the memory of Rod Carew (interview notes)

Panama's national baseball stadium is named for the most famous player, Rod Carew. 

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Me: You grew up in the Canal Zone, no?

So he grew up in a black town in a white borough. He grew up in Gamboa in the borough of Santa Cruz. It was segregated.  There were two schools, two gyms, two tennis courts, two baseball fields, two clubhouses. The Commissary had two entrances. You could be arrested for walking in the wrong door. Of the first thirteen Panamanians in the major leagues, five of them were from Gamboa. Most Panamanian athletes were from the Zone. Only Panamanian in the Hall of Fame is Rod Carew, who was from Gamboa. Baseball was so popular there was a cradle league, which was below little league! 

#29 Rod Carew’s number was retired in California and Minnesota. He holds (held?) the record for stealing home [on consecutive attempts in one season. Seven.]. “Do you know how difficult it is to steal home?” He had over 3,000 hits. “And you know what? The thing is, no white Santa Cruzians ever saw him play when he played in Panama. Never.”

growing up bi lingual

I have been awful at posting. sorry. I will continue to post snippets of interviews that others might find interesting.   Of my interview population that grew up in Panama, as opposed to the Canal Zone, (born 1960 or earlier) many people spoke English at home and Spanish in school.   They tell about going to English school on school breaks and over the summer to reinforce what they learned in Spanish and also to get ahead, and concurrently learning school lessons in English and Spanish.  This particular woman grew up between Bocas del Toro and Colon, both strongly West Indian communities in the time.


Interestingly, during times of reflection, this interviewee spoke in English. During the more political or contemporary parts of our conversation, she spoke in Spanish.


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Listen, in Bocas I learned what was to live in a community, what was sharing, what was like go over by Ms. Gerly and tell Ms. Gerly I say, "if she bake any Jhonny cake send me six". And then tomorrow night my mom would make some mogo and make a big pot of mogo and say this pot is for Ms. Gerly, this is for Ms. Julian and this is for us. I learned that. I learned that definitely you have to go to school and when you come out of school you had to go to English school because we had to learn to read and write Spanish just as we learn English. So I went through what was Infant reader and Royal reader you know.

This was during the summers?

Well that was during the school year. If I had classes in the morning I got to rush home, have lunch and take my homework to Ms. Smith, who was our English teacher and Ms. Henry after Ms. Smith couldn’t do it anymore. And then they would help us with the Spanish homework. And then we would do the English. And then in summer time, depend on you grades, then you would spend a month in Colon, which was our vacation. I would spend it with our relatives on the Zone here in Colon. And then go back because I had to go to summer school. By the time classes were going to open, I had to have at least a month a month and a half going to my English school to reinforce whatever we’re gonna see in the other grade. Like if you came out of second grade and went to third grade then my English teachers will give me more arithmetic and more reading and stuff like that so that when I go back to school in the Spanish school, I’m advanced. That’s one of the things I learned. A the love for the land. And each person. If you don’t have you land and you house you don’t have nothing. And you had to respect that. That’s what I learn. And I try to teach my kids that even though we live in the city, you know. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have been a horrible horrible blogger. Nothing like the day of love to bring me back.  This has nothing to do with anything, but I thought I would share my favorite love poem ever!
Happy Valentine's Day! Que el amor, la amistad y la buena suerte  les acompanen siempre. Everyone needs some love in their life, no matter who the source. <3


Resignation by Nikki Giovanni

I love you
because the Earth turns round the sun
because the North wind blows north
sometimes
because the Pope is Catholic
and most Rabbis Jewish
because winters flow into spring
and the air clears after a storm
because only my love for you
despite the charms of gravity
keeps me from falling off the Earth
into another dimension
I love you
because it is the natural order of things 

 I love you
like the habit I picked up in college
of sleeping through lectures
or saying I'm sorry
when I get stopped for speeding
because I drink a glass of water
in the morning
and chain-smoke cigarettes
all through the day
because I take my coffee Black
and my milk with chocolate
because you keep my feet warm
through my life a mess
I love you
because I don't want it
any other way
I am helpless
in m love for you
It makes me so happy
to hear you call my name
I am amazed you can resist
locking me in an echo chamber
where your voice reverberates
through the four walls
sending me into spasmatic ecstasy
I love you
because it's been so good
for so long
that if I didn't love you
I'd have to be born again
and that is not a theological statement
I am pitiful in my love for you
The Dells tell me Love
is so simple
the thought though of you
sends indescribably delicious multitudinous
thrills throughout and through-in my body
I love you
because no two snowflakes are alike
and it is possible if you stand tippy-toe
to walk between the raindrops
I love you
because I am afraid of the dark
and can't sleep in the light
because I rub my eyes
when I wake up in the morning
and find you there
because you with all your magic powers were
determined that
I should love you
because there was nothing for you but that
I would love you
I love you
because you made me
want to love you
more than I love my privacy
my freedom my commitments
and responsibilities
I love you `cause I changed my life
to love you
because you saw me one friday
afternoon and decided that I would
love you
I love you I love you I love you

ingredients for a great new year

• clean the whole house/apt before midnight
• eat 12 grapes
• drink champagne
• eat pork
• hold money in your hand/in your pocket
• have fish, salt, lentils and rice on the table
• hold a suitcase/ passport (if you want to travel)
• rub champagne on your earlobes/ drop a gold ring in the champagne (to promote marriage)
• eat black eyed peas and collard greens
• wear red underwear

anyone have any more to add??

good luck to all and wishing you a healthy, happy, and amazing 2011!

(picture I took of a family in Hamilton Park, Weehawken, NJ )

Becoming more Panamanian

I haven't posted on here in a while. This an excerpt I ran across while reviewing transcriptions in preparation for a conference next week. This person,  a high ranking ACP official who grew up in Silver/Rainbow City in the Canal Zone on the Atlantic coast, makes a distinction between being of West Indian parents and becoming Panamanian. For him, becoming Panamanian meant building a future in the country of Panama, not looking to go to  the US or return to the Canal Zone life...

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me: When you moved to this side [he moved from the Atlantic Coast to Albrook, former Canal Zone on the Pacific Coast] and you were thinking about where to live, did the fact that you were living in Clayton mean anything special?

him: No. It wasn't, I was not looking towards being in the canal zone necessarily. Even though I was coming from living in Gatun. I had been living in Sabanitas and I had already, I think, over the period of time that I lived in Cativa and I lived in Sabanitas, I had given up on that Canal Zone link. I , in fact, was becoming more and more Panamanian I think in my thoughts, in my way of being.

me: What do you mean by that?

him: Not feeling...so...I was losing that vision, that everyone else would have had that the hopes (me: in the US?) was in the US. So I started seeing potential. And I started looking for us to develop options over here. And hoping for the government to really make things works. So I was not looking for, I want to be back in the Canal Zone. There was nothing like that in my mind. What was really looking for was an escape from the traffic. So when the options came up for to buy into those buildings, I just moved at that. Because it meant being able to get a place that was going to be outside of the traffic channels...

PANAMA. missing you.

a piece of an interview - possibility of black children

I haven't posted any interesting pieces of interview lately. I have just been complaining lol. so here ya go!! I find it interesting that this woman specifically brought up Blackness to her niece in case she marries and has kids that come out Black or brown at the least. What is most interesting to me is the underlying assumption that her husband will NOT be Black. She warns that she has to put in her husband's head that the kids might turn out Black... which would be a moot issue if the man himself was any shade of brown, right? By declaring her niece white, with latent genetic blackness, and explaining the possible colors of her future children, this particular interviewee assumes that her white niece with black in her veins will marry a non-Black man. Why? It also assumes that this man would not meet her Black family!


"I have a niece that if you see her you won't believe it (that she is my niece) and here I have no photo. I call her the "chola" of the family. (giggling). She is white. White and has straight hair. She is older now. Before she grew up, I always told her, in your veins runs black blood. And she would say, Auntie what do you mean by that? The day you decide to marry and have children you have to put husband's head that you can have black children. Not that you were unfaithful."


ORIGINAL:
Yo tengo una sobrina que si usted la ve no lo cree y aquí yo no tengo foto.  Yo le digo la chola de la familia (giggling). Si, es blanca.  Blanca y tiene el pelo lacio que ahora que ella está grande.  Antes que ella creciera, siempre le digo en tus venas corren sangre negra.  Tía qué quiere decir? Que el día que tú decidas casarte y tener hijos tienes que meterle a tu esposo en la cabeza de que tú puedes tener hijos negros.  No es que le fuiste infiel.