La Calle de la Quemada

It was a usual Saturday morning, and we were home after doing the weekly grocery shopping. My abuela, mom, sister and I were unpacking the bags and putting the groceries up.

“So, I heard that Beatrice and Ricardo are expecting a baby soon,” my mom mentioned to my abuela.

“Mhmm,” replied my abuela. “Personally, I think it’s going to be a boy.”

“Who’s Beatrice?” asked my sister, she turned to me and I only shrugged.

“She’s my cousin,” replied my mom. “You know my tia Magdalena?”

It took a second but then we both slowly nodded.

“That’s her daughter.”

“Her perfect daughter,” my abuela added mockingly. “Maggie never stops talking about how wonderful, amazing and pretty her daughter is and her life y todo. But guess what?”

We all looked at my abuela, waiting for the gossip that would surely follow. With a grin on my abuela’s face, she continued.

“She got a tattoo, and Maggie was not happy with her at all. I mean who would be. You’re just ruining your body.”

I spared a quick glance at my mom, and she hit me with a glare so I bit my tongue.

“What was the tattoo?” asked my sister. She was always interested in tattoos and wanted to get one but never got around to it. So she likes learning about other people’s tattoos whenever the chance pops up.

“No se, mija. I think it had something about amor on it. When Maggie told me about the tattoo, she really didn’t describe it. She did mention that she got it for Ricardo, though.”

“Found it!” I exclaimed.

“Found what, Rafa?” asked my mom.

“The tattoo, she uploaded a picture on her Facebook Account.” I showed it to my sister. It was a nicely done tattoo on her forearm. It was tattoo of a heart surrounded by roses with ‘Amor Eterno’ written inside in a traditional style. Some of the stuff my sister learned about tattoos got ingrained in my mind like tattoo art styles. “Her caption says, ‘To remind those that I love that I will always love them no matter what. Mi amor por ti es eterno. #love #couplegoals’. That’s nice.”

“That makes sense now,” added my abuela. “I think I heard from Emmanuel, the man who runs the bar, that when Ricardo would visit San Luis, he’d get into a lot fights out of jealousy or because someone make comments with romantic or sexual intentions about Beatrice. Maggie mentioned that Beatrice and Ricardo would get into arguments about his fights, and all Beatrice ever had to do to settle the argument was remind him that she married him for a reason. I think that the tattoo was supposed to be a permanent reminder, but I still think there could have been a better way to fix that problem.”

“To each their own, mama,” commented my mom.

“Listen, kids, the lesson here is don’t get tattoos. You’ll look ugly when you’re my age,” said my abuela. “Pero en serio, don’t do something you’re unsure about just to prove your love to someone. Your love should be expressed in way that means something to you.”

My sister and I nodded, but there was still something that my mind was nagging at me to say.

“Speaking of tattoos, abuela-”

“Rafa! The dryer just finished, could you go fold the clothes?” interrupted my mom, the way she said had me running to the dryer.

I still can’t believe abuela doesn’t know about her tattoo.

Author's Note: In the original legend, a woman sacrifices her beauty by burning her face, which is why the legend is called ‘The Street of the Burned Lady,’ or something along those lines. She does so because one of her suitors, the one she loves, is killing off others out of jealousy. In the end, after seeing her burnt face he goes on to marry her and she had found someone who loved her purely for her soul. I wanted to retell this story in a modern setting but keep the tale lighthearted to provide a contrast from the last story. I decided to change her ‘disfigurement’ into a tattoo because I know that some people have a stigma with tattoos and I felt that it would’ve worked nicely. I kind of wanted to have Rafael play a larger part in the gossiping then just being the listener, this is why I had him investigate through Facebook and contribute that information. I also gave his mom a secret tattoo, because I felt like it added a bit of humor into the story and also because I would have loved to see how my own abuela would have reacted to my mom’s tattoo. I found the inspiration for the tattoo on Instagram. It was done by @goldenlagrimas. I was unable to go through my family pictures, so I chose to have an image of a tattoo machine being prepped until I can find a personal picture to fit with the story.

Bibliography: "The Legend of La Calle de la Quemada" by Thomas J. Janvier from Legends of the City of Mexico. Website: Project Gutenburg