Latina Narratives

Black Artemis

Sofia Quintero

Interview With Black Artemis

Being able to say you where part of history is hard to say. But in our life we are granted the privilege of be able to participate in events that we can say we where their when we are in the twilight of our years. Today I can say that I was able to experience a once in a life time event a few weeks ago. On October 13, 2012, I was on the streets of Inglewood to see the space shuttle Endeavour roll passed me during her journey to her final resting place in downtown Los Angeles. I was very excited to see the space shuttle roll passed me, not because it was the cool thing to do. But this event made a childhood memory come full circle. I was a young child when the space shuttle where at their peek of going to outer space. I always wanted to see the shuttle up close one day. But never in a million year would I ever think that this massive space shuttle would be rolling down the street of our local neighborhood.

I took my parents, along with my two aunts from Mexico, and my wife to see history roll passed us.  I wanted to share a special moments with people I love, so we all got in the van and drove out to see her final voyage through the streets of the ghettos. This to me an awesome experience for lower income people to see something as special as this event was. We waited about three hours to see the object of my childhood memories. I remember seeing it in the horizon slowly creeping over the hill to show off her white and black outer shell. The massive shuttle moved around power poles, trees, and buildings slowing making its way toward us. We where all amazed at the sheer size of the space shuttle that inched its way toward us. I was twenty feet away from the shuttle taking pictures and remembering seeing this shuttle taking off of its outer space missions while growing up.

I was one of the luck one that was able to say that the space shuttle wing gave me one of her final drive by. The shuttles wing went over my head and I was able to read the plates under the wings and see all her minor imperfections due to her ware and tear form all her missions to outer space. This was a very great day for me because one day I will be able to tell my children, about the day I was a young man and saw this massive shuttle drive pass me when it was making its way to Los Angeles. Many people will have the privilege of say that they were there when the space shuttle made its way home. But not many will be able to say that they were right under the wing of the shuttle. I was luck enough to take pictures of this special day.

As we get older in life we start to losing people that might have different significance to us. We might lose co-workers, class mates or friends that you might know very well or the one you say hey or hello to ever time you passed them by. You might lose love one like a mother, father, sister or brother. But have you ever had an event where you never know or even see the person, nor do you get to hear the struggle of that person try to out run the grime reaper before it catches up with you and takes you away from everything. Only to leave a corpse of what once was a young, strong, full of life, killing machine, Lance Corp Zimmerman.  This is one of my coming of age story in which a man I never knew changed my life in just a matter of minutes.

I was a Third Class Petty Office at the time of this war game incident. I worked in the Operations department where we held all the classified, secret, and top secret material that was off limits to 95% of the vessels. So we had to log all the events that occurred during a twenty-four hour period. I had just started out my shift and I was eager to finish this war game drill, so we can relax for the rest of the day and forget about the fact that we have been off the coast of San Diego for over a week already. I could see cars driving by the 5 freeway going north and south bond all day long.  I yearned to be in one of those cars not caring where the destination, I just wanted to get as far away from this dam vessel as I could.

We where off the coast of San Diego only three miles away from camp Pendleton, running war game drills for our up coming six month deployment for the Middle East. Our objective for the day was landing the Marine on the beach to assault the beach force in the pre dawn attack. But before we could start our invasion on the beach lance Corp Zimmerman suffered a massive heart attack and fell to the ground before he could enter the armored personnel carrier (APC). The drill was still a go, and we started to deploy the armored personnel carrier full of Marine grunts ready to attack the forces on the beach. While all action was going on in the war game front, I had a different kind of job. One that would make me see life in such a different way.

I was in charge of the log book keeping duties during this event so I had to log in all the events that were happening simultaneously. I had to log the grids and times of landing for every APC and the casualties they sustained during this drill. But I also had the responsibility in making sure that I logged all the communication between the medical staff that was in it only battle trying to save Zimmerman life. They would relay reports to our department and we would relay this to our Captain to make sure he was up to date with the situation down in the loading dock. I was the one that was communicating directly with the medical staff. So I had to log all the things that they tried to do to save Zimmerman’s life. I was the one that had to relay to our captain that one of our Marines was dead.

I was told to go to the bridge and give the Captain an updated of the issue down in the loading area. When I walked into the bridge I felt an over whelming feeling of guilt and sadness and I walked up to our captain to inform him the one of our marines was dead. This was the worst news I have ever had to tell anyone in my whole life. I felt like I should have done more to try to help Zimmerman’s life. I had this guilty feeling hang over my head for a few months. This was more than losing a stranger it was like losing a brother that you never knew, but you know you knew his values because you two were serving in the military at the same time. It’s a brother hood that will never be forgotten, that’s why every year during Veterans Day I light a candle and say a prayer for Lance Corp Zimmerman. Hooo Raaaa, brother may your body rest forever, and may memory live on forever!!!

Under the feet of Jesus

Estrella is a young girl that has to deal with the fact that her father left the family. She does not have to deal with the physical or verbal abuse of the father. But instead she has to deal with the question of why her father abandons her, and the family. She has several coming of ages in this story, but the one that sticks with me the most is her interactions with Alego. The way she cared and protected him while he was sick from the spray of the pesticides in the fields while picking fruit for them to see. Estrella’s position in the family is kind a unresolved, due to her always wondering if that women that’s all dress up is the one that her father ran off with. She also has to be the strength for the simple fact that Perfecto was in his mid-seventies, and was getting older and weaker by the day. She has to protect her younger siblings and also help to provide for the family.

I think that the barn fits in to the narrative because it seems that Estella finds comfort in the barn. A safe haven for her from the world of hard, long working days on the field. This is her protection and also a way of her keeping her youth still. That’s why she does not want Perfecto to destroy the barn as requested by the farmer. If they demolish the barn, then Estrella loses her child hood along with the destruction of it. The relationship she has with Petra is a strange one. Petra loves her and cares for her, but at the same time she is overwhelmed with the life she has and the long hours she has to do in order to provide for her family. Estella’s relationship with Perfecto is a defiant one. She hates him for being with her mother, she feels that he is too old and does not look at him as a father figure, but more as a person that is there to help guide next location to work the fields. Even though she knows he is a hard worker and very smart when it comes to fixing things, but he is worn down from the long hours and hard years on the field. But she can’t find it in her heart to love him.