A CANDALARIA LIFE


              She was born with a blessing and a curse; but she could do nothing to avoid the one, nor give thanks for the other. It was so ironic, that the paradox caused the people to marvel and refer to the factual events as simply:" A Candalaria Life."

              The blessing was her God-given beauty and the curse, what came after.

               When she was merely a child, the town of San Felipe crowned her as their queen of the local fair. She rode in the back of the mayor's Toyota pick-up, which had been decorated as a float, with ferns and flowers. She sat on an elevated chair, covered with colorful, hand-woven material, where the queen with her crown reigned.

               The people watched her beauty open up like the pedals of a sacred flower, while her parents observed with caution.

               They owned the neighborhood store, where Candalaria worked after school. She was a favorite of all the customers, due to her vibrancy and lust for life. She was quite enchanting. At fourteen she was as developed as a mature woman. That was when she met the tall, fair skinned youth, who came from an enc live of Spanish descendants. He literally swept her off her feet and promised her the moon, if she would only run away with him. She did so and he took her to the capital city, where he abused and left her stranded.

              At length she managed to return to her village, completely humiliated, but fortunately without child. Reluctantly, her parents were disposed to accept her again. So, she went back to work in the store. She was now contrite and humble, the people observed, with pity. They shook their heads while declaring surreptitiously: "It's a Candalaria Life."

              Several years elapsed before she met her second disaster, He was a law student at the national university, but had left because the government accused him of being a revolutionary. Unlike her former suitor, this one was dark skinned. with fiery eyes and the constitution of an active volcano. He spoke to her in words she could not understand, about how the people should rise up against the dictatorship; while they drank liquor together in a hidden corn field. His name was Francisco and he asked her to escape with him  to Cuba. She agreed, but he made the mistake of returning to the university one more time, where he was shot outside the gates.

               Candalaria was beside herself with grief and insisted on wearing black. It was known that the university student had been her lover and now she was brought to another kind of grief. It was "A Candalaria Life."

               Her beauty remained but the years sped by without her getting married. It was understood that if a female was not married, at least at twenty, she would remain an old maid.

               Candalaria no longer attended the fiestas, because she considered herself too old for that. Neither did she socialize with her childhood friends, who now had families of their own. She simply attended the store, giving no thought of the future.

                Fate, however, visited her at the age of thirty. It was in the form of a traveling salesman. He wore a suit and had his own car. He came from the capital city monthly to sell medical products to the local pharmacy. He stayed at the only guest house and shopped at Candalaria's store. He invited her to dine at the village's restaurant, where he informed her of his future plans. He was going to build a two story house, outside the capital. Moreover, he was going to go in business for himself, selling medical supplies all over Central America. In other words, he was going to become very rich, but at thirty-five he needed a wife to share his good fortune. He wanted to start a family and asked Candalaria to marry him. This time she faltered and when he asked her why, she told him about her past. She was surprised when he laughed and explained that those were merely youthful experiences. They were now both adults, who could enjoy a mature relationship. It sounded reasonable, so she agreed to go to the beach for the weekend, to consolidate their plans.

              They made love and she was happy again with her Romeo, which happened to be his name. He dropped her off at her home, promising to return in a few days. A few months went by before discrete inquiries were made by the owner of the pharmacy. He informed Candalaria that the salesman was married, with three children.

              The news traveled fast and soon everyone knew what had happened to their childhood queen. It was all so queer for such a fate to befall this rare beauty, that they had no other recourse but to call it..."A Candalaria Life."