My Grandmother, Camerina Velez Padilla (Interview)

I decied to sit down with my grandmother and explained to her that I would be interviewing her for my project. My grandmother Camerina Velez Padilla born in a small "Pueblo" as we call it in Mexico, or a town, which is Lagunillas, Michoacan Mexico on July 26, 1934. Her parents went by the name of Domingo Velez, my great grandfather and Loreto Padilla, my great grandmother. When she was growing up she lived on a "Rancho", a ranch, with her other 8 siblings: Zara, Catalina, Lucia, Gracia, ofelia, Gavino, Alfonso, Catarino. She helped her mother maintain and keep the ranch clean and functioning as she described to me that being her everyday routine after school. She helped milk the cows, feed the chickens, gather the eggs, etc. Since my Grandmother lived out in the country she had to take the bus al the way into town to go and come back from school. She only attend school up to the thrid grade where she left school becasue her parents couldn't support her anymore and she had to help out on the ranch with her family. When I asked her about how it was living on a ranch and what there was around, she told me that she loved living on the ranch with her family and that if she still could she wouldn't think of it twice, well back in the day she didnt drive or not even have any transportation so there wasn't much around. She said the closest store was and hour and a half away from where they lived, so either they waited for the bus to come by at 8 am, 12 pm, 5 pm, and 8 pm to come and go into town. When she was 14, she met my grandfather Agapito Munoz and one year later when she turned 15 they married and moved to Mexico City, Mexico. Here in Mexico City my grandmother and grandfather raised their 11 children, here was where all my aunts and uncles including my father went to school. Through out my grandmothers life she told me that the most difficult situation that she had to overcome was when her husband died at the age of 50. This she said was the most tragic situation that has happened to her. Raising 11 children by herself without her husband she said was the most difficult problme she had, but yet she made it work out somehow. Today my grandmother is 77 and is currently living in Mexico City, and very healthy. This interview really opened up my eyes to the stories and the life of my family of which i never knew and i am very thankful that I still have the chance to talk to my grandmother about her past because now I will be able to pass that on to my children and all throughout my family.