Maria Isabel Ponce (nee Gonzales)
Maria Isabel Ponce (nee Gonzales) is not a movie star, singer, or anyone famous, but she is my grandma! She was born December 14, 1943 to Alfonso and Isabel Gonzales. She is the middle child of 11 other brothers and sisters. Maria was born and raised here in San Antonio's west side near the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. She didn't go to high school, but dropped out in the ninth grade when she was attending Cooper Junior High. She was never able to go back. She tried but felt it was too hard. She had to drop out because she had to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her siblings.
Maria was married June 21, 1961 to George Mendoza Ponce. She was 17 and pregnant when the court gave her a marriage license. She had six more children after that. She says it wasn't hard. Her husband was always working to support the family.
Maria was never allowed to work, her husband wouldn't let her. Her job was to stay home and do all the household chores while raising her family. She didn't mind though, because she was taught that the man was in charge. He was to work while she took care of the kids. She couldn't go out, and she even had to have her husband's clothes ready so he could go out on Friday night.
My grandma never learned to drive either. She says she never learned because her husband didn't want her to. He felt that she would leave and go where she couldn't be found. This is the reason I chose my grandma for this interview. She was raised in a time when the man was really the man of the house. He was the boss and the woman had to listen. So my topic is the role of women and seeing how much it has changed. This interview was taken Wednesday, October 29, 2003 at my grandma's house on 8634 Garden Brook here in San Antonio, Texas.
What did your mom do?
Nothing. Nothing? Haha! Homemaker, I guess.
Did she work?
Nope. No mas hay estaba. She never worked.
Who worked? Your dad?
My dad.
Do you know anybody whose parents did the opposite? (Like their mom worked and dad stayed home
with the kids?
Yeah, I knew a couple. My neighbors.
But not a lot, huh? Most of the men worked while the women stayed home?
Yeah, just my neighbor. She worked while he stayed home, and she had him doing all the house
work.
What high school did you go to, grandma?
None.
Why didn't you finish school?
Because I didn't want to go to school, and dropped out. I just didn't want to go.
What was the last grade you finished?
Ninth. I didn't finish it, I dropped out.
From what school?
Cooper Junior High.
Did it matter that you didn't finish? Did your parents tell you anything or no?
Nope, pero hijo man I had to do all the work.
Taking care of your brothers and sisters?
Yup. Feeding them in the morning. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Jeez! For about 10 people.
Was it normal for a woman to have a lot of kids back then?
Back then, yes.
Was there really birth control back then?
Yes, there was. Some kind.
But a lot of people didn't use it? Did they believe in it?
No not much, I guess, because everybody had a lot of kids.
How did you meet grandpa?
At a party. Era un quincenera, debut.
Were his parents the same as yours?
Yes, my father-in-law worked while my mother-in-law stayed home.
What did grandpa do?
Grandpa? You mean my husband?
Yeah.
Construction-laborer. He was a laborer.
Did he let you work?
Nope.
Did you care that you didn't work?
Nah.
How did your mom teach you to be?
Stay home, and we all had chores to do-cooking, cleaning.
Did you raise your kids that way
Yes.
How different is it now than it was back then?
The kids don't do nothing, um it's very rare to find anybody whose kids do anything in the
house.
Does it bother you how much things have changed?
No.
Would you rather it be the way it was before?
YES! Now you can't even walk down the street.
What do you think is the biggest change
You mean from now and then? The way the children are raised and disciplined, and now men and women are fifty/fifty. Before the man was the boss.
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center This web site talks about the
cultural arts center my grandma lived by.
Role of womenThis web site
talks about the changing role of women in history.
Birth control
This web site gives you the history of
the whole birth control movement.
Quincenera This web site
gives a brief description of a quincenera.
