Branches Book

BRANCHES

excited and thrilled because most of the other women I knew my age had also married, and now it was my turn. He made me laugh and he made me happy, so it must have been love, right? We were fine for a while. However, although we had kids, our marriage soon became a big challenge for me. I must have been very naïve to have been blind to Joaquin’s flaws before I married him. I learned that he loved to get drunk, and when he did, he was a mean drunk. Highly tempered and aggressive, I suffered through his abuse for many years. I could see no way to escape. I could barely make enough money by making and selling tortillas at the Mercado every day. I needed to support our five children, but it was so hard without any other help. I thanked God for giving me a caring and generous mother-in-law, who helped me find work. In 1972, she took me to the Itsmo de Tehauntepec to buy fruit, which I could go sell at Oaxaca. I had to pick the fruit myself and buy it from the farmers, so I spent hours under the sun picking tamarind, mangos, and limes from trees. Once I had filled up as many boxes as I could, I bought them from the farmers. Then, I would return to Oaxaca and spend all hours of the day selling the fruit. Thankful for the new source of income, I became very committed to the work. However, my children hated that I had to leave them for three to five days to make these trips. It was the only way I could support them though, so I continued to do it. It was during one of those trips that I met Antolin Ruiz Hernandez. I was with my mother-in-law and she told him that I was her daughter. I was upset and angry at her for lying, but she was ashamed of Joaquin for failing as a husband and a father. That’s why she often pressured me to find a better man. She’d say, “You work so hard for your children and do everything to support them. ¿Y tu? Who’s going to support you?” “I’m married to your son!” I’d counter. Nonetheless, Antolin began courting me with compliments, gifts, and promises. I admitted that at first I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice about love. Nonetheless, we soon we fell in love. However, I eventually discovered that Antolin was already married and had a family too. I was taken aback and confused by the news, but couldn’t really judge him, as I was also already married and also had kids. Since my father had passed away and my mother ignored me, I only had my mother-in-law to ask for advice. She, of course, wanted what was best for me, which in her eyes was Antolin. We continued our affair and I had three more children with him. Despite it all, I loved all my children. I had five daughters and three sons, and I would die for anyone of them.

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