Estefana Castro (nee Torres)
My soon to be mother-in-law's name is Estefana T. Castro. She was born
September 2, 1929. Born in
Luling, Texas and was raised in Mexico.
Her parents were Consuelo Buenavides Muniz and Santos Torres Duran. She has four sisters and one brother.
She has travelled from Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila,
then to Coahuila San Carlos, then to Coahuila al Mineral de Nueva
Rosita, Coahuila. She graduated from Comales, Tamaulipas.
She has worked as a teachers aide in Mexico. She has worked in a
laundry mat in McAllen, Texas. She used to work in a photo lab, there she learned to
develop and process photos. She also worked at Kreskies on Commerce Street, in San Antonio. Her husband's name is Oscar Felipe Castro. She
met her husband in Texas. She got married in Alice, Texas in 1950. She gave birth
to five children. Her hobbies are to collect all different types of shoes and to read.
I must add that in her younger years she played sports. She played volleyball
and baseball.
Where did you live during the Great Depression?
Well, we moved to Mexico in 1930 and we stayed here for 18 or 19 years. I lived in the Coahuila State first then Nuevo Leon,... then to Nuevo Laredo Mexico. Finally, we went Comales, Tamaulipas
How did the Great Depression affect your family?
The whole family was affected because we had no food, no jobs and no homes. I think this how the Great Depression affected us the most.
What kind of work did your family have at this time?
My father was the only one to work at that time, my mother stayed home with us. In San Carlos, Coahuila my father found a job as a watchman. There he used to watch things that came in from Cuidad Acuna, Coahuila like wheat, cotton, varilla... that is like a steel bar. Men at that time did not believe that a women should work. Men felt that the women should stay home with the children.
During the Great Depression what kind of homes did you have?
Well, the rich people used to had brick houses, some made out of stone. But the poor people, we had to live in a different style of houses. For instance, we lived in a house made out of adobe... I helped my father make the adobe, we mixed it with mock, and paja, my father use to make a frame two feet long by, a foot wide. Two or three days later it would be dry. This is how the walls were made in our house. When it rained day and night the homes would collapsed and people would get killed.
How did you do your laundry back then?
...Well, we had no washing machines my mother use to put some water outside in a big pan with fire and lena. We made a fire, boil the water put the white clothes first, then the color clothes. To take out the clothes from the hot water we had to use a stick and put it in the cold water, hang it to dry with clothes pin.
How did you cook back then?
Well, my father made a Chimenea it looked like a fireplace but it was different. My father made a tripod and we would put our pots on it and cook our coffee, rice, and caldo.
How and where did you bathe?
We would go to the small rivers or streams, or put water on a pan and warm up the water a little and then take a bath.
What kind of restrooms did you have?
Well, we did not have restrooms like we do now? The rich people had restrooms in their homes. But the poor people, like us,.. my father would make a hole, four yards long and about a yard an a half in width. And this was our toilet.
Do you remember the school system?
Well, we had teachers, but no books, the teachers had to learn everything in the book and then teach us, on the black board. Then the next day we had to tell her what we had learned. I also remember I had to walk to school, when it was time for lunch we were sent home for two hours and then we had to return to school until 4:00 p.m., I remember it was healthy for us to walk and all the kids enjoyed it.
What was a normal day like back then?
...I had to help my mother in the house, and my father outside at work. But usually we got up at 7:00 a.m. and went to bed around 9:00 p.m.. My mother would get up and do breakfast, laundry, cook lunch, do dishes, clean the house. All of the kids went to school.
Due to the Great Depression what were some hardships that your family have?
Well, I remember in 1934 during the Great Depression, before my father found a job in San Carlos, Coahuila I remember my family was very hungry and my father found an egg, I can not remember where the egg came from, but he cooked did it and split it up among us.
Where did your family live when your father was unemployeed?
We lived in different areas, one time I remember living from one bridge to another ...and my father gave us blankets, and made us take a nap under a bridge. The train was coming and my mother hollered to my father, so my father grabbed me and my sister and my father grabbed my brother. When the train passed by us it was throwing hot tar. It almost killed us but we made it.....
Did you have any support from friends or family at that time?
Yes, they would let us stay in their homes and they would feed us.
Do you remember any songs from back in the day?
Yes, I remember "El Barrilito" and "Vereda Tropical". "Vereda Tropical" is a love song.
Why did your parents come to the United States?
Because the rebels wanted to hang my grandfather. They had at that time what you call bangos and my grandfather had members on one of the sides, the other side found out and they went after my grandfather.
How did you travel back then?
Well, I remember my dad had a guallin and two mulas. Guallin is like a carriage with four wheels and two horses.
Is there anything you would like to say before we end our oral history?
I would like to add that it was a pleasure for me, in helping you remember my past because I do not only have mad memories that I remembered, but I also have good memories to cherish. I lived very happy in Mexico despite the Great Depression. But at the same time I consider myself a fortunate person because not only do I belong to Mexico but to Texas also. I had the best of the two worlds. It was my pleasure to help you with you oral history considering the fact that I do not speak too well in English.
Roxy Lackey and Laurencia Sandoval. Luling CrossRoads to Everywhere, . http://pacweb.alamo.edu/InteractiveHistory/projects/rhines/StudentProjects/2001/Luling/Luling.htm (2001). This site will give you an insight of Luling Texas such as it's origin and name, historical sites and landmarks, yearly events, food and shopping, and other recreational activities in this small town..
Paul G McHenry. Adobe...A timeless Solution , . http://www.anangpur.com/mud_arch2.html. "It is often forgotten that when the United States was dealing with the economic depression of the 1930's, the federal government sponsored adobe home-building project in several locations across the country. One outstanding example was at Bosque Farms, a small farming community a few miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The community was established to help relocate farm families devastated by the droughts that created the "Great Dust Bowl" of northern New Mexico, west Texas and Oklahoma.”
. Chiminea Ezpress . http://www.chiminea.net/ Money Magazine, November 99 issue. This site will give you a picture of a chimineas and tells you the substances used to form one. It's origins as being a bread oven...