See attached.
Stefanie, this is excellent character work. You really dug deep into the details of your Wela Carmen and crafted a perfect snapshot of her. Love the mix of the spiritual and the real life moments too. The imagery of her room filled to the brim with candles and saints and other items combined with visits from the newly dead allow us to feel the enormity of your grandmother’s presence and power at the same time. Loved this: Her bedroom was my escape from my father’s anger, even though it was a classic hoarder case with floor to ceiling boxes surrounded by Botanica statues of saints and santos. I sat at the edge of her twin sized bed as we watched her novelas, eyeing the forbidden caramelos she left out for them with shots of rum. I didn’t get why statues needed offerings of wrapped caramelos they would never touch.
