The Perils of Beginnings: A Cavazos Historical Memoir - 6168

Outgoing, independent-minded fifty-something-year-old Eloisa Cavazos Diaz, Auntie, decides to invite her eighteen-year-old niece, Barbara Esquivel, on a road trip to Tampico Mexico in search of her baptismal certificate. During the twelve hours drive through south Texas and into Mexico, Auntie tells Barbara the story about an overlooked ancestor, José Narciso Cavazos, to whom the King of Spain awarded 600,000 acres of Texas land, El Agostadero De San Juan de Carricitos. Skirting the Texas counties of El Agostadero, Auntie brings to life how in 1793, Narciso abandoned the aristocratic comforts of the established La Hacienda De Los Cavazos in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to start something new, challenging, and full of obstacles in a barren landscape known to both Spain and Mexico as no man’s land. In vivid detail, Auntie chronicles Narciso’s passion to not only slog through the wild pasturage of Texas but also to appease the Indians who saw their territory dwindling as a result of land grants the Mexican government freely gave away. Auntie and Barbara manage the ebbs and flows of mixing the Mexican and American cultures, hilarious encounters with humans and animals, dealing with absent American comforts yet welcoming locals, and the beautiful landscape of Mexico, Barbara slowly begins to appreciate her rich cultural heritage and the role Narciso played in Tejano history. In the process, both women reveal secrets neither had shared with anyone before. This first Cavazos family history memoir is storytelling based on real people and events. The narrative has mystery, romance, and fascinating characters with trailblazers, cattle barons, and descendants of the conquistadors, José Narciso Cavazos, his beloved first wife, Maria Ignacia, and his scandalous relationship with his first cousin, Guadalupe. It asks questions about Narciso who disappeared from history and about the fate of El Agostadero De San Juan de Carricitos today. The story leads the reader to El Templo de la Immaculata Concepción in search of Auntie’s baptismal document. The narrator, Barbara, brings realism and humor to the interlacing stories of real-life issues for those raised and familiar with the Mexican American culture in Texas and anyone who has lived amongst Mexican American families.
ASIN: B0CR765QGW
VSKU: BVV.B0CR765QGW.VG
Condition: Very Good
Author/Artist:Inclan, Bernadette
Binding: Hardcover