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These are my abuelos whom I so well remember although it was many years later before I could truly appreciate who they were.

Antonio was born in 1864 and Jesusa in 1884. They were married on February 2, 1902 and raised a family of nine children. As you can see, there was 20 years difference in their age and they each lived a very long and healthy life. They died within one month of each other which is, as I see it now, not surprising. After 60 years of marriage, one could not live without the other and whoever went first we knew the other would immediately follow.

Both Antonio and Jesusa were born in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico. They came to the United States in about 1910 soon after my father, Jose Marcelo Oviedo, was born.

The family settled in Los Angeles, California where 3 more sons were born to make a total of 9 children: 2 girls and 7 boys. Later, Antonio worked at a shipyard in San Pedro building ships.

In 1919 young Ygnacio was born and he was the first tradegy of the family. Some of the family had gone back to Mexico for a visit and Ygnacio fell prey to the water. He died at the age of about 11 of typhoid fever. This was in the year 1929.

Another tradegy occurred not long after Ygnacio and that was of Maria de la Luz Oviedo. Luz married Samuel Gamez in 1927 and they had two lovely daughters, Alva and Ana Marie. One day Luz found her husband with another woman which was just too much for her to live wiith and in 1933, she died of a broken heart. Of course, this was a family story. I'm sure her death was something different. After Luz died, Antonio and Jesusa brought the girls to Los Angeles then adopted and raised them to maturity.

When the depression of the 1930s occurred, the family was devasted. Don Antonio could not work but being proud and independent, did what he had to for his family refusing handouts. Jesusa was a seamstress making a little money and the older boys did odd jobs. With everyone pulling together, they all survived.

There was a strong tie in the family. Love, happiness and obedience. Don Antonio was very strict, demanded perfection and we all were expected to proudly maintain our heritage. We spoke only when spoken to and there was never a word of English allowed in his home. He loved classical music and adored the opera. As a child of only 4, I was introduced to music and as I grew a little older playing the music of my grandfather's choice when we visited them, I was first hugged then placed at the piano to play for him. There were times he'd sing along or he would play for me. The home was silent during these sessions and though I preferred to go out to play with my cousins, I could not leave.

Our grandmother, Dona Jesusa D. Almada, was also very proud of her heritage and no matter how or what we would complain to her about the few scoldings we'd get from Don Antonio, she would merely smile and say to do as we were told. Never giving in or allowing us to deviate from what we were told to do.

We celebrated every family birthday, anniversary and holidays always together. If we were not with the Oviedo family we would be with the Manriquez family. (Their story follows.) We would have a pinata filled with a little candy and a few pennies. There would be a big meal followed by a cake and a little ice cream. We'd play pin the tale on the donkey or climb a tree. We made our own fun and just enjoyed the companionship of our family. If there was a sickness, everyone would pray for their wellness. We always went to Church together and Christmas was the best day of all. Mind you, the family was very poor so gifts were limited, if any. Some of the youngsters on the block would get a bike or train but none of us ever gave a second thought of their fortune. We were always satisfied with a good meal, or a small handmade doll or whatever meager gift given to us. That was the life as we knew it and it was always accepted.

The family took the red car (that's a street car or train, if you're too young to know) to a local beach and have the most fun of anyone. Or the family would go to Griffith Park for a picnic. Many of us would climb the "big" mountain and once at the top everyone would engrave our initials on the water tank. We played baseball, volley ball or on occasion ride a pony.

All of my Oviedo and Almada direct ancestors have passed away which is very sad for me because as I write these words of them, the memories of our life with them make we swell with tears. They were a beautiful family and we all miss them. But we do have each other now and about twice a year we have a "cousins" family reunion where we all talk about the wonderful growing up years we had together.