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By David Magallanes / Guest contributor
David Magallanes
On a recent, warm Saturday afternoon, I went to visit my parents for the first time in several years.
They used to have a lot to say. My father would often talk about his experiences in Europe during World War II. I used to listen, enthralled. He could speak several languages. He was my hero.
My mother was creative, artistic and daring for someone who was raised in a strict, traditional Mexican Catholic home. I used to watch her paint on a canvas, totally in awe of the hidden force of the talent that moved her hand as her brush created an image that came alive before my very eyes. Her paintings of flowers, seascapes, farmlands, landscapes and people—including the entire Catholic pantheon—taught me to appreciate classical art.
I brought her roses for her birthday on this Saturday, with the consolation that I had done this during the years that she was alive. She was always delighted to receive them from me, and I knew that her spirit would be happy to receive them from me on this day. Over the years, my relationship with my parents had frayed a bit at times as the religious atmosphere in which they were raised threatened to suffocate my spirit that was trying to grow and develop in this country to which my grandparents had brought them.
But now, during this visit, they were silent. My father was no longer telling war stories, and my mother was no longer creating art. As I looked down on their new gravestone revealing where they were buried at this Catholic cemetery in Long Beach, I begged for the wisdom to understand the value of their lessons, spoken and unspoken, the joyful ones and the hurtful ones. I wanted to make sense of the shape of the constellations shaped by their strengths and flaws, to understand how they are to guide me as I traverse the rest of my life on this plane of existence. For in understanding them, I will come to understand more about myself, as well as about the world around me.
— David Magallanes is a writer, speaker and social network marketing consultant. You may visit his web site, dedicated to honoring daughters and keeping them healthy, at www.roses4daughters.com.
You may contact him through e-mail at dmagallanes@roses4daughters.com. Follow us on Facebook (“Like” us!) at www.facebook.com/roses.for.daughters.
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Una Visita a Mamá y Papá
Por David Magallanes / Columnista invitado
En un reciente y cálido sábado por la tarde, fui a visitar a mis padres por primera vez en varios años.
Solían tener mucho que decir. Mi padre a menudo hablaba sobre sus experiencias en Europa durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Yo solía ??escuchar, cautivado. Él podía hablar varios idiomas. Era mi héroe.
Mi madre era creativa, artística y atrevida para alguien criada en un hogar tradicional, católico y mexicano. Solía ??verla pintar sobre un lienzo, yo muy impresionado por la fuerza oculta del talento que movía su mano mientras su pincel creaba una imagen que cobraba vida ante mis propios ojos. Sus pinturas de flores, escenas marinas, campos de cultivo, paisajes y personas—incluyendo todo el panteón católico—me enseñaron a apreciar el arte clásico.
Le llevé rosas para su cumpleaños este sábado, con el consuelo de que lo había hecho durante los años que estaba viva. Ella siempre quedó encantada de recibirlas de mí, y yo sabía que a su espíritu le haría feliz en este día. A través de los años, mi relación con mis padres se había desgastado un poco en ocasiones ya que el ambiente religioso en el que se criaron amenazaba con sofocar a mi espíritu que estaba tratando de crecer y desarrollarse en este país al que mis abuelos les habían traído.
Pero ahora, durante esta visita, quedaron silencios. Mi padre ya no estaba contando historias de guerra, y mi madre ya no creaba arte. Al mirar hacia abajo a su nueva lápida sepulcral, donde fueron enterrados en este cementerio católico en Long Beach, rogué por la sabiduría de entender el valor de sus lecciones, las habladas y las tácitas, las alegres y las hirientes. Quería dar sentido a la forma de las constelaciones conformadas por sus virtudes y defectos, para comprender cómo van a guiarme mientras atraviese el resto de mi vida en este plano de existencia. Y así voy a llegar a comprender mejor a ellos, a mí mismo, y al mundo que me rodea.
— David Magallanes es un escritor, orador y consultor de mercadeo por las redes sociales. Usted puede visitar su sitio cibernético, dedicado a la honra y la salud de nuestras hijas, en www.roses4daughters.com.
Se puede comunicar con él por e-mail a: dmagallanes@roses4daughters.com. Síganos en Facebook (“Like”), http://www.facebook.com/roses.for.daughters.
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