Back to the Classroom of 1972

 

BACK TO THE CLASSROOM OF 1972

Graduating Class “Alicia Rodríguez de Alegre” – 1972
School No. 89007, 21 de Abril Housing Development, Zone B

Chimbote, Peru

When the movie of my childhood plays through my mind, the images of 1972 emerge with startling clarity. The plot, the characters, and the music of that year remain immune to oblivion, as if protected in a shielded section of my memory.

Back then, I was a die-hard kid fan of José Gálvez of Chimbote, my hometown's most popular soccer club. That season, the team had the best run in its history. Sunday after Sunday, I savored the sweetness of its triumphs and glories.

And what can I say about the music! I loved the romantic genre; songs like Un Beso y una Flor by Nino Bravo, Soy Rebelde by Jeanette, and Amor por ti by Buddy Richard stayed with me forever.

But there was something else that made 1972 such a special year: for the first time, I studied with girls in a coed classroom.

In 1967, I had started primary school at Boys' School No. 3151 in the San Isidro Barrio, under the direction of Don Felipe González Olivera. I studied there only until fifth grade because the school ran only until 1971. Meanwhile, in Zone “B” of the 21 de Abril housing development, Girls' School No. 3297-A was open under Principal Doña Blanca Cueva Vidal de Inostroza.

Before the 1972 school year began, the two schools merged to become Mixed Educational Center No. 89007, led by Don Julián Alberto Gómez Olivera. New classrooms were added to the original girls' school. And that is where I arrived, at eleven years old, to start sixth grade.

Sharing a coed classroom was a brand-new experience. Just the previous summer, my world and that of my friends had been playing marbles and spinning tops; then suddenly in April, as the curtain rose on the school year, we discovered that nothing in this world was more important than a girl's smile, her friendship, and the length of her skirt.

Thirty-two boys and fifteen girls, organized in three rows of double desks, made up my new classroom. The girls sat against the wall by the door, half of the boys against the window wall, and the other half in the center. I sat with Guillermo Quezada in the second desk of the center row, behind Armando Crovetto and Rolando Quito. The teacher was Don Rómulo Salazar Silva, whom we called “Bigote” (Mustache) behind his back.

At the beginning of the school year, a name was chosen for our graduating class. I proposed “José Gálvez,” and another student suggested “José María Arguedas”. After the vote, the latter won by a hair. Days later, at the teacher’s suggestion, the name “Alicia Rodríguez de Alegre” was chosen as a tribute to a teacher from my old school who had died in a road accident on the eve of the previous Christmas.

The only “romantic experience” I brought to the coed classroom of 1972 was this:

The year before, as I walked every morning toward the San Isidro school, Gladys Vargas—one of the prettiest girls in the neighborhood—would be walking in the opposite direction. She studied at Girls' School No. 3107 under Doña Ubínica Quiñones and was usually with her friend Teodolinda Rubio. I walked along the curb, while they walked along the side by the houses. When we crossed paths on the fourteenth block of Aviación Avenue, Teodolinda would shove Gladys against me, and they would keep going, laughing out loud. I would continue on my way, flushed with a tingle of blushes and joy... and we never once said “Hello.”

Regarding academics, I should say that before sixth grade I had grown used to receiving an honor diploma, but in 1972 I failed to achieve that distinction. It was deservedly awarded to two boys and two girls: Dionicio Ledesma, one of the oldest in the class and also the brightest, took first place, and Artemio Milla took second. As for the girls, the diplomas went to two smart, pretty girls: Eudosia Ventura and Neri Díaz.

The Spring Queen election that year was a major event. Each classroom sponsored a candidate, and the crown went to whoever sold the most “votes.” A beautiful young lady named Martha Obeso represented my class and won. I must confess that I supported the candidate from fifth grade, a girl who had changed schools... she was the same one who had played that game of shoves with me the year before on the fourteenth block of Aviación Avenue.

Our graduation trip was an exciting tour of the Paramonga Fortress, located right on the Pan-American Highway north of Lima. We explored the fortress, had lunch by the river, visited the paper and sugar factories, took in the sights, and returned to Chimbote that same night.

Armando Crovetto was the most popular student in the class. He was mischievous, talkative, and likable. He represented us in the Festicanto inter-school singing contest at the Paul Harris Coliseum, winning one of the top spots with the song Muchacho Muñeco. Ethil Alegría was also very popular. She was a beautiful, friendly girl who radiated a healthy charm. She was fourteen, and we saw her as the perfect balance of beauty and natural ease.

That classroom, with its prefabricated walls, corrugated roof, and large windows, held a few platonic loves. Arcadio liked Martha; Ethil liked Armando; Noel liked Neri. I liked Ana Villanueva, a girl from fifth grade who could have been my girlfriend, but we were so shy that we often talked through her friend, Erlisa Bazán. One Friday, Erlisa told me that Ana wanted to go with me to the Saturday morning matinee. In my confusion, I accepted, but on the way home I remembered that on Saturdays I had to work at my father's workshop. I ran back to cancel the date... and that was the closest thing to love that happened to me that year.

Through this story, I have gone back to the classroom of 1972 once again. I have seen “Teacher Bigote” with his white chalk in front of the blackboard. The Ledesma brothers, sitting in the last desk of my row, are listening intently. To one side, “La Chimango” Laura whispers with “La Caimana” Rita. In front of them, a student won't stop staring at me. I glance furtively at the girls in the front desks. The beautiful Ethil catches my eye, gives me a wink, and blows me a kiss.

Postscript.

I have launched a kite into the air. The ball of string has enough length to go around the world. It flies in search of the “Kids of ’72.” And it carries this message: “What if we meet again one day?”

New Hampshire, USA

March 2013

School No. 3151, 1st Grade Classroom in 1967. This class
finished primary school in 1972 and was part of the
“Alicia Rodríguez de Alegre” Graduating Class

Teacher Alicia Rodríguez de Alegre

April 15, 1941 – December 24, 1971

(Courtesy of Ángel Alegre Alegre)

1971 — Student Neri Díaz Moreno welcomes the 

Minister of Education, Gen. Alfredo Carpio Becerra

(Courtesy of Neri Díaz Moreno)

Eduardo, 1972

Complete list of students in the graduating class:

BOYS:

1. Albrichet García, Raúl Johnny
2. Álvarez Alva, Segundo César
3. Carranza Espinoza, Juan Heranio
4. Carranza Murga, Esli Ademar
5. Clavijo Huaraz, César Humberto
6. Coronel Castañeda, Tomás Edinson
7. Crovetto Laveriano, Armando Manuel
8. Cruz Reyes, Aureliano Reynaldo (+)
9. Del Río Vásquez, César Segundo (+)
10. Durán Cáceres, Oscar Leopoldo
11. García Vásquez, Lino Rafael (+)
12. Herrera Melendez, Henry Enrique
13. Jugo Valderrama, Rolando
14. Laureano Cornelio, Elmer Alberto
15. Ledezma Cerna, Ignacio Dionicio (+)
16. Ledezma Cerna, Paul Rufino
17. Lucero Bueno, Germán Domingo
18. Meza Matos, Eufelio Guzmán
19. Milla Flores, Artemio Beltrán 
20. Milla Príncipe, Francisco Esteban
21. Oncoy Palma, Rigoberto Victoriano (+)
22. Palacios Baltodano, Noel Zacarías
23. Pinedo Borjas, Lupicinio Luis
24. Pisfil Reque, Hugo Nazareno
25. Quevedo Serrano, Eduardo
26. Quezada Tapia, Guillermo Eleuterio
27. Quito Rodríguez, Hugo Rolando
28. Rivas Casusol, Luis Andrés
29. Rodríguez Cabrera, Julio Víctor
30. Rospigliosi García, Raúl Andrés
31. Villanueva Díaz, Juan Arcadio
32. Zavaleta Laverian, Santiago Jorge

GIRLS:

1. Alegría Santillana, Ethil Elizabeth
2. Asmat Ramirez, Ana Beatriz
3. Camacho Quezada, Elena
4. Castillo Pajuelo, María Teonila (+)
5. Díaz Moreno, Neri Teresa
6. García Angulo, Rubi Concepción
7. Gonzáles Araujo, Julia Violeta
8. Gonzáles Araujo, Rita Fotunata (+)
9. Mantilla Ágreda, Rosa Epifania
10. Melgarejo Castillo, Laura
11. Obeso Boado, Martha Haydeé
12. Quezada Carbajal, Melchora
13. Ruíz Chávez, María Teresa
14. Torres Verde, Carmen Antonia
15. Ventura Jara, Eudosia Primitiva

1972 School Teaching Staff: 

Julián Alberto Gómez Olivera (Director)

Rómulo Baltazar Salazar Silva 

Segundo Fermín Orbegozo Luján

Eva Carbajal Mantilla de García

Imelda Castañeda de Carranza

Nelly Krug Flores 

Ángel Augusto Alegre Alegre 

César Abelardo Alegre Escudero 

Miguelina Natividad Alva 

Elcira Giraldo Guzmán

Consuelo Dina Gutiérrez Cruz

Irene Naucapoma

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