Hi there,
This lady you see in the photo is my boyfriend’s grandmother. Of Diego’s family, his mother had been my favorite until I met his grandmother. Her name is Nieves, like almost all the women in Rambla Honda. I already told you in another post that the women there are almost always called “Nieves” and the men “Diego”. She reached the age of 92 and was born in Almería; As a child, she lived for a time in Barcelona and always remembered the boat trip and that she studied at a school run by nuns.
Nieves was the eldest of 3 sisters and when she went to Almería, they all met on the boulevard to talk.
She got married when she was 18 because that way her boyfriend was saved from doing his military service. It was what was customary to do at that time so that young people did not have to do military service. Her husband was ultimately forced to do it.
I asked her what married life was like and she told me: “Well, you see, if there were olives, I would go to the fields to pick them and so on…”
Her husband died at the age of 56 and from then on, she always dressed in black.
She had three children: Juan, José, and Ana. Since she got older, the three children organized themselves to be with her, so Nieves spent a season in Almería with her sons and another season in Valencia with Diego’s mother. Then the two brothers died, and the grandmother stayed forever with Ana.
Nieves only wanted to be and live in Rambla Honda, so she did not like living in Valencia with her daughter. As soon as they arrived, she was already asking when they would return to Almería. When I asked her why she didn’t like being in Ana’s house in Valencia, she told me that “She would get out of the house in Rambla Honda and see the sky”. She said that she was tired of being in the “shack” (Ana’s house) and that she couldn’t go anywhere.
She used to say that you have to be strict with children if they misbehave, but that her children always behaved very well.
Diego told me that Ana and Nieves were always arguing but that later they didn’t argue as much because Nieves didn’t have as much energy, even so, she made her acid comments from time to time.
Once, Ana left the refrigerator door open while she was showing us something and Nieves told her: “If you want, you can close the refrigerator door”. That day Diego and I were fascinated by how “badass” his grandmother was.
Nor was she embarrassed to say when the food was “not so good” or to blame Diego’s father who doesn’t even know how to put firewood in the fireplace. Also, she always complained that her tea didn’t taste like anything, so snack time was always a fight for more teaspoons of sugar.
When Ana was going to make her first communion, Nieves gave her a raw egg with wine to “settle her stomach.” Ana rode the donkey all the way from Rambla Honda to the church, vomiting. Since that day, Diego’s mother does not eat eggs.
Years ago, she should have had surgery on his knees, but she did not want to, so she spent her old age in great pain and at the end of her days, she could hardly walk.
Grandma always said that once she saw a ghost of a tall man dressed in black in Rambla Honda. From there, as soon as the sun went down, she didn’t leave the house until it was daylight again. She was also very afraid of paranormal things and when you mentioned the word “cemetery” it gave her the creeps.
In addition, she slept very little and got up many times at night to go to the bathroom. Since she couldn’t find the light switches, she was always well equipped with her flashlight and Diego’s mother said that the flashlight batteries didn’t last a day.
When you asked about her favorite food, she always answered “whatever there is in the kitchen”. Of course, she was very clear that she liked porridge and “migas” (typical dishes from Almería) but made in Rambla Honda with firewood.
Grandma always remembered when she went to the fields to pick olives and said that what she liked best was when the tree was loaded, and she grabbed all the olives with her hand.
She had a very sympathetic expression: “What a treacherous life!” to complain when she felt sad.
She liked to be with everyone and find out what was going on and if they left her alone, she would get upset. Diego’s mother said that she did not remember anything, but for me, she was the smartest of all.
Every time I was in Valencia, I took time to go talk to her for a while. I found it super curious that she recognized me before her grandchildren and scolded me when I went a long time without seeing her. Also, when she said goodbye, she always gave me a little kiss on the hand and told me to come back soon.
From Turkey I gave her a bracelet with Turkish eyes and even in her last moments, she asked where her bracelet was.
Grandma faded little by little. She was lucky to leave without suffering and surrounded by her family.
