Skip to main content

El Velerio

 
Feb 3rd 
Upon returning from La Esquiguita Nick rushed out of his house to inform me that Mama Chomba’s father had passed away.  I went inside and found my Mama Chomba sitting at the kitchen table crying.  She told me that he was 98 yrs. old, and she was very sad that she didn’t have to opportunity to see him once more before he passed away.  She also told me that now she feels like she is alone in the world.  This is a strange concept to me because she has 12 family members within a 30ft. radius, which is much closer than any of my family members are to one another.  It would have been hard to find the words in English to console someone I’ve only know for a couple weeks, it was even more difficult in my mediocre Spanish. But I think I was able to help a little bit, by the end of dinner I was able to get her to laugh.

The next day was the velerio (wake) for her father.  I traveled with all of Mama Chomba’s family members that live in Los Mortales to her father’s hometown of Caipira.  Mama Chomba’s father had 71 children with 9 different women, so when we arrived the house was already packed with family.  We went around and gave our condolences to all of the family members, and then went to look at the body.  That was the first time I had ever seen a body in a casket.  It was kind of a surreal experience, he looked more like a wax doll then a human.  Afterwards we sat outside for a couple of hours drinking coffee talking to family members.  Mama Chomba said that it was customary to have family stay at the house for the next 9 days. 

Mama Chomba was very happy that I came to the velerio and I’m really glad I did too.  It made me feel good that the family appreciated my presence, and to see them come together to pay their respects and share stories from his life.
Location: Capira, Panama

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to the Darien

August 2013 The Darien is Panamá’s largest, easternmost and least developed province.   It is home to one of the world’s densest and most ecologically forests, some scientist claim that the Darien rainforest is denser and more difficult to navigate than the “deepest” sections of the Amazon.   The due to the region’s geography and biology, the Darien rainforest is the only place from the top of North America to the tip of South America where the Panamerican Highway does not connect.   In fact there is not a single drivable road that connects Panamá to Colombia.   Due to it’s inaccessibility and history the Darien has an almost mythical reputation.   Was written about in great detail when western powers were searching for the best path to build a canal through Central America.   Numerous survey parties went to explore the area and all of them returned unsuccessfully and in horrendous condition or never returned at all. Without an incredibly experienced...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tower Stove

June 6t h          I recently returned home to Piedras Gordas after traveling to La Canoa in the province of Herrera to visit Peace Corps volunteers Nick Duckworth and John Doyle.  Nick is a CEC volunteer from my training group who is living and working in La Canoa. John is a CEC volunteer that has been working in La Canoa for the last two years.  Nick is overlapping with John for the last few months of his service.  During his time in Panama John has been working on a “Tower-Stove” project in his community and throughout the country.  He designed the “Tower-Stove” with another Peace Corps volunteer, and the founder of Contextual Solutions, Steve Bliss. To date John has built over 30 “Tower-Stoves.”          The “Tower-Stove” is a particular eco-stove model that built with the  hope of reducing or replacing the use of the fogón (traditional Panamanian wood burning stove).  The “Tower...
Post a Comment
Read more

Super Size Me

Feb 21 st Apparently I’m too big for Mama Chomba’s house.  A couple of days ago when I plopped down on couch I broke the wooden beam that supports the seats.  The couch is much more comfortable to sit on now, but after sitting on the couch all day there is a crater 6 in. deep in one of the seats. I’ve been trying to disguise the hole by filling it up with the clothes people leave in the living room.  We’ll see how long that works for. Last night I used the sink to help me stand up after using the bathroom.  It wasn’t a very good idea. I ended up tearing the sink out of the wall, and putting all my weight on my foot with the stitches, which is what I was trying to avoid in the first place. I’m just going to blame these incidents on all of the carbs I’m being fed.
2 comments
Read more