments and finally sat down.  Then she began to laugh.  'From the mouths of babes!' she said."


Copyright ©  2012  Linda Huesca Tully

NEXT:  Thankful Thursday:  A Father's Influence (Part 2 of 2)

Marriage Record of Francisco Perrotin and Maria Amaro

Marriage Record
of
Francisco Perrotin and Maria Amaro

Orizaba, Veracruz State, Mexico

March 3, 1889

The following is my translation of the Marriage record between my great-grandparents, Francisco Perrotin and Maria Amaro:

Number 25.

Second act of The Marriage of Francisco Perrotín with María Amaro


In the City of Orizaba, at nine in the morning of the third of March of one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, before me, the undersigned Judge of the Civil Registry of the Town, appeared Citizen Francisco Perrotín, demonstrating that as the term prescribed by law for the publication of his convened marriage with Miss María Amaro, without no impediment imposed whatsoever against it, asked for a date and time to celebrate it. The Judge, certain of the above, by the individual and in agreement with him, indicated five-thirty in the afternoon tomorrow and signed with the same. = Mr. Galindo. Francisco Perrotin = Fernández


Number 26.
Twenty-six.
Marriage of Francisco Perrotín and María Amaro


In the City of Orizaba, at five-thirty in the afternoon of the fourth of March of one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, before me, Agustín Portas Ariza, first Justice of the Peace, legal substitute of the the Town Civil Registry, by physical impediment of the second (judge), appeared with the object of celebrating their civil marriage, the Citizen Francisco Perrotín and Miss María Amaro, the first twenty-two years old, originally from and neighbor of this City and a mechanic, current in the payment of his personal taxes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Francisco Perrotin and Catalina Ogradi (sic), married, of legal age, of this vicinity, the first originally from France, industrialist and the second from Ireland. The bride is celibate and seventeen years of age, originally from Tecamachalco, Puebla State, of this vicinity, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rafael Amaro and Soledad Cid, married, of legal age, originally from Tecamachalco, of this vicinity and the first an artisan. Both bride and groom demonstrated that: their matrimonial presentation of the fourth day of last February having been verified, the publications having been made as prescribed by law, without any impediments having been imposed to the contrary; that the bride’s father having given his consent in the act of the presentation and ratified by same today, in this act they petition the present Citizen Judge to authorize their concerted union. In virtue of having fulfilled all the requirements of the law, the relative articles of the law of July twenty-third, one thousand eight hundred fifty-nine having been read to them. The bride and groom having been interrogated as to article One Hundred Fifty-seven of the State Civil Code, whether it was their will to unite in civil matrimony, each taking the other and submitting mutually to one another as husband and wife and in view of their affirmative answer, I, Agustin Portas Ariza, first Justice of the Peace in this city and legal substitute of the Town Civil Registry Judge, made the following declaration. In the name of Society I declare Citizen Francisco Perrotín and Miss María Amaro united in perfect, legitimate, and indissoluble matrimony. The final part of the aforementioned article was read to them. Witnesses to this union were the Citizens Félix B. Marín and Francisco Salas, both single and Francisco P. Carmona, married, all of legal Age, the first originally from AltoSonga and the second from Puebla, both of this vicinity and the third
from Veracruz. The present act was read to them, with which all agreed and signed and sworn = Ag. Portas Ariza = Francisco Perrotín = María Amaro, = Felix B. Marín, Francisco Salaz, F.P. Carmona.



Did you know, or are you a member of the Perrotin, O'Grady, Amaro, or Huesca families?  If so, share your memories and comments below.

Maria Angela Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca

Maria Angela Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca



Born May 31, 1893, in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico
Died April 5, 1998, in Mexico City, D. F., Mexico

My grandmother, Maria Angela Catalina Perrotin, was the second child born to Francisco Perrotin and Maria Amaro. Her birth certificate notes that her father, age 26, was from Orizaba and was a mechanic, presumably for Ferrocarriles Mexicanos, the Mexican Railway. Her mother, Maria, age 20, hailed from Tecamachalco, in the state of Puebla, Mexico.

Catalina was the second of six brothers and sisters. She is shown here, with her parents and brother Francisco, in a picture dated September 28, 1893. I would guess the family is outside their home, and their dress suggests that it may have been the occasion of the infant Catalina's baptism.

Catalina, her brothers Francisco, Hugo, Roberto and Juan, and their sister, Blanca Luz, grew up speaking English and French in addition to their native Spanish. They often used their multilingual abilities to share secrets with one another, sometimes going back and forth between English and French when they wanted no one else to hear their conversations. This came in particularly handy when Catalina became a parent, as she could easily share confidences with her sister and mother without her children understanding them! Years later, however, when my family moved to Mexico City, my grandmother had forgotten how to speak English, but she still understood every word we said, sometimes even when we mischievous little girls thought she didn't -- much to our chagrin and to the delight of our parents!

In 1899, when Catalina was only six years old, her father, Francisco (also known as Frank) Perrotin died of Yellow Fever. The epidemic, known at the time as el vomito negro (the "Black Vomit") Mexico, claimed over 600 lives in Veracruz state that year. To make ends meet, her mother, Maria, ran an eatery in Orizaba, and it was while helping her mother there that the young Catalina met the love of her life, Jose Gil Alberto Cayetano Huesca (known to all simply as Cayetano Huesca). The couple married in 1908 and went on to have 11 children. Half of the children would have their father's dark hair, while the other half were either blond or red-headed, with blue eyes, a reflection of their mother's French-Irish background.

Feeding, housing and clothing a large family was a challenge in those days. In addition to Cayetano's work as a mechanic for Ferrocarriles Mexicanos and his efforts to improve labor conditions for railroad workers, he and Catalina bought and operated a hotel, casino, and skating rink in Tierra Blanca, Veracruz. Each of the children helped in the business. My father's job was to make the beds every morning before he went to school. The others did the dishes and the laundry, swept and mopped floors, and transported guests' baggage from the Tierra Blanca train station to the hotel.

Cayetano Huesca died of pneumonia in 1937. Catalina, at 44 years old, had given birth about eight months earlier to her youngest child and still had a large family to support, though some of the older children were already grown and had left home. Still, she inherited the strength so inherent in the women of her family and moved forward, never complaining, but taking the challenge in stride. She took great pride in her children, who adored her in return and continued to honor her for the rest of her life.

On the heels of Cayetano's death, the Huesca family moved to Mexico City, as did her Catalina's mother, Maria (Amaro) Perrotin and sister, Blanca Luz Perrotin. As her children grew and began families of their own, she stayed involved with them, She held court on Sundays, birthdays and holidays in her little house on Carpio Street, in Colonia Santa María la Ribera, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Mexico City, where her children and over 100 grandchildren and great-grandchildren would come to visit. She knew everyone’s name and age and never forgot a birthday, and she made each person who visited her feel as though he or she were her favorite.

Her typical morning routine consisted of sweeping her tile floors with a broom made of long straw, wrapped tightly around a stick. First thing in the morning, she would throw open the metal doors to her inside patio and put out the cages with her beloved yellow and orange canaries, where they would sing the sweetest songs and soak in the sunshine as she went about her work. Every morning she went to the market and bought the day’s groceries. Her mother, Maria (Amaro) Perrotin, and sister Blanca Perrotin, often joined her at around two o’clock for the customary Mexican comida, or dinner.

It was the big meal of the day, and businesses and schools would typically close at 1:00 or so in the afternoon so employees and students alike could go home and eat with their families. People would then return to work from 5 to 9 p.m., after which they would come home for a nightcap, or cena, which consisted of Mexican sweet rolls, or pan dulce, which all families bought nightly at the corner bakery.

The comida at Catalina's house usually consisted of several elaborately made courses: appetizers, sopa de fideos (chicken noodle soup), rice, frijoles (beans), chiles rellenos (stuffed green peppers), tacos or enchiladas or beef steak, coffee, and often slices of fresh mango or papaya for dessert. Catalina was an excellent cook, and in her tiny kitchen she could cook just as easily for one as she could for 50. She did this often, too, for the steady stream of children and grandchildren who visited her just to chat or to celebrate birthdays, holidays, and special occasions.

My Abuelita (an endearing term for "Grandmother" in Spanish) Catalina was a devout Roman Catholic and had a strong devotion to St. Martin de Porres. She kept a worn framed picture of him on the back of her pale green front door, along with a prayer beneath it and a small shelf on the wall next to it that held votive candles and pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Guadalupe. She displayed the same pictures in her bedroom, and every night before bed, she would go around the room and light votive candles under these images and pictures of Cayetano and every member of her family, living or dead, praying for each person. This took about 45 minutes, but it was very moving to watch.

My precious Abuelita loved her family deeply and had an incredible memory for names, dates, and even voices. Even when she was well over 100 years old, she would recognize my voice when I called her on the telephone from over 2000 miles away in California. She always asked right away about my husband and our children. She did this with everyone and never confused any names as far as I know, and she had a knack for making everyone feel as if he or she was her favorite and she had just known they would call.

Like the women who came before her, she was strong, active and independent all her life. When she was in her late 90's, she moved from her home on Carpio Street to an apartment a few miles away next door to one of her daughters, where she continued to live alone until her death at age 105. Her spirituality, independence, strong work ethic, and fierce devotion to family live on in her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, each of whom was special to her and who adored her in return.

She will always live on in my heart.



Did you know Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca or her siblings, or are you a member of the Perrotin, Amaro, or Huesca families?  If so, share your memories and comments below.

Marriage Certificate of Cayetano Huesca and Maria Angela Catalina Perrotin

Marriage Certificate of Cayetano Huesca and Maria Angela Catalina Perrotin

My grandparents (Abuelitos, as we called them) were married in the Catholic Church in Tierra Blanca, Veracruz State, in 1908, and their first child, Enrique, was born a year later. They were married civilly in the same town in 1912, in accord with federal law, which to this day recognizes the civil act (only) as legal. At the time of the civil ceremony, Cayetano and Catalina, as she was called by all, were already the parents of sons Enrique and Eduardo, the first of 17 children (six of whom died either in childbirth or at an early age).
Cayetano and Catalina Huesca were married for 29 years when Cayetano died prematurely of pneumonia at age 49 on September 11, 1937. He remained the light of Catalina's life until her own death at age 104 on April 5, 1998. Her devotion to him was evident in the stories she lovingly told of him and in prominent places his pictures occupied in her home. A large portrait of Cayetano, surrounded by flowers on the shelf below it, occupied a central place in Abuelita's bedroom, and every night before she went to bed, she would stand reverently before it, lighting a candle and praying for her beloved husband.
The following is my translation of my grandparents' civil marriage certificate. Unfortunately, due to the age and condition of the nearly century-old document, some of the words are no longer legible; however, it is extremely through in its detail and typical of the documents of the day. I have capitalized and transcribed words in English as they were written in the original Spanish. Note that my grandmother's family name was written as "Perroten," although it was actually "Perrotin."

* * *

For Certificates of the Acts of the Civil Registry of the State of Veracruz

In the name of the Republic of Mexico, and as Judge of the Civil Registry of this place, I make known to those present, and I certify as true that on record 3 in Book number 3, corresponding to the year 1912, in this Auxiliary office is found the following information:

Number 3 - Matrimony of Cayetano M. Huesca and Catalina Perroten. In the Congregation of Tierra Blanca at 8 eight o'clock in the evening of the 21 twenty-first day of February 1912 one thousand nine hundred and twelve, before me, Jose C. Pena, Deputy of Justice with the title of Auxiliary Judge of Civil Matters of this Congregation, appeared with the object of celebrating their marriage, the citizen Cayetano M. Huesca and Mrs. Catalina Perroten, the former originally from Canada de Morelos, State of Puebla, single, mechanic, 24 twenty-four years of age and from this vicinity, legitimate son of Mr. Enrique Huesca and of the late Luz Merlo [next line illegible, though it probably refers to Enrique Huesca]... years of age, carpenter residing in Canada de Morelos. Mrs. Catalina Perroten said to be a native of Orizaba, single, 18 eighteen years of age, residing in this Congregation, legitimate daughter of the late Francisco Perroten and of Mrs. Maria Amaro, originally of Orizaba, widow age 40 forty years, residing in this jurisdiction. Both parties declared: that having verified their matrimonial presentation on the 21 twenty-first of last January, that having published this by legal means, no one having intervened; that the mother of the intended woman has granted her consent and said lady has approved the act, they ask the undersigned Judge to authorize their concerted union. By virtue of having fulfilled all the requirements as prescribed by law, the parties were questioned in accord with the provisions of article 123 one hundred and twenty-three of the Civil Code, as to their willingness to be united in marriage and having answered affirmatively, the undersigned Judge declared them united in legitimate matrimony in the name of society and with regard to the expressed Code, reminding them of their obligations as to Article 55 fifty-five of the ruling law of the State Civil Registry. Witnesses to this act were citizens Jose Arellano, Enrique Perez, Jose Luna and Rafael Bernal, the first originally from Toluca, State of Mexico, single, carpenter, age 38 thirty-eight years of age, the second originally from Chacaltiango [sp.?]...[illegible]...State of Veracruz. [Illegible]...of age, the third originally from Texcoco, State of Mexico, single, carpenter, age 36 thirty-six years of age, and all from this vicinity with known addresses. This act having been read to them and in accord with it, this information [illegible]...to the mother of the intended woman...[in effect]...she and the witness Jose Arellano. I attest - Jose C. Pena - Cayetano M. Huesca - Catalina Perroten - Jose Arellano - Enrique Perez - Jose Luna - Rafael Bernal [illegible]...present of the Congregation of Tierra Blanca, on the 27 twenty-seventh day of the month of February 1912 one thousand nine hundred and twelve.

[signed] Jose C. Pena

Did you know Cayetano or Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca, or are you a member of the Huesca or Perrotin families?  If so, share your memories and comments below.