The day the Elves took Raul Gonzalez
By
Luis G. Lobo
8-19-18
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| Vista desde nuestra casa y la de los Gonzalez hacia las bellas montañas del Valle Central The view from our home and that of the Gonzalez of the Central Valley mountains |
During my infancy in the early 1960’s in Rio Segundo, Costa Rica, we were warned that if we did not listen to our elders, the elves would carry us off. Of course, imagining what these little people looked like was a greater fascination than the threat of kidnapping!
I recall my great-uncle Juan Gonzales Herrera telling me that he on occasion spread lime at the foot of their kitchen window, after having received small bags of balsa, an aromatic plant as a kindness; these left on the ledge of the window. The next day tiny footprints were marked upon the lime, where the nighttime visitors had stood.
His sister, my great-grandmother Domitila “Tila” Gonzales, who loved me, often said that the elves were the souls of children that did not realize they had passed away and would never harm another person.
All of this was quite charming in a small town a few miles from the City of Alajuela. In the late 1950’s it had been decided that the International Airport Juan Santamaria, also once known as Aeropuerto El Coco, would be built in the immediate proximity of Rio Segundo, which along with the superhighway General Canaswould connect the airport to the capital city of San Jose.
Change was rapidly occurring in the 1960’s. This “progress” would bifurcate our ancestral hometown with the cemetery located on the other side of highway, along with the displacement of homes and farms along the way. This was the case in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s when distances were long and travel was routinely by bus or carreta de bueyes (wagons pulled by oxen) used in the transport of crops; notably the best coffee in the world.
It was rare to see an automobile as roads were unpaved, even in the city areas. During July of 2017 I visited Costa Rica, and had made plans to visit our family friend whom I have known since I opened my eyes at birth, Elizabeth “Meni” Gonzalez. She and her family were next-door neighbors to my great-uncle Juan Gonzales and his sister Tila; possibly even related. I recalled hearing as a child that Meni’s brother Raul, when a young boy, had been taken by “duendes” – elves. Raul was born in the late 1930’s, and this would have occurred when he was a toddler.
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| Raul Gonzalez y su bella familia con Luis Lobo |
Some days later I carried a notepad and went to Raul’s house with his sister Meni. After we got caught up and congratulated him on his success in the trucking business, now retired, I asked him to tell me if it was true that he had been ”taken” by the duendes? He said yes, it was true.
Then, Highway #1, that runs alongside our home in Rio Segundo, connecting us to the east with the City of Heredia and in the west with the City of Alajuela, was but a “rastro” or an unpaved and unmarked path, mostly used by ox-carts and the occasional bus (casadora) or rarely so an automobile. He remembers being in the coffee fields, which separated his home from our own; he thinks he may have been three-years of age. He recalls that little children crossed the dirt street to play with him, and then walked him to what was then a schoolhouse nearly directly in front of my great-grandmother’s home. He remembers the children were uniformed in their attire, wore caps on the heads and they were all boys. It was the afternoon and they were surrounded by music, Raul said he never felt fear. His family remembers that Raul went missing for about three hours. They frantically searched the fields, houses, and chicken coops. Then just as the panic was becoming overwhelming; there he was with his pockets filled with candy and small bags of balsa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duende
Raul went on to say that there were a few families in the area: Gonzalez, Herrera, Rodrigues, Gonzales, Bastos, Bogantes, Cascante, Hidalgo, and Salas. Everyone knew one another and families had intermarried over the years; even before the City of Alajuela had been established in 1813. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alajuela. But these children were unknown to him, and maybe he thinks in a moment of danger, they were angels sent to protect him.
Today Rio Segundo is just a place near the international airport complex, and more than likely already absorbed by it. Costa Rica has the highest literacy rate in the western hemisphere, low unemployment, and its main export class are medical devices; even as coffee cultivation remains a great sense of pride. Of course, we are known for PURA VIDA (chill work-life philosophy) and tourism from across the globe. Our people have a kind and loving disposition; and some of them are great storytellers!
El día que los Elfos tomaron a Raúl González
Durante mi infancia a principios de la década de 1960 en Río Segundo, Costa Rica, nos advirtieron que, si no escuchábamos a nuestros mayores, los duendes nos llevarían. ¡Por supuesto, imaginando cómo lucía esta gente pequeña era una gran fascinación más que el miedo del secuestro!
Recuerdo a mi tío abuelo Juan Gonzales Herrera diciéndome que ocasionalmente extendía cal al pie de la ventana de su cocina, después de haber recibido pequeñas bolsas de balsa, una planta aromática como amabilidad; estos a la repisa de la ventana. Al día siguiente, se marcaron diminutos pies sobre la cal, donde se habían detenido los visitantes nocturnos.
Su hermana, mi bisabuela Domitila "Tila" Gonzales, que me amaba, a menudo decía que los duendes eran niños que no se daban cuenta de que habían fallecido y que nunca dañarían a otra persona.
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| The mausoleum of my great-grandmother Tila Gonsales La boveda de las familias Gonzales y Arce |
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| Iglesia de Rio Segundo Santiago Este |
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Aproximadamente un día después de mi llegada a Costa Rica, mi madre y yo estábamos caminando para tomar el "nuevo" servicio de tren a San José, la capital de Costa Rica, cuando ella se volvió hacia mí y me dijo: "mira, ahí está Raúl, el hijo de Ninfa González "- bueno, por supuesto, nos acercamos a su porton para saludarlo, y dentro de unos minutos dijo que su hermana Meni había mencionado mi interés en su encuentro con los duendes y que tenía algunos datos que compartir conmigo. Magnifico! le respondí y hicimos planes para visitarlo en breve.
Unos días después llevé una libreta y fui a la casa de Raúl con su hermana Meni. Después de que lo pusimos al corriente y lo felicite sobre su éxito en el negocio del transportes, ahora retirado, le pedí que me dijera si era cierto que había sido "tomado" por los duendes. Él dijo que sí, era cierto.
La carretera # 1, que corre junto a nuestra casa en Rio Segundo, conectándonos al este con la Ciudad de Heredia y al oeste con la Ciudad de Alajuela, era solo una "rastro" o una ruta sin pavimentar y sin marcar, usada principalmente port carretas de bueyes y el autobús ocasional (casadora) o raramente un automóvil. Recuerda haber estado en los campos de café, que separaban su casa de la nuestra; él piensa que puede haber tenido tres años de edad. Recuerda que niños pequeños cruzaron la calle para jugar con él, y luego lo acompañaron a lo que entonces era una escuela, justo enfrente de la casa de mi bisabuela. Él recuerda que los niños estaban uniformados en su atuendo, y llevaban gorras en la cabeza. Era la tarde y ellos estaban rodeados de música. Raúl dijo que nunca sintió miedo. Su familia recuerda que Raúl se desapareció durante unas tres horas. Buscaron frenéticamente los campos, casas y gallineros. En el momento de gran pánico; ¡apareció! Allí estaba, con los bolsillos llenos de dulces y pequeñas bolsas de balsa.
Raúl continuó diciendo que había algunas familias en el área: González, Herrera, Rodríguez, Gonzales, Bastos, Bogantes, Cascante, Hidalgo y Salas. Todos se conocían y se casaban a lo largo de los años; incluso antes de que la ciudad de Alajuela se estableciera en 1813. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alajuela.
Pero estos niños eran desconocidos para él, y tal vez él piensa que, en un momento de peligro, fueron ángeles enviados para protegerlo.
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| Meni Gonzales y su bella familia en Winston Salem con Luis Lobo |
