The post that never was

Former Jacal PCV Dan, Doña Gloria and me

I believe that in at least one previous post -- and possibly several -- I mentioned the name of Doña Gloria, a wonderfully interesting woman who lives in Jacal. I promised to dedicate a post to her, but never got around to it, so now I am.

The picture above is the only one I managed to get with her during the two years I lived there, but I would see her around town at least twice a week. I would usually have my Gloria sightings in the town park/church square, where she spends much of her time standing guard, having made it her life's mission to keep those areas free of litter and debris. Woe to the children who attempt to strike up a friendly game of fútbol in the courtyard. They will suffer the wrath of Gloria; for where there are children, there is mud. And God save the man who tosses his empty Styrofoam atol cup onto the ground. Hell hath no fury.

And she does not restrict her domain to just those areas. I recall walking down a side street one day and passing a group of young girls riding their bikes around in a circle, presumably in front of their house. Gloria was coming from the other direction. As she passed in front of the house she commented that the sidewalk and street in front of it were too dusty and littered and instructed the girls to grab a broom and some water and clean it up.

Gloria is a strong, opinionated and blunt woman, who has no problem saying exactly what's on her mind to whomever she pleases. On several occasions she has driven around town with a loud speaker, doing public service announcements focused on protecting the environment.

Many of you will recall the post I made about Pascual a few months ago (Don't Stop Believin', Jan. 24, 2010). He was the young boy struggling to make it on his own in Jacal who was thrown a surprise birthday party by the group of doctors, Habitat for Humanity volunteers and water purifier installers for which I translated on a few occasions. Gloria was the one who found Pascual crying in the church when he had run out of money and all of his oranges had gone bad before he could sell even one. She wasted no time in bringing Pascual to home of the Rojas family, which owns one of the most popular cafeterias in town. According to a member of the family, Gloria went right up to Don Chus Rojas, said, "You have lots of money and extra food. Give this boy a job," and left.

That may seem presumptuous or even rude, but that's who Doña Gloria is: a straight shooter who has no time for finesse. She's got a bone to pick with the people of her town who don't seem to give a rat's ass about the cleanliness of their streets and public areas. She's focused on getting the job done and looking good while doing it.

That brings us to another of Gloria's fascinating character traits: her highly developed sense of fashion. You won't catch her any footwear other than heels. And I might add heels at least four inches high and of the exact hue of her outfit (which is why it's a shame I only have the one picture, because it didn't capture the matching lavender pumps she was wearing).

My favorite ensemble of hers were the red pumps, accented by dark red lipstick, with a red shawl over a flowing red dress that looked like something that would have been worn by a plump, well-to-do lady of distinction in the early 1900s. What I wouldn't give for a photograph of that. I really should have tried harder, but taking pictures of people you don't know that well is a tricky situation to begin with, let alone the cultural issues that would have been involved in this one.

While Doña Gloria and I were not particularly close, we did chat occasionally. She knew who I was and that I was involved in some kind of health/environment service project in the area. Because of this, she considered me an ally.

Or should I say cohort? She called me "Mi amor!" and was always pitching a different half-baked plan for how we could join forces. I had my hands pretty full with the Peace Corps projects and wasn't sure she'd be the most reliable counterpart so I would politely beg off or change the subject. She also liked to conspiratorially whisper to me about how dirty her fellow townspeople were, and while I agreed that cleanliness and preserving the environment were not high priorities, her somewhat demeaning tone made me uncomfortable, so I thought it best to keep my distance.

As with any high profile person in a small town, there were plenty of rumors in constant circulation about Doña Gloria. The most popular was that she was shacked up for some time with a much younger man, who split after stringing her along for years while she paid for his education. Many said it was after this incident that she went a little off the deep end and anointed herself the town's litter monitor.

You can never tell how much truth there is to tales like that and I tend to err on the side of skepticism, but it does make for a tragic story and lifts her to almost legendary status -- or at least gives her the potential to reach it within 50 years.

As for me, I really do admire Doña Gloria, albeit from afar. She is a loud and powerful woman who isn't afraid to speak up in a society that on the whole expects women to sit down, shut their mouths and shell some corn. The fact that she is speaking up for a cause that rates just barely above women's issues among her peers is even more incredible. People can say what they want about her flaws. She has plenty of them. But I say that Doña Gloria serves as an example to the whole community and especially the young women, and I hope to find her still harassing people in the streets the next time I'm in Jacal, when I'll definitely have to take some more photos.

Peace out,
Kristina