973 Words

An Inspiring Latina Pioneer: Ramona Rios

Part 1 The Return to Mexico
The present path to Erendira is a road from hell as we drive it in our 2011, four wheel
drive, air conditioned RV's. In December of '37, three families in two Chevy trucks and two cars
encountered the end of the paved road at Maneadero and kept on going. Their destination was
San Ysidero del Mar in Baja California.
We will travel down that old, bumpy, dirt road into the history of Erendira and San
Ysidro del Mar. Our vehicle will be fueled by the memories of Ramona Castro. Ramona's
recounting of her family’s migration to Baja California in the early days provides us a taste of
those times.
Ramona’s Tale
Ramona Rios was born in Guasaba, Mexico in 1918. Her village had no church, so
her father took her to Douglas, Arizona to be baptised. The priest made a mistake and wrote,
Ramona Rios was born and baptized in Douglas Arizona. Whenever the immigration asked for
her papers, she would prove her citizenship with that document..
As a baby, her pregnant mother and the child inside her died from a fall down the house
stairs. When two, Ramona moved with her father and grandmother to the US. Her Papa became
a foreman at the shipyard in San Pedro. She attended grammar school, junior high and high
school in San Pedro. At that time English was her only language. She wanted to join the navy,
but her Papa urged her, Work to buy your pretty dresses, so you can go dancing. Ramona loved
to dance.
One day, her Papa handed her the newspaper and said, Read this, mi, hija? She read that
Governor Tabuada of Baja California said that there is free land for all Mexicans in the US that
want to return to work in Mexico, that If your children are American, don’t worry and that the
government would help. Her Papa worked together with other Mexican/Americans to get ready
for the families relocation to Mexico. Finally, her Papa got the papers and it was off to Mexico.
Passion Redirected: A Sad Story
Ramona was engaged to be married to John White. When she told John that her family was
going to Mexico, John bluntly asked her, Would you rather go to Mexico than marry me?
She replied, Yes! John snatched the ring off her finger, angrily flung it into the bushes and
threatened, If I had a gun, I would kill you. Ramona loved John, and said that everytime she
hears the song South of the Border, Down Mexico Way, I think of John.
Voyage to the New Land
The Mexican Governor sent them two brand new Chevy trucks, farm equipment and some
money. When it was time to leave, only the Rios, the Perez and the Santiagos families made the
trip.
Day One: December 9, 1937
The little caravan started on a cold and raining morning, and was composed of Papa's car, her
uncle’s car and the two trucks. Ramona was crowded into the family car with her “abuelita,”
father, aunt and her stepmother. The first night they slept in the car at a closed gas
station on the American side of the border, while it rained like cats and dogs outside.
Day Two: December 10: The Crossing
At the border, Mexican immigration made them empty the two trucks so they could inspect
everything. It took them most of the day to get back on the road. They drove through the rain
to a little Mexican town called Maneadero. The pavement ended here and they decided to spend
the night. Again, they slept in the car.
Day Three: December 11: A Muddy Road to Santo Tomas
At sunrise, they started on the dirt road and quickly got stuck. Everyone got out and pushed.
Ramona recalls, Now, we were cold, wet, hungry, and muddy. In Santo Tomas, they bought
crackers and canned sardines from the general store and slept under those tall trees at Santo
Tomas on their third night.

Day Four: December 12: The Rain Came Down

It was still raining at dawn, when they drove through the canyon and finally reached San Vicente.
Here, four men with guns stopped them and demanded that they get out of their vehicles.
One man asked them, Where are you going? Papa replied, We are going to San Ysidro del Mar.
The Mexican Government gave us land there. One man with a firm voice replied, No! Somebody
lives there. You can't go! Ramona pulled one of the men aside and pleaded, Please, my
grandmother is sick, cold and old. Let us go to our land.
The men muttered a lot before telling them to go ahead. Immediately, they got bogged
down in the mud and the same men kindly helped them push their trucks from the mud. Several kilos
from San Vicente, they bumped past a nice ranch, which had a stable for the horses and dry grass
for them to eat. They ran the horses out of the stable, made beds in the hay and slept out
of the rain. That night built a fire and cooked tortillas that were filled only with their
imagination.

Day Five: December 13: Arrival at Nowhere

On the thirteenth of December, they awoke at five o'clock in the morning, and went off excited to
to see their new home. They reached their land in San Ysidro! It was where the packing house is
now, right behind the Cafe Familiar. Ramona looked around and there was nothing but rocks and
cactus and the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
It rained for nine days straight. The river overflowed and that left them with no clean
water and nothing to eat. After the floods, a pregnant woman got sick and died. This was how
they started their new home. Ramona was eighteen years old at the time.
Part 2 1,500 words
The Early Years: Electricity
Ramona was determined to make her life in San Ysidro del Mar. Not everybody liked the
primitive lifestyle. Her aunt hated it and returned to San Pedro within a few weeks. They had
brought an electric iron, refrigerator and washing machine, but they had no electricity.
Early Settlers
In the early 1900’s, Conrado Castro came by boat from La Paz and homesteaded the property
now called San Ysidro del Mar.
The Rios, Santiago and Perez families were the first settlers in this land where the village
now stands. There was nobody around us. Six months later other families joined them and soon
they numbered about fifteen families. Ramona remarks, Of all of those people, I am the only one still
alive.
The Early Years: Electricity?
Ramona was determined to make her life in San Ysidro del Mar. Not everybody liked the
primitive lifestyle. Her aunt hated the primitive lifestyle and returned to San Pedro within a few
weeks. They had brought an electric iron, refrigerator and washing machine, but there was no
electricity.
Married Life
One day, a friend from San Vicente said, I'll bring my nephew, Vincente, to see you. You will
get on well with him. Vincente showed up at Ramona's door with a box of chocolates and flowers.
Their birthdays were just two days apart and she liked him. But, most of all, Vincente loved to dance
with her and was a fine dancer. Vincente Castro was Conrado Castro’s son. When Ramona was
twenty- two and Vincente was twenty-four, the Delegado from San Vicente came and married
them. Vincente and Ramona raised seven children together.
Food for Thought
Sometimes, Vincente's father, Conrado, would come with his boat brimming full of
lobsters and they would happily dine out on lobster. Mostly, they ate from the sea: fish, mussels
and clams. Once, the family had only mussels for a whole week. They ate them fried, boiled,
broiled, baked and raw.
When there was no money, no jobs and no lobster, Vincente would take Ramona's jewelry to
San Vicente, and trade them for flour, sugar, beans and other essentials. Ramona recalls, We
almost starved many times in those early years.
What to Do?
Vincente often wondered about their struggle for survival. One day, he finally voiced his
concerns, There is nothing for us here. What shall we do? Moving close to him, Ramona said,
Let's build a little house above the Canyon. He whispered, I'm afraid. I don't know how to build
a house. Ramona gently promised, Don't be afraid. I 'll help you.
Ramona recalls, True to my word, I worked as hard as any man. The two government trucks
carried the rocks for the foundation. They started making adobe and soon had a little adobe house on
the cliff overlooking the beautiful Pacific.
An Early Revolution
The owners of the ranch, where the family had stayed that stormy night in the stable, were less
than welcoming. An American family lived in a house next to the tall Eucalyptus trees. That
family was chased out of town by the ranchers, who took over their house and adopted their
thirty pigs.
Then, the ranchers tried to drive Ramona's family out, but they joined with four other
families and defended themselves with rifles that some Americans gave them. Soon, it was
war. The women and children were not to go outside. Ramona wrote to the Governor for help.
The Governor understood that the Rios family had a right to their land, and sent about
fifty Federales to settle the dispute. The soldiers escorted the family back to their ranch. Ramona
comments, Thanks to the Governor, those Americans that helped us, our little revolution was
victorious.
Pleas for Survival: Governor Tabuada Responds
The whole town was weak with hunger. Ramona's uncle was the town sheriff. One day, she
challenged him , Why don't you ask the governor to help us? We are all hungry. He answered
gruffly, Talk to my secretary. The problem was his secretary couldn’t read or write. Using
an old typewriter, Ramona typed out a short letter in capital letters, WE ARE HUNGRY. WE
NEED A MILL FOR OUR CORN. The governor sent us a new mill!
Soon, corn was growing all around the little village and we had lots of corn tortillas. Ramona's
next letter to the governor said: SEND US SOME WHEAT GRAIN Another package arrived. Wheat
plants were grown that were taller than any man in the village. Then, the men in the little village had no
pants and no money for cloth, but they did have a few sewing machines. Again, she wrote the
Governor: PLEASE SEND US SOME CLOTH FOR CLOTHES. Lots of cloth arrived. They worked
hard, and laughed over the results. Every man in town wore exactly the same color of pants I think the
green cloth was taken from material for the Mexican flag.
The small village constructed a school with building materials from an old building in
San Quintin. Soon, they had a teacher from Sinaloa, a school bus and a school with a roof,
windows and even curtains. Ramona wrote to Governor Tabuada,
WE INVITE YOU TO A BBQ TO CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF OUR NEW
 SCHOOL.
.Hard Work Acknowledged: Where is the Metiche?
The Governor attended the BBQ and visited the new school. He was surprised by all that had
been accomplished. The governor informed them that President Cardenas had named one of his
Ranchos Erendira after an Indian Princess of Mexico. The President had asked us to name
our ejido Erendira. We did. Governor Tabuada announced, Now, I want to meet Ramona Rios. Where
is the Metiche?
Metiche, in Spanish, is a person that is always asking for things. Ramona was afraid that he was
going to scold her, so she ran away crying into the house and hid. He followed inside, found
her and hugged and kissed her. The President said, You are the kind of people that Mexico wants.
We want Campesinos. The conductor of an orchestra from Maneadero was a close friend of
Ramona's from San Pedro. All that night, his orchestra’s music was dedicated to me to Ramona
recalls, I danced with the Governor. This is how our dear governor helped us all. He's the best
man that I have ever known. The first daughter to be born after the governor’s visit was named
Erendira.

Friendship: Till Death Do Us Part

Vincente was a fisherman all his life. He fished the waters from Ensenada to San
Diego and made lots of money. His best friend was Jose Ramirez, Shorty. Shorty was
a diver, who also earned well. They were hard workers, but they liked to drink and be happy in
their time off. Ramona was amazed at how drunk they would get, laughing and having so much
fun.
Often, Shorty and his wife, Victoria, came to visit the Castro's, and the couples quickly
became close friends. After Shorty and Victoria moved close by, they bought lots of cows.
Ramona would always tell her, Victoria, I like you and I like the ocean, but I
don't like your smelly cows.
When Victoria’s son, Lorenzo, was about six month old and about the same age as
Ramona's son, Fernando, Victoria asked Ramona a favor, Ramona, please take care of Lorenzo.
Shorty needs my help on the boat. Most days, Ramona would have Lorenzo and Fernando side
by side on the bed, change their diapers and give them bottles at the same time. Rmona recalls, I
took good care of both of them.
Years later, when Victoria became ill with cancer, Ramona visited her in the hospital.
One afternoon, she was alive, but only barely. With tears rolling down her face, Victoria cried out,
Ramona, I want to thank you. You are a dear friend of mine and a wonderful mother to my son. Then,
she died. Lorenzo was sixteen at the time.
More Arrivals
Vincente always said that he owned San Ysidro del Mar, but he didn’t have the papers.. Other
people wanted that land. Ramona stood up in the village meeting and stated, I told them the
truth. This should be his land and his alone. Vincente's father, Conrado, was the first here.
Ramona's words gained the support of the village, so the government gave my husband's father
the land and the title. We established Castro’s Camp as a fishing village. I found that I had the support
of the village, so the government gave my husband's father the land and we had the title.
More Arrivals
Not long after the Castro's move, tourists from the states started coming to San Ysidro. One man
started making little adobe houses, promising people, I'll make you a little house, and I'll keep it
clean for you. Before long, tourists started flooding in, and there were lots of little adobe houses
built. Ramona summarized the changes, Everything grew. Until I die, I will never forget how
helpful the American people have been to our village. Most of my memories will die with me.
Why Mexico?
Why does an employed, secure Mexican-American family living in San Pedro, California decide
to embark upon such a difficult dream? Ramona's father and her family celebrated this exodus to
their homeland. They had the courage to follow their dreams. Few were before them, but many
came after. Many more will follow.