Confesiones a un Árbol

sábado, marzo 30, 2013

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:

Albrichet García, Raúl Johnny
Álvarez Alva, Segundo César
Carranza Espinoza, Juan Heranio
Carranza Murga, Esli Ademar
Clavijo Huaraz, César Humberto
Coronel Castañeda, Tomás Edinson
Crovetto Laveriano, Armando Manuel
Cruz Reyes, Aureliano Reynaldo (+)
Del Río Vásquez, César Segundo (+)
Durán Cáceres, Oscar Leopoldo
García Vásquez, Lino Rafael (+)
Herrera Melendez, Henry Enrique
Jugo Valderrama, Rolando
Laureano Cornelio, Elmer Alberto
Ledezma Cerna, Ignacio Dionicio (+)
Ledezma Cerna, Paul Rufino
Lucero Bueno, Germán Domingo
Meza Matos, Eufelio Guzmán
Milla Flores, Artemio Beltrán
Milla Príncipe, Francisco Esteban
Oncoy Palma, Rigoberto Victoriano (+)
Palacios Baltodano, Noel Zacarías
Pinedo Borjas, Lupicinio Luis
Pisfil Reque, Hugo Nazareno
Quevedo Serrano, Eduardo
Quezada Tapia, Guillermo Eleuterio
Quito Rodríguez, Hugo Rolando
Rivas Casusol, Luis Andrés
Rodríguez Cabrera, Julio Víctor
Rospigliosi García, Raúl Andrés
Villanueva Díaz, Juan Arcadio
Zavaleta Laverian, Santiago Jorge

GIRLS:

Alegría Santillana, Ethil Elizabeth
Asmat Ramirez, Ana Beatriz
Camacho Quezada, Elena
Castillo Pajuelo, María Teonila (+)
Díaz Moreno, Neri Teresa
García Angulo, Rubi Concepción
Gonzáles Araujo, Julia Violeta
Gonzáles Araujo, Rita Fotunata (+)
Mantilla Ágreda, Rosa Epifania
Melgarejo Castillo, Laura
Obeso Boado, Martha Haydeé
Quezada Carbajal, Melchora
Ruíz Chávez, María Teresa
Torres Verde, Carmen Antonia
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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sábado, febrero 02, 2013

Mi Amigo Bernardo

MI AMIGO BERNARDO

Bernardo Cabellos Sabino: regidor

provincial, período 1990-92

Conocí a Bernardo Cabellos Sabino, el verano de 1978, en el local central del Partido Aprista en Chimbote. Me impresionó desde un primer momento. Tenía facilidad de palabra, ideas claras, devoción por el trabajo de base, y un tremendo carisma.

A pocas semanas de tratarnos nuestras sillas coincidieron una al lado de la otra, en una amplia mesa de bohemia en el antiguo bar Kiko de la segunda cuadra del jirón Elías Aguirre. Conversamos desde el anochecer hasta el amanecer, percibí entonces que Bernardo era el reflejo de mi propia visión sobre el país y el Partido.

Ese mismo año fuimos elegidos dirigentes del estamento juvenil aprista que afrontó la campaña electoral para la Asamblea Constituyente de 1978, e iniciamos una sólida amistad, la misma que treinta y cinco años más tarde continúa tan fraterna como siempre.

Recuerdo que la madrugada del 27 de octubre de 1978 realizábamos activismo político frente a la puerta principal de SIDERPERÚ y fuimos perseguidos varias cuadras por la policía. Bernardo, otros muchachos y yo fuimos detenidos en Seguridad del Estado. Él tenía veinte años de edad y yo dieciocho. El episodio fue breve, pero marcó el inicio de muchas otras detenciones que en razón de nuestros ideales llegarían con el tiempo.

Coincidentemente, este mismo hecho se vincula con otro de importancia en la historia del Partido Aprista de Chimbote: Al caer la tarde de aquel 27 de octubre Bernardo y yo salimos libres, y fuimos directamente a la Casa del Pueblo donde nos esperaba otro gran amigo de la época: Julio César Sifuentes Arias. Ese día se había iniciado la III Convención Departamental del Santa, e ingresamos al evento en representación de la juventud aprista. En aquella Convención logramos romperle el espinazo a la guardia vieja del Partido, y finalmente se acordó la renovación del Comité a través de nuevas elecciones.

1981 - Eduardo y Bernardo sentados en

la primera fila (mismo color de ropa)

Nuestras largas jornadas de activismo forjaron entre Bernardo y yo una amistad de hermanos. Comimos del mismo plato para mitigar el hambre de las noches. Sorbimos de la misma “chata” de ron para atenuar el frío de las madrugadas. Y a menudo nos perdimos en interminables noches de bohemia compartiendo los mismos sueños por un mañana mejor, y la misma música romántica que marcó nuestras vidas para siempre.

En 1981 lideré a un amplio sector de jóvenes apristas que quiso afirmar una línea de izquierda dentro del Partido. Bernardo organizó y dirigió con brillantez la VI Convención Departamental de la Juventud. Este evento debió elegirme secretario general ese año, pero la cúpula capitalina suspendió las elecciones a nivel nacional. En 1982 Bernardo nuevamente se encargó de preparar la VII Convención, donde finalmente fui elegido en el cargo.

Con la ayuda invalorable de Bernardo, Julio César Sifuentes Arias y otros jóvenes ejecutamos un exitoso trabajo político y social, el mismo que tuvo su correlato a nivel de adultos con el profesor Alejandro Ponce Rodríguez. Luego a fines de 1983 yo me mudé a Trujillo, unos años después me distancié del Partido en forma definitiva y para siempre.

Bernardo se quedó y continuó una carrera política exitosa. Ganó en 1986 las elecciones internas apristas para integrar la lista de candidatos a regidores provinciales pero la cúpula partidaria soslayó los resultados. No obstante, ya nadie pudo impedir que en 1990 nuevamente gane y se convierta en uno de los regidores más jóvenes y brillantes de la segunda gestión edilicia del Ing. Alberto Alfaro Beltrán, en cuyos debates Bernardo se movió como pez en el agua gracias a su sólida formación política.

Entretanto en el Partido Aprista continuó el proceso de deterioro político y moral que todos conocemos, y Bernardo también se retiró de la vida partidaria activa. Desde entonces ha manteniendo un perfil bajo, aunque sin perder la única militancia política que ha tenido a lo largo de toda su vida.

Bernardo, sus padres y parte de su familia

Mi amigo Bernardo nació en Chimbote el 16 de octubre de 1958, estudió primaria en la Escuela Adventista del Santa y la Gloriosa 329, cursó la secundaria en el Colegio Erasmo Roca. Se graduó de Contador Público por la Universidad San Pedro, en la actualidad se dedica a su profesión en forma independiente. En una oportunidad estuvo casado, “pero no por mucho tiempo” como él mismo lo dice. Fruto de su matrimonio nació su hijo Jack Ronald, quien actualmente tiene 32 años de edad, y en otras relaciones nacieron Flor de María, 24, y Rodrigo, 5.

Cuando comenté a mi amigo Marco que iba a escribir un relato sobre Bernardo, me preguntó: ¿Y vas a mencionar que en una época fue un Don Juan? Entonces sonreí de la misma manera como lo estoy haciendo ahora. Lo cierto es que hubo un tiempo en que el buen Bernardo adquirió esa fama, y una vez me dijo que le gustaría tener como epitafio una frase que diga, “Si Neruda confiesa que ha vivido, yo confieso que he amado”.

Han pasado treinta y cinco años desde que nos conocimos, y casi dos décadas desde que yo salí del Perú. El tiempo y la distancia han servido para aquilatar el valor de nuestra amistad. Es cierto que los años nos van pasando la factura, él ha ganado peso y yo he perdido cabello, sin embargo, en nuestras charlas semanales seguimos riendo con la misma picardía de siempre.

2012 - Bernardo & Eduardo, Chimbote-Perú

Quienes siguen mis relatos de cerca habrán notado que el nombre de Bernardo aparece en varias partes. Y no podría ser de otra manera, pues cada vez que viajo al Perú juntos recorremos las calles de Chimbote en busca de viejas amistades, y en busca de la información que necesito para completar diferentes proyectos sobre los que escribo.

En los últimos tiempos la salud viene jugando una mala pasada al buen Bernardo. Son meses de peregrinaje por hospitales, de preguntas sin respuestas, y de incertidumbre. Inexorablemente, él ha devenido más místico, más filosófico, como preparándose para un gran partido cuyo resultado no lo tiene del todo seguro en las manos.

Los muchos amigos que tiene en el Perú y en diferentes partes del mundo hacemos fuerza para su recuperación. Bernardo va a necesitar echar mano a toda esa fortaleza con la que se ha abierto paso en la vida, y con la cual ha vencido tantos otros momentos de prueba.

No tengo duda que esta hora de sobresalto pasará. Y sé también que durante mi próximo viaje al Perú reuniré nuevamente a los viejos amigos de 1978, sentaremos a Bernardo a la cabecera de la mesa y brindaremos otra vez por la vida. Entonces alzaré mi copa y recitaré una frase que vive conmigo desde hace treinta y cinco años.

... Una frase que el mismo Bernardo me dijo la noche de 1978 en el bar Kiko de Chimbote: “Debemos ser unos visionarios, unos hombres correctos que en cada momento de la vida luchen por las causas justas”.

New Hampshire, USA

Febrero, 2013

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My Friend Bernardo

MY FRIEND BERNARDO

Bernardo Cabellos Sabino:
Provincial Councilor, 1990–92 term

I met Bernardo Cabellos Sabino in the summer of 1978, at the central headquarters of the Aprista Party in Chimbote. He impressed me from the very first moment. He had a gift for words, clear ideas, a devotion to grassroots work, and tremendous charisma.

Just a few weeks after meeting, our chairs happened to be side by side at a large bohemian table in the old Kiko bar, on the second block of Elias Aguirre Street. We talked from dusk until dawn; it was then I realized that Bernardo was the reflection of my own vision for the country and the Party.

That same year, we were elected leaders of the Aprista youth wing that faced the 1978 Constitutional Assembly election campaign, and we began a solid friendship—one that, thirty-five years later, remains as fraternal as ever.

I remember that in the early morning of October 27, 1978, while we were carrying out political activism in front of the main gate of SIDERPERÚ, the police chased us for several blocks. Bernardo, a few other guys, and I were detained by State Security. He was twenty; I was eighteen. The episode was brief, but it marked the beginning of many other detentions that would follow because of our ideals.

Coincidentally, this event is linked to another of significance in the history of the Aprista Party in Chimbote: as evening fell on that October 27, Bernardo and I were released and went directly to the Casa del Pueblo, where another great friend of that era, Julio César Sifuentes Arias, was waiting for us. The III Santa Departmental Convention had begun that day, and we entered representing the Aprista youth. At that Convention, we managed to break the back of the Party's old guard, and it was finally agreed to renew the Committee through new elections.

Our long days of activism forged a brotherhood between Bernardo and me. We ate from the same plate to stave off the hunger of those nights. We shared the same “chata" of rum to take the chill off the early morning cold. And we often lost ourselves in endless bohemian nights, sharing the same dreams of a better tomorrow and the same romantic music that marked our lives forever.

In 1981, I led a large group of young Apristas who wanted to push for a leftist line within the Party. Bernardo brilliantly organized and directed the VI Youth Departmental Convention. This event was meant to elect me general secretary that year, but the leadership in the capital suspended the elections nationwide. In 1982, Bernardo once again took charge of preparing the VII Convention, where I was finally elected to the position.

With the invaluable help of Bernardo, Julio César Sifuentes Arias, and a few other guys, we carried out successful political and social work, echoed at the adult level by Teacher Alejandro Ponce Rodríguez. Then, at the end of 1983, I moved to Trujillo; a few years later, I distanced myself from the Party definitively and forever.

Bernardo stayed and pursued a successful political career. In 1986, he won the internal Aprista elections to join the slate of candidates for provincial councilors, but the party leadership sidelined the results. Nevertheless, no one could prevent him from winning again in 1990, becoming one of the youngest and most brilliant representatives in Engineer Alberto Alfaro Beltrán’s second administration. In council debates, Bernardo was in his element thanks to his solid political background.

Meanwhile, the political and moral decay within the Aprista Party continued—as we all know—and Bernardo also withdrew from active party life. Since then, he has maintained a low profile, though without losing the only political affiliation he has ever known.

My friend Bernardo was born in Chimbote on October 16, 1958. He attended elementary school at Adventista del Santa and “La Gloriosa” 329, later completing his high school years at Erasmo Roca. After graduating as a Certified Public Accountant from San Pedro University, he established his own independent practice. He was married once—“but not for long,” as he puts it. From that union came his son, Jack Ronald, now 32; later, Flor de María, 24, and Rodrigo, 5, were born from other relationships.

When I told my friend Marco that I was writing a story about Bernardo, he asked: "And are you going to mention that there was a chapter when he was a Don Juan?" I smiled then, just as I am smiling now. The truth is that there was a chapter when good old Bernardo earned that reputation, and he once told me he wanted a phrase for his epitaph: "If Neruda confesses that he has lived, I confess that I have loved."

Thirty-five years have passed since we met, and almost two decades since I left Peru. Time and distance have served to gauge the true depth of our friendship. It’s true that the years are taking their toll—he has gained weight and I have lost hair—nevertheless, in our weekly chats, we continue to laugh with the same mischief as ever.

Those who follow my stories closely will have noticed that Bernardo’s name appears in several places. It couldn't be any other way; every time I travel to Peru, we walk the streets of Chimbote together, looking for old friends and the information I need to complete the various projects I write about.

In recent times, health has been playing tricks on good old Bernardo. It has been months of wandering through hospitals, of questions without answers, and of uncertainty. Inexorably, he has become more mystical, more philosophical—as if preparing for a great match whose outcome is not quite in his hands.

His many friends in Peru and around the world are all rooting for his recovery. Bernardo will need to draw on all the strength with which he has carved out his path in life, and which has seen him through so many other trials.

I have no doubt that this unsettling time will pass. I also know that during my next trip to Peru, I will once again gather the old friends from 1978; we will seat Bernardo at the head of the table and toast to life once more. Then, I will raise my glass and recite the words that have lived with me for thirty-five years...

Words that Bernardo himself told me that night in 1978, at the Kiko bar in Chimbote: “We must be visionaries—upright men who, in every moment of life, fight for just causes.”

New Hampshire, USA

February 2013

1981 — Eduardo and Bernardo in the front row at

La Casa del Pueblo, Chimbote (wearing matching outfits)

Bernardo with his parents and family members

2012 — Bernardo & Eduardo. Chimbote, Peru