Francisca Canseco Lazaro by her granddaughter Genoveva Valenzuela
"La vida no es lo que uno vivis, sino la que uno recuerda y csmo la recuerda para contarla." —Gabriel Gracia Marquez “Life is not what we live but it's what we remember and how we remember … to tell it.”
	At the age of five, my grandmother, Francisca Canseco lost her mother Catalina. Therefore, my grandmother did not have a normal childhood because at the age of seven she had to clean, cook, wash clothes, and take care of her five-year-old brother. My grandmother and her brother would never leave the house because they were scared to go out, and often had to stay home when their father was gone. They were always hungry because most of the time they didn’t have anything to eat. My grandmother loved dolls so she would pretend elotes (corn husks) were dolls and she would make dresses for them.
	My grandmother did not have the opportunity to attend school because her father thought that by being the girl of the house she was to stay home and do all the cleaning and cooking. My grandmother was so determine to go to school that she would go behind her father’s back, but each time her father would find out and she would get in trouble. My grandmother’s dream was to walk into the kitchen and see her mother making food for she and her bother. She really desired to see her mother at her side, loving her, saying sweet things to she and her brother when they were sad. She said, “My life was good, despite all I went through. I met the love of my life and I married him. I had six wonderful children, which were a blessing to my life. Then they brought more happiness and love into my life with their children. Now I can look back and I don’t see myself alone and scared. Now I have a family and friends to be with me in the good times and bad times. And I want my family to remember me with love and respect.”