Stories From Home: Leticia Vega and Her Outlook on Life
By Brianna Vega / Spring 2026
English Transcription
[00:02] Leticia:
One of my best childhood memories was when my dad would take us to the countryside. He would cut prickly pears and make a little box out of the cactus paddle. I don’t know how he did it, but he made the box from the cactus itself and then filled it up. Back then, there wasn’t money to buy fruit, candy, or things like that, so that’s what they would give us.
[00:40] Brianna:
How old were you?
[00:42] Leticia:
I don’t know, maybe five or six years old. My dad would bring us a little box full of peeled prickly pears.
[00:56] Leticia:
He made the little box from the cactus paddle and filled it with peeled prickly pears. That’s what he brought us.
[01:09] Brianna:
Where were you living at that time?
[01:16] Leticia:
In Abadiano, Michoacán.
[01:33] Brianna:
What do you remember seeing or feeling? Or maybe smelling?
[01:57] Leticia:
I don’t remember a specific smell from the prickly pears because they don’t really have much of a smell. But I remember imagining how delicious they were going to taste. Some fruits do have stronger smells, like pineapple, cucumbers, oranges, or mandarins.
[02:19] Leticia:
The prickly pears didn’t really have a strong smell you could recognize.
[02:30] Brianna:
Why do you think that moment stayed with you?
[02:36] Leticia:
Because it was something my dad did all the time, and he loved doing it.
[02:47] Leticia:
When we went to the hill where he worked, there were trees with campulinas, little fruits kind of like cherries. He would let us climb the trees and grab as many as we wanted.
[03:11] Leticia:
My dad was very generous with us. He let us do those things after we finished working or when we went with him.
[03:40] Brianna:
Is there another memory that has always stayed with you, good or bad?
[03:53] Leticia:
Yes, the bad memories. My dad’s family didn’t like my mom, and they treated her badly.
[04:00] Leticia:
One time, two of her sisters-in-law beat her up together.
[04:12] Leticia:
My mom spent two weeks thinking about how she was going to get revenge because they attacked her together and she didn’t have a chance to defend herself.
[04:30] Leticia:
My mom started watching them, seeing what times they left and came back.
[04:34] Leticia:
The first person she found was my uncle’s wife.
[04:41] Leticia:
My mom carried a little gun and also a big lock in the pocket of her apron.
[04:58] Leticia:
When she found my uncle’s wife, she grabbed her by the hair.
[05:07] Leticia:
She hit her in the head and said blood would come out with every hit.
[05:12] Leticia:
Later, she also went after the other sister-in-law.
[05:24] Leticia:
Back then, they used to wash clothes at the river, and that’s where she would find them.
[05:31] Leticia:
My mom couldn’t sleep because of the anger and helplessness she felt.
[05:39] Leticia:
What hurt her most was that the two women didn’t even give her a chance to defend herself.
[05:43] Leticia:
It was like one person holding you down while the other hit you.
[05:55] Leticia:
My mom started following them and spying on them to see what time they left, when they washed clothes, or when they went to the store.
[06:05] Leticia:
That’s how she found the perfect moment to get back at them.
[06:09] Brianna:
And how did she get the other one?
[06:12] Leticia:
She confronted both of them when they went to wash clothes at the river.
[06:20] Brianna:
That same day?
[06:22] Leticia:
No, she spent time studying them, watching what time they left, where they went, and what they did.
[06:43] Brianna:
And after all that, you were born?
[06:46] Leticia:
Yes, I hadn’t been born yet when that happened.
[06:52] Brianna:
How do you feel when they tell you that story?
[06:56] Leticia:
It’s not a great example for us, but the good thing about my mom was that she didn’t go looking for fights. But if people came after her, she defended herself.
[07:10] Leticia:
She always told us, “I don’t want my daughters looking for trouble, but if someone comes after you, don’t let yourself be pushed around.”
[07:50] Brianna:
What other stories or memories have stayed with you about your mom or dad?
[08:05] Leticia:
I also remember when I was single, around eighteen or nineteen years old.
[08:16] Leticia:
My sister Rosa used to go to Mexico every year, and one time she had to return because her oldest daughter had a problem.
[08:41] Leticia:
So Rosa asked my mom for permission to take me with them to Zamora.
[08:47] Leticia:
I would help by cooking for them and taking care of the kids, almost like a mother.
[08:50] Leticia:
Since then, my sister trusted me a lot and left her children under my care.
[09:05] Leticia:
I was really happy because I loved getting out of Abadiano. I stayed there for about a month.
[09:15] Brianna:
Did it feel like a dream come true?
[09:20] Leticia:
Yes, because I always said that as soon as I could, I would leave there. I didn’t really like Abadiano.
[09:28] Brianna:
Why? Because it was such a small town?
[09:37] Leticia:
I don’t really know why, I just didn’t like it.
[09:41] Leticia:
Later, I would go stay in Guadalajara with my aunt.
[10:00] Leticia:
I had a really good time there.
[10:06] Leticia:
We cooked, cleaned, and then went to the recreation center to play basketball.
[10:12] Leticia:
We also went to the movies or to the plaza to eat.
[10:21] Leticia:
Those are some other memories I have.
[10:32] Leticia:
When I started going to dances or parties, my mom always made us work all week first.
[10:51] Leticia:
But because I really wanted to go to the dances and parties, I did everything she asked me to do.
[10:58] Leticia:
The funny thing is that even though my sister was the oldest, she didn’t dare ask permission to go to the dances.
[11:07] Leticia:
They always told me to ask my mom instead.
[11:16] Leticia:
My mom trusted me a lot, even though I wasn’t the oldest.
[11:26] Leticia:
If I asked for permission, she almost always said yes.
[11:31] Leticia:
But when my sister asked for permission, my mom often said no.
[11:35] Leticia:
And later, when I didn’t even want to go anymore, she would still tell me to go.
[11:40] Leticia:
Although honestly, there were very few times I didn’t want to go to parties or dances.
[11:55] Leticia:
I also remember the time of the Christmas posadas.
[12:02] Leticia:
At that time, the corn was already ready to be harvested.
[12:11] Leticia:
My mom would send us to gather leftover corn after the harvest.
[12:24] Brianna:
Gather leftover corn?
[12:25] Leticia:
Yes, going to collect the corn left behind after the harvest.
[12:35] Leticia:
We would only grab a little so nobody would notice we had collected more.
[12:44] Leticia:
Because it was rare for people to leave a lot of good corn behind.
[12:56] Leticia:
Sometimes people saw us working, but they never realized how much we had gathered.
[13:06] Brianna:
And how did you feel doing that?
[13:12] Leticia:
It was nice because we spent a lot of time together. It’s like when you do something you enjoy with your siblings.
[13:22] Leticia:
Like going out for ice cream or sharing simple moments with them.
[13:30] Leticia:
That’s really beautiful.
[13:34] Leticia:
I also remember when we went to gather firewood for the stove.
[13:45] Brianna:
Firewood?
[13:46] Leticia:
Yes, for cooking on the wood stove.
[13:51] Leticia:
My mom made really delicious ham sandwiches.
[13:57] Leticia:
That’s why I liked going, because afterward we all ate together.
[14:01] Leticia:
Another memory is when we were planting crops.
[14:09] Leticia:
My mom told us that the next day she would bring us enchiladas in a little tray.
[14:16] Leticia:
It was like a small metal container with a handle.
[14:28] Leticia:
She filled it with food, and we let it cool down a little.
[14:35] Leticia:
That day neither my mom nor my dad were there, so we worked by ourselves and were very responsible.
[14:40] Leticia:
It was really hot, and the whole field was full of green trees and flowers.
[14:50] Leticia:
When my mom was walking up the hill, we would watch her from far away.
[14:57] Leticia:
While we waited, we climbed trees and swung on the branches.
[15:10] Leticia:
Sometimes it felt like we were going to fall.
[15:16] Leticia:
Then my mom would arrive with the enchiladas.
[15:21] Leticia:
She would tell us to come down so we could all eat together.
[15:31] Leticia:
I have many memories, both good and bad, but I prefer remembering the good ones.
(EXTRA) Christmas Traditions and Gathering Corn
During Christmas time, after the corn harvest, her mother would send the children to “pepenar,” meaning to gather the leftover corn that remained scattered in the fields after harvesting. She and her siblings would carefully collect small corn cobs while trying not to attract attention, since field owners might notice if too much corn disappeared. Although it was physically demanding work, she remembers those moments with affection because they allowed her to spend time with her siblings. She compared the feeling to sharing ice cream like how me and my siblings do or simple moments together. One of her favorite memories occurred while working in the cornfields during planting season. Her mother promised to bring enchiladas the next day in a small metal container with a handle called a “charolita.” Since neither of her parents stayed in the field with them the entire time, the children worked independently and learned responsibility from a young age. She vividly remembers the intense midday heat, the green trees, flowers, and beautiful landscape surrounding them. While waiting for their mother to arrive with the food, the children climbed trees, swung from branches, and played together. Sometimes they felt as if they might fall, but they enjoyed the excitement. Eventually, they would see their mother walking up the hill carrying the enchiladas. She would call them down from the trees so the family could sit together and eat. These memories remained especially meaningful because they combined hard work, family unity, nature, and happiness