Catalina Frequete
Sumi Ink, metal leaf, and watercolor on paper, 17" X 22"
Ramona Casanova Elisalde. December 21, 2007. Perico Cuba.
Según yo tengo conocimiento la mama de la persona que vivÃa aquà vino de Africa. Era Ma Teresa Zulueta, ya aqu à en Cuba Zulueta pero el nombre eras Ma Teresa. Vino del Dahomey. vino como esclava y trabajó mucho, criaba puercos, cortaba caña para poder tener dinero para que sus hijos fueran libres. Dicen que ella criaba muchos puercos y cortaba mucha caña para obtener centenes y asà pudo comprar todo ese pedazo que ustedes ven, desde la casa que estaba en construcción allá, todo este pedazo aquà y la libertad de sus hijos porque dicen que era una persona alta muy fuerte, prieta que yo tenÃa una tÃa que se parecÃa mucho a ella. Mi tÃa también cortó caña. Ma Teresa Zulueta era la abuela de mi mamá. mi mamá fallecida MarÃa Luisa Elizalde, pero le decÃan Catalina Frequete porque ese era el santo que ella tenÃa, Yemayá. El caldero del patio y una tinaja del patio eran de Catalina Frequete, pero aquà vivió también otra señora que se llamaba MarÃa Rivero, hija de Changó. No era familia nuestra, pero bueno antes se usaba que las personas emigraban de un lugar hacia otro dentro del mismo paÃs y esa persona era de Pinar del RÃo, pero vino para acá y vivió aquà hasta que aquà mismo falleció como parte de la familia nuestra. Yo era muy niña, pero bueno la recuerdo perfectamente. Yo no sé si tenÃa santo hecho porque antes las personas éstas tenÃan santo, pero no era como ahora que es un santo coronado y en cuanto al vestir, generalmente estas personas se vestÃan de blanco o azul, colores...fundamentalmente de blanco. Yo recuerdo a MarÃa Rivero siempre con una saya rizada blanca y un pañuelo como se lo ponen ahora, me parece que la estoy mirando. Debe haber sido LucumÃ, me imagino yo, pero no conozco mucho de aquella región y como les digo yo estaba muy niña y no podÃa precisar mucho.
To my knowledge, the mother of the person who lived here came from Africa. It was Ma Teresa Zulueta. They called her Zulueta here in Cuba, but her name was Ma Teresa. She came from Dahomey. She came as a slave and she worked a lot. She raised pigs and cut cane to make money so that her children could be free. They say she raised a lot of pigs and cut a lot of cane to get enough money, and that's how she bought that piece of land that you see, from that house in construction over there to this whole section here. They say she was a person who was tall, very strong, and black, and I had an aunt that looked a lot like her. My aunt also cut cane. Ma Teresa Zulueta was my mother's grandmother. (My late mother MarÃa Teresa Elizalde), but they called her Catalina Frequete, because that was the saint that she had, Yemaya. The caldron and a clay jar in the patio belonged to Catalina Frequete, but another woman lived here also, named Maria Rivero, daughter of Changó. She was not part of our family, but, well, it used to be that people emigrated from place to place within the country, and that a person from Pinar del Rio came here and lived here until they died here, as part of our family. I was a very young girl, but I remember her perfectly. I don't know if she had been consecrated, because back then those people "had santo", but it wasn't like now, that it is a crowned saint, and you have to dress a certain way, generally back then people wore white or blue, colors, but usually white. I remember Maria Rivero had a white, ruffeled skirt and a scarf like they wear today. It seems like I am looking at her. She must have been Lukumi, I imagine, but I don't know much about that region, and like I said, I was very young and didn't pay much attention.