El Viaje de Coquita
El Capítulo Cuatro
Miguel sat down in front of the new ofrenda in the attic. He began reading the letters that Mamá Coco had guarded so dearly her whole life. They painted a very different picture of the man who'd left his family all those years ago than what he'd been raised to believe.
Papá Héctor had written letters spanning the course of several months. They detailed his travels with a man named "Tío Nesto", whom Miguel assumed to be Ernesto de la Cruz based on the fact that Papá Héctor was holding the same guitar played by the famous musician in the photo that now formed the centerpiece of a new secret ofrenda. They talked about the love and adoration he possessed for his wife and daughter, and how nothing could compare to his familia. About his lifelong friendship with Ernesto and how they compared to his life back home. Even exploits of how he and Mamá Imelda came to be married.
The letters also featured lyrics to the songs they sang during the tour. Songs which Miguel recognized as the ones sang by Ernesto, but which Papá Héctor claimed to have written himself. Studying the lyrics, the claim made perfect sense when taken together with who the man had attributed his inspirations for the songs to. "Remember Me" was written for Mamá Coco to sing while her papá was on tour, "Poco Loco" was written to serenade Mamá Imelda after playing at her quinceañera, etc.
As the dates continued, the letters talked increasingly about feelings of homesickness and wanting nothing more than to see his family again. Ernesto kept extending the tour and adding more and more cities to the journey. The final letter, dated December 7, 1921, just one week after his 21st birthday, explained that he'd bought a train ticket back to Santa Cecilia and would be leaving Mexico City that very night. It ended with the postscript "I think this letter will arrive after me.".
But everyone in the Rivera family knew that Papá Héctor never came back home.
Which may have explained why Mamá Imelda thought he left the family.
Miguel had learned everything he could about Ernesto de la Cruz growing up, and never once did he mention being anything other than a solo act. None of the interviews revealed anything about his rise to fame, other than that he grew up in Santa Cecilia, and none of de la Cruz's biographers could find any evidence of what his life was like just before he made it big. Nor did anyone know where he got the famous guitar.
As much as Miguel wanted to investigate further, he had promised Mamá Coco that her memorabilia of her papá would be kept safe from the rest of the family.
Héctor reached the end of the bridge, his feet touching grassy soil for the first time in decades. He looked around him, seeing that he was in a cemetery.
A large mausoleum stood at the top of the hill; Héctor could see it was dedicated to Ernesto.
Looking out at the other graves, he could see skeletons from every era engaged in various activities; dancing with one another, taking offerings on their graves, and reminiscing fondly on their living family.
For a man like Héctor, who could tell that his stories had been passed down recently, it was a lot to take in.
Soon, he found himself stepping out of the cemetery gates, following a trail of cempazuchitl pedals strewn on the cobblestone pathway that glowed as visiting spirits walked on them.
"So, this is Santa Cecilia now, eh?" He followed the pedals that were glowing for him, which he assumed would lead to his great-great-grandson's ofrenda.