On Thursday, November 7, a woman from the caserío of Los Cruces in the canton of San Francisco died. Her name was Argelia del Carmen Flores and she would have been 43 years old on November 11. She leaves behind a husband and 11 children and a couple grandchildren.
Argelia had walked down into a ravine in her caserío of Los Cruces where everyone in her caserío goes to get water. The climb down is difficult and walking back up with a large cántaro full of water is even more difficult. She was at the bottom filing her cántaro (water jug) for her family. She was accompanied by several other people. Out of nowhere came a landslide. Earth and large rocks fell on top of her and killed her. I’m not sure if she was killed instantly or if she lived a short while after that.
Argelia's family on November 9
Argelia’s funeral was on November 8. Today,
November 16, is the ninth day of her death. For Catholics in El Salvador that
means there will be a vigil. Since Argelia died outside her home, there was
going to be a procession from the place where she died to her home. Then the
family and friends will stay up all night singing and praying.
The Pastoral Team made the decision to go visit
the family. Since the family doesn’t have much water, the Pastoral Team took a
large tank full of water for the family. They also took tons of flowers for the
altar they would be setting up inside the house to honor Argelia.
We piled into the truck around 10:00am and headed
out for San Francisco. Argelia’s husband and one of her son’s were with us. Thankfully,
we were able to take the direct road to San Francisco instead of the other road
which takes about 2 hours.
When we got out of the truck we were immediately
surrounded by kids. Wherever we go to San Francisco there are always lots of
kids following us, but especially in the caserío of Los Cruces. I got out my camera
and started taking pictures. The kids loved having their picture taken and were
soon posing and asking me to take more pictures of themselves and of other
things. It was good to see them smiling, especially Argelia’s kids.
One of the girls brought over the picture of her
mother. She and her sister talked a little bit about their mom. They brought
over another picture and explained that it was of their mother and her daughter,
Lupe’s, first communion. I also talked briefly to Argelia’s mother. She told me
that Argelia had 13 children, but 2 twins died when they were young so she now
has 11 children.
Argelia's daughter, Lupe
Argelia's son
Sitting on the pickup
Posing for pictures
Very cute!
A good-looking group
Argelia's youngest daughter, Paz del Carmen
Take a picture of the pig!
All in the truck
Argelia's mother
Beautiful girls
Now take a picture of the dog!
Maraca flowers
Beautiful!
Argelia del Carmen Flores
Argelia and her daughter, Lupe
As I was chatting with the kids, Blanca and Idalia
were helping to create the altar inside the home. Katherine helped with the
altar and chatted with the kids as well. After a while, the kids really wanted
attention. I showed the Argelia’s youngest daughter how to use my camera. Not a
great idea. She wanted to take lots and lots of pictures. I managed to get it
turned off and distracted the group by pulling out my notebook. I drew pictures
of different things and soon they’d taken off with my notebook to do drawings
of their own.
As soon as Blanca and Idalia finished up the altar
it was time for lunch. We were taken next door and a lovely meal of chicken,
rice, and tortillas had been prepared. It was an honor to sit inside someone’s
home and have a meal prepared for us when it wasn’t our family member who had
died. People here are so gracious and so humble. I have learned a lot from them
about life.
Little Paz took this picture of me
Gathered around drawing pictures
Outside scheming
The altar in honor of Argelia
Argelia's photo in the middle
When we finished lunch it was time to start the
walk down the ravine to the place where Argelia was killed. The walk down was
incredibly difficult. Probably one of the worst trails I’ve been on here in
Berlin. But Katherine and I figured that if Argelia’s 80+ year old mother and
Argelia’s pregnant daughter could do it, then we should at least attempt the
walk. We both almost slipped at one point or another. Thankfully, neither one
of us fell down.
We finally reached the place where Argelia died.
People will still need to return to this place in order to get water for their
homes. Daniel, the Delegate of the Word, spoke briefly and then he and Miguel,
the president of Directiva, made a hole in the ground and erected a green cross
in memory of Argeila. The large rocks that had fallen on top of Argelia were
still there. Her daughter-in-law, Patricia, pointed them out to me.
When the cross was in place, we began the slow procession
up the hill. People sang and prayed as we made our way up the hill. Katherine
and I were toward the front of the group with some of the kids. We walked for
about 30 to 45 minutes before we reached the school in San Francisco. That’s
where the procession turned to return to Argelia’s house. We said goodbye and
that point since we needed to get back to Berlin.
There was so much about the day that made it
difficult: Thinking about the kids who lost their mother and the husband who
lost his wife. Experiencing the walk to the water source where people have to
go in order to get water to drink, bath, shower, wash, and cook. Seeing the
rocks that killed Argelia in the same place they had fallen. Listening to
Argelia’s mom talk about how her daughter was too young to die. While it wasn’t
a pleasant experience, it’s one I hope I never forget.
Following Flor down the hill
Very slippery
There goes Argelia's mom
Crossing the road
Listening to Daniel
The place where Argelia died
Processing to Argelia's house
