There are a few things that I remember from the early 80's when I was six years old. Cindy Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is one, Los Gatos Bravos is another and Ronald Reagan. Cindy Lauper is just another liking of Hondurans for 80's music that is still prevalent even today. The Honduran northern coast is known for Punta music where Los Gatos Bravos were causing a musical upheaval, it was a period of partying for many folks in the coast of Puerto Cortez back then, but I did not really understood why. Honduras was stuck between other revolutions. One had occured in Nicaragua and another was in progress in El Salvador. The country was a launching point for trained Contras (Nicaraguans trained by Americans in Honduras to fight the rebel army in that country), and for counterinsurgency measures against El Salvador's Farabundo Marti army(FMLN). It was Ronald Reagan this and Ronald Reagan that everyday on radio and tv and so there was no way of getting away from it.
Honduras began requiring that every male of age serve its army. Conscription was everywhere and my maternal grandparents did not like the idea because out of their 12 children three were girls and the rest were destined to serve the military. My grandfather Hector did not like where the country was going. I can only guess where he stood politically back then by the nickname he gave me - Sandino (Nicaraguan Rebel). Later in life I asked him why the nickname and he said "Its because the way you stuck to your mom, like the Sandinos loved their country. Nobody could rip you away from your mom." And it was true.
I went everywhere with my mom back then. Along with my dad she was involved with her church and so we went everywhere in Honduras setting up churches or just sizing up locales. My sisters were jealous of me because of this. One time, my little sister and I found ourselves running through streets with my mom in the lead. We were running away from the military which was arresting people that had participated in a riot. My mom's memory is fuzzy of the events back then, and I don't recall if we were part of the ruckus. We were running anyway, and I remember spending a long time hidding under a bed with my little sister listening to the running and shooting outside. Going places with my mom was not easy and this proved to be true later in life.
What did it for my grandparents was the lost of one my uncles who had joined the army. His death took them over to a launching point where it was decided that all the Aguilares were leaving and coming back was not going to be an option. My grandfather personified the love/hate relationship that many Hondurans have with the United States, blamed for all societal ills but its the first place that everyone is headed. My grandparents were herding their family to the US and there was no stopping them. Except that not everyone in their family completely agreed with their decision. For instance, Tia Marin and uncle Rene decided to stay in San Pedro. Both in the older kids section of the family and so with more connections and excuses to stay behind.
Like Moses in the desert, my grandparents lost a few along the way. My uncle Juan Carlos died in Southern Mexico in a boating accident. While swimming in a river, a boat rode over him an split his head. My aunt Olga decided to stay in Mexico City. I guess she liked the city and decided it was good enough to live in. Uncle Gonzalo is in Tecate which is on the border with Mexico and the US. My mom said that it took her family about three years to make it out of Mexico and that after many tries crossing the border illegally, Uncle Gonzalo just gave up and stayed at the Mexican border where he works as an electrician. I don't think he tried hard enough, it must have been easier to cross the border illegaly back then. Everybody else landed in Baltimore, Maryland. Someone had mentioned to them that there was a fishing industry there that offered good money.
This was the early 80's. When Cindy Lauper was singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Hondura's economy and politics were tanking. My mom and dad had been spotted by their church as good church-planting material, and so it was decided that they should head out of the country. The decision was easy for Mom. She, being the oldest, had lost her family to migration and there was no reason to stay in Honduras. Fifteen years will pass before we heard anything from them. So while her family toiled through Mexico, my family headed on a different path.
Honduras began requiring that every male of age serve its army. Conscription was everywhere and my maternal grandparents did not like the idea because out of their 12 children three were girls and the rest were destined to serve the military. My grandfather Hector did not like where the country was going. I can only guess where he stood politically back then by the nickname he gave me - Sandino (Nicaraguan Rebel). Later in life I asked him why the nickname and he said "Its because the way you stuck to your mom, like the Sandinos loved their country. Nobody could rip you away from your mom." And it was true.
I went everywhere with my mom back then. Along with my dad she was involved with her church and so we went everywhere in Honduras setting up churches or just sizing up locales. My sisters were jealous of me because of this. One time, my little sister and I found ourselves running through streets with my mom in the lead. We were running away from the military which was arresting people that had participated in a riot. My mom's memory is fuzzy of the events back then, and I don't recall if we were part of the ruckus. We were running anyway, and I remember spending a long time hidding under a bed with my little sister listening to the running and shooting outside. Going places with my mom was not easy and this proved to be true later in life.
What did it for my grandparents was the lost of one my uncles who had joined the army. His death took them over to a launching point where it was decided that all the Aguilares were leaving and coming back was not going to be an option. My grandfather personified the love/hate relationship that many Hondurans have with the United States, blamed for all societal ills but its the first place that everyone is headed. My grandparents were herding their family to the US and there was no stopping them. Except that not everyone in their family completely agreed with their decision. For instance, Tia Marin and uncle Rene decided to stay in San Pedro. Both in the older kids section of the family and so with more connections and excuses to stay behind.
Like Moses in the desert, my grandparents lost a few along the way. My uncle Juan Carlos died in Southern Mexico in a boating accident. While swimming in a river, a boat rode over him an split his head. My aunt Olga decided to stay in Mexico City. I guess she liked the city and decided it was good enough to live in. Uncle Gonzalo is in Tecate which is on the border with Mexico and the US. My mom said that it took her family about three years to make it out of Mexico and that after many tries crossing the border illegally, Uncle Gonzalo just gave up and stayed at the Mexican border where he works as an electrician. I don't think he tried hard enough, it must have been easier to cross the border illegaly back then. Everybody else landed in Baltimore, Maryland. Someone had mentioned to them that there was a fishing industry there that offered good money.
This was the early 80's. When Cindy Lauper was singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Hondura's economy and politics were tanking. My mom and dad had been spotted by their church as good church-planting material, and so it was decided that they should head out of the country. The decision was easy for Mom. She, being the oldest, had lost her family to migration and there was no reason to stay in Honduras. Fifteen years will pass before we heard anything from them. So while her family toiled through Mexico, my family headed on a different path.
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