Historias: Stories of El Paso - Virtual Exhibition

Historias: Stories of El Paso A virtual exhibition curated by our community Courtesy of: Virgina Gardea Rosales Title: Untitled Historia type: Photograph My father was born in Dawson, New Mexico where my grandfather worked in for a coal mine company. After a few years in Dawson the family packed up and moved to Juarez. Several years later while working at a dry-cleaning business he met my mother. It was not until after my father and mother married and had four of their six children that they decided to move to El Paso. They were able to purchase a home to raise our family in the valley. My father worked for a company and my mother was a homemaker. I did not have too many relatives in El Paso, but I do remember my aunt (Tia Maria) and my uncle (Tio Ramon) who lived in the downtown area of El Paso. They lived in a one-bedroom apartment on Seventh Avenue, three doors down from Bowie Bakery. I always remember that in order to get to the kitchen one would have to pass through their bedroom – no hallway. There wasn’t much of a patio right outside their kitchen it was more like a small alley. It was just a place for the two of them and they made of lovely little home. When we would visit them, I would get to see their parrot which always called out “mamá, pappá” as it sat in its cage waiting for my aunt to give it a treat. After visiting, my parents would also stop by the bakery before heading home to pick some of the delicious sweet bread. One could smell the freshly baked bread down the block. Who could resist such wonderful smells filling the air. I would never mind having to wait in line to get to pick my favorite piece of bread. My parents would always ask for a mix of sweet bread and always made sure that my gingerbread piggy was never forgotten.