In the communities of northern New Mexico, Easter weekend is one of the most important holidays to celebrate besides Christmas and New Year's Eve. Some traditions have been around for over 50 years; for example, on Good Friday, people walk to the Santuario in Chimayo, NM every year, or cruise down Riverside Drive in their classic Chevy Impalas. This is one of the biggest holidays for the lowriding chicano thugs in the county. For as long as i can remember, i have always celebrated Easter with my family in our little adobe house in our rural community of Servilleta Plaza, NM. But this year the tradition was broken, and it may never be the same. Easter may now become my least favorite holiday.
Every year is the same; we go to mass in the morning, eat lunch with the priest and the penitentes, and go home to have an easter egg hunt and a big family dinner. Easter has always been my favorite holiday because in northern New Mexico, it is more than an easter egg hunt and a nice lunch. Not only do we celebrate our beliefs, we celebrate our accomplishments as a family. When i was young, i remember waking up around 6am just to watch my father get ready. He would put slip on his cowboy boots, put on his cowboy hat, put his rosary around his neck grab his prayer book, and head out the door. I can remember asking him every year "Daddy can I come too? I promise I won't get tired". And every year I would always get the same answer "Next year you can do it Mija." He closes the front door, and I would sit in front of the driveway all day long until he gets home that evening.
My father would make his yearly walk to the church in the next town (which is about 12 miles away) on Good Friday, since we live too far away from Chimayo and the Santuario. My father is a penitente, a "brother" of the church. He cannot speak of what is done while he is in the "morada". My father joined the penitentes when i was born because i was very ill, and he wanted to do more than go to church every sunday and pray. My father has been a penitente for over 18 years, and i feel that in doing so, he has become a better person. I never understood Easter until this year. I always thought it ment coloring Easter eggs and playing with the brightly colored baby chicks my father bought for the kids every year. Easter does not mean baby chicks and Easter eggs, to me, Easter means strength and faith.
This year, for the first time, i walked to the church in the next town. This was very important to me because i was not only walking for myself, i was walking for my father. This year Easter was not celebrated in out adobe house, it was celebrated in room 208 of the Espanola Presbyterian Hospital. My father was not able to walk to the church this year, was not able to bless the Easter dinner table, and was not able to hide the Easter eggs for my nieces. This Easter was supposed to be filled with happiness, but instead, it was filled with sadness and stress. 16 days ago, my father got into a very serious accident that could have taken his life. He has been in and out of the ICU since then. My father has always been my supporter, and this time, i had to be his.
I chose to walk on Good Friday in honor of my father, because he has been walking in my honor for the past 18 years. Instead of taking my dads usual route to the church, i decided to walk beyond that church, and on to the next. During this walk i thought about a-lot of things. I thought about my father and how much he means to me. Without my father, i would not be the person i am today. I probobly would not be pursuing my career as a vet tech if it wasn't for him. My father used to take me out to the pastures every morning to help him feed the cattle, chickens, pigs, turkeys, and horses. This is when i developed my passion for animals.
Although my father is not in the best of health, i know he would not want me to be skipping school just to sit next to him in his hospital room. He would want me to be sitting in the classroom, getting ready for graduation. This is exactly what i am doing, i am sitting in my classroom looking for scholarships to help me pay for college. I am a half day senior in high school, i have straight A's , and i am just trying to not only graduate, i am trying to do the best i possibly can in order to make my father proud. Although my father will not be able to attend my graduation ceremony and see me walk to get my diploma, i know he will be just as proud of me when i walk into his hospital room in my cap and gown to show him my diploma. Luis Pena is not only my father, he is my best friend, and my source of strength.