Performer

Educator

Motivator

Family

(Monday, continued)
We arrived at the Hotel Orly at about 9:00 am and checked in without difficulty. At breakfast we were greeted by a lovely lady named Ana Maria, who would figure largely in our first day here. She became intensely interested in Alfredo's story and was so helpful that Alfredo invited her to eat dinner with us tonight. Conversation at dinner was lively, and centered around what life in Chile has been like since 1972. I ended up eating something called "poor man's beef," which was a HUGE steak topped with two fried eggs and served with carmelized onions and french fries. There are not words to describe how delicious it was.

Jennifer with Ana Maria and her boyfriend, out on the town

Tue, Aug 29
This was a day of sights and sounds, perhaps most accurately related by way of a list:

* Yesterday was warm; today was really cold
* Walking cobblestone streets and sidewalks
* Bathrooms without toilet paper twice - I'll put tissue in my little bag tomorrow!

(Tuesday's list, continued)
* El Mercado Central - children's Cueca costumes everywhere, a man dancing La Cueca on the street, the smell of fish, Zoira making empanadas (at left), waiters calling to us to come eat at their restaurant
* The smallest coffee cups in the world
* The strongest coffee in the world
* Watching Alfredo find more of himself every minute
* A blessing prayer from a kind priest at Catedral Metropolitana

A trip up the hill to the statue of Mary gives perspective

Wed, Aug 30
We had a lovely drive across Route 68 to Viña/Valparaiso. We stopped in the village of Curacavi and found an adorable lady making empandas. The village was an amazingly different place from Santiago... barely put-together houses, some leaning slightly to one side, corrugated metal roofs without insulation, rough uneven streets, lots of dust, people pulling huge carts laden with produce or trash, and everyone smiling to each other. Maybe sometimes having less is better.

(Wednesday, continued)
The road into Valparaiso was pleasant, well-marked and uneventful. The roads in Valparaiso were opposite on all counts. So between the insane drivers and the unmarked streets, we managed to drive into every section of Valparaiso, EXCEPT the two we were supposed to be in. We stopped to ask directions an untold number of times, all with the same result - lots of encouragement to go downhill and then uphill, "just over there, see?" We stopped to ask a man working on the street and when Alfredo looked out the window at him, he noticed our bright yellow hotel just at the top of the hill behind him!

(Wednesday, continued)
Once we were in the area the map worked pretty well. I was in tears and Alfredo was wishing for quiet, so I stayed in the room while he went to check in and get the luggage.
When he didn't come back up after about half an hour, I went down to see where he was. I saw him out by the car talking to two policemen. When I went out to ask if everything was OK, Alfredo introduced the two men and said, "Papi is dead." The policemen had come walking by as Alfredo was unloading the car, and when they talked with Alfredo about why he was in Chile now, they offered to find out where his father was. They looked at Alfredo's driver's license, made a phone call, and came back with the news that his father had passed away April 14, 2000.
As frustrating as the trip was today, with its many detours, dead ends and delays, I now see that without those we would not have been unpacking the car at the exact moment those two policemen walked by. As sad as it is that we are here seven years too late for one meeting, I know there is a reason that we are here in this moment.
My only hope is, whatever God has planned for us here doesn't involve much more driving in the crazy hills of Valparaiso!

 

Jennifer with two of Chile's Finest

New friends Pierre and Terrie at the Brighton Hotel

Thu, Aug 31
Today after breakfast Alfredo got directions for us to walk down to the nearest place for currency exchange. We had just enough time - it was 10:15 and the exchange office was a 7-minute walk down the hill. Boris, the father at Grand House, had promised to meet us at 11:00 so we could follow him across the crazy hills to our next B&B.

Boris, our kind host

(Thursday, continued)
We descended the hundred or so steps to the main streets of Valparaiso and found the exchange office easily. Once there, a moustached man in a thick gray overcoat asked, "para cambiar?" and showed Alfredo which line to stand in. Alfredo asked him if the newspaper offices we had passed on the way would be the right place to get a copy of Papi's obituary. The man happened to be a retired policeman, and told Alfredo the best way to get information would be to go to the House of Public Records... next door. Alfredo did that while I ran up the thousand or so steps to wait for Boris.

Of course we videotaped the drive behind Boris, to prove to the folks back home that the streets are as crazy as we say they are! We'll be returning the rental car as soon as possible.

(Thursday, continued)
Once we arrived at Grand House, we were warmly greeted by owners Doris and her twin sister, Carolina.
Relaxing in our lovely room, Alfredo told me that for a small fee, he can get a copy of Papi's death certificate.
Doris called us down for lunch and that was the beginning of a many-hour discussion of Chile's political and socioeconomic history, led by the girls' mother Edith.
Later we began to speculate on Alfredo's story, and what we should do next. Doris decided to look in the phone book to see if there was and "Escobar" in there that could be related to Alfredo. She found a "Leontina Escobar Arcos" at #456 Av. Peru Apt 4-A in Viña. Silence at the table. That was the apartment where Alfredo grew up. And Leontina was the name of Papi's wife.

The Grand House

(Thursday, continued)
Upon further examination we decided that this Leontina must be the daughter, based on the configuration of her name. That made the idea of knocking on the apartment door and explaining why we were here a little more complicated. We decided to start at the House of Public Records tomorrow rather than in Viña.

Fri, Sep 1
We have lived a lifetime in the course of the past two days. This morning after breakfast we went into town with Carolina, walking together all the way down the hill and then over to Public Records.

(Friday, continued)
I must add here that I have only seen landscapes like this in paintings, and then I thought it was an unreal, imaginative representation. Nope - the houses really are crazily glued to the hillsides, staying put despite gravity and even earthquakes. It is incredible. So, we descended the impossible hill and found ourselves in the familiar territory of town.
We decided to divide and conquer, with Alfredo waiting in the long line for copies and Carolina and me in line for other possible documentation. Of course, Carolina did the talking. At first I thought we had hit a dead end because the clerk was shaking her head and looking mildly apologetic, and Carolina was hesitating in her speech. I heard Carolina say something about Alfredo, his wife, United States, 34 years, only wants to find his family, father died in 2000... As she spoke, the clerk's expression began to change. Her face went from businesslike to interested, to amazed, to sympathetic, to determined and then finally to conspiratorial as Carolina talked. She allowed Carolina to watch her computer screen as she searched the records to "see if there was anything she could do for us."
(Side note here: I have been interviewing Alfredo's mother for several years now, planning to write her story. Fortunately I knew enough about Papi's Valparaiso family to be able to give Carolina names of three of his four children.)
She discovered birth and marriage certificates for Horacio, Luis and Leontina and printed copies for us, with her official stamp and signature.

(Friday, continued)
Looking at the birth certificates reminded me that when Alfredo and I applied for a marriage license, he had to use an old, worn copy of his birth certificate which we were unsure would qualify. I thought it might be fun to surprise Alfredo with a real birth certificate from here. Carolina and the clerk thought so too, so two more certificates were printed, stamped and signed: one for Jose Alfredo Escobar Field and one for Juan Manuel Escobar Field. When Alfredo joined us after receiving the copy of Papi's death certificate, all of us were feeling very emotional. The clerk called Alfredo to her. "So now you'll go find your family?" she asked. Alfredo said he was nervous about that. She took his hand and looked steadily into his eyes. "You can do this," she said. "Be strong."

Lautaro Rosa - the street Alfredo's father lived on in Valparaiso

 

 

(Friday, continued)
We left the Public Records Office and headed straight for a cafe where we could sit and process all that had just happened. We looked at all the papers again and compared dates for the siblings' births, and felt a little humbled by the official-ness of the documents and the kindness of the clerk.
Strengthened by the coffee, we hailed a cab and gave the address on the death certificate. The street was lovely, lined with grand houses and carefully manicured grounds. No. 147 was at the far end of the street and looked as though it had recently been divided into apartments. A little weary from the excitement, we walked downhill and caught a colectivo cab home to Grand House.

Driver Raoul and his trusty horse Lucero with Alfredo in Viña

(Friday, continued)
After digesting and sorting our newfound information, Alfredo decided it was time to go to Viña. We descended from our palace and caught the local bus on the shore road, another adventure in store. Riding the bus is like a roller coaster, only better because there are no seatbelts or bars, and some people (including us on the way back) are standing up. We reached Viña in one piece and noticed two men with horse carriages across the bridge. Alfredo caught my hand. "Want to take a carriage ride?" He knew my answer.
The man who drove us is a second-generation carriage driver and has worked in Viña over 40 years. He and Alfredo reminisced about the buildings and people as we drove past his old apartment, church, school and other landmarks.

(Friday, continued)
Alfredo had been waiting the whole trip to buy barquillos - long, rolled pastry tubes baked crispy and flaky - so he could eat them across the street from #456 Av. Peru Apt 4-A. There was a street vendor selling magazines, newspapers, candy, ice cream, and, yes, barquillos. We shared a package of four as we sat on the wall and looked at the building. 4-A had pretty golden curtains parted and tied back inside the glass balcony door. We wondered if Leontina was there and if we should knock. We wondered what she looked like and if she would come out onto the balcony.

(Friday, continued)
A door opened on street level and an older woman came out with a broom.We held hands and crossed the street to her. She and Alfredo talked a while, then she went inside and came back out the main entrance with the building Super, Hector. Hector said he had worked in that building 35 years, and he remembered Alfredo's mother! He told us that Leontina owns the apartment and rents it to a couple. He offered to meet us tomorrow to try again, which we promised to do.
We are a bite at a cafe out on the sidewalk and watched the sun set over the bay. It was a beautiful end to a very productive day.

Sat, Sep 2
Another day of dreams fulfilled! We took the bus to Viña this afternoon, hoping to find the residents of 4-A in a hospitable mood. We wandered the streets a bit and happened on a performance of traditional Chilean music and dance (hooray!) and then ate a lovely lunch at Enjoy del Mar, at a corner table surrounded by windows, with a view of the sea on three sides.

Alfredo with Hector, at the door of Apt 4-A

 

(Saturday, continued)
Strengthened and hopeful that our luck would hold, we headed down the street to the apartment.
There were two people on the balcony.
We walked past.
"What do we have to lose?" I asked Alfredo. "Hector said he'd go with us, so let's go!"
We crossed the street. Hector was in the courtyard and he waved us in. He took us upstairs and introduced us. We ended up having a wonderful visit with Tania and William in the apartment. It was just like Alfredo had wished - we sat out on the balcony with them and shared a drink and the story of our trip.

"Home again" after 34 years

Alfredo with Willy and Tania at the apartment - a dream fulfilled!

Side Note: We thought all our dreams were fulfilled at this moment, and really didn't know what we were going to do with our time until our planned departure on September 11. As it turned out, we hadn't even scratched the surface.

Mon, Sep 4
We went to the University of Valparaiso this morning to see if we could find out anything about Papi's career. We ended up in the Personnel Office, but they couldn't find any record of Papi or a Department of Customs (where he had told Alfredo's mother he worked). We left the campus in a quiet mood, wondering if maybe all of Papi's life was a lie, and just what kind of man he really was. He had spoken of Customs, so we stopped at the National Customs Building and Alfredo told his story to the security guard there. He sent us to the Customs Personnel Office at Esmeralda #911, where we found a veritable gold mine of information and memories. It took a little time, but we were introduced to two men who knew Papi both as a professor and a colleague. The best thing for me was watching Alfredo's face as these men helped him realize that his father was, in fact, more than he had said he was. It was a very healing time.

Tue, Sep 5
We ate our breakfast on our private terrace at Hotel Thomas Somerscale this morning, looking ot on the sweeping view of the Valparaiso coastline. Sometime between the fruit bowl and the jam biscuits, I had one of my "knowing moments," that this would be the most exciting day so far.

 

Restaurant Dimalow, one of our favorites on Cerro Alegre

(Tuesday, continued)
Yesterday as I sat in the Personnel area at Customs, I felt God asking me to pray that Alfredo would meet someone who knew his father. God answered that prayer doubly. I wasn't sure what God had in store for us, but I wondered if the day might end with an encounter with a family member. I prayed that God would continue to prepare the road, and lead us on it.
We left Somerscale and took a cab back to Grand House. Alfredo asked the driver how much it would cost to go to Parque del Recuerdo (where we thought Papi was buried) and he quoted around 12000 pesos there and back. We considered that as we walked down the steps and streets of Cerro la Cruz. In both our minds was the wish that we would find a family member to take us there.

Relaxing with a book on the terrace at Somerscale

(Tuesday, continued)
We boarded a bus and headed to Viña, to drop CDs off for Hector and Tania & William. We found Hector painting the walls of the courtyard. When Alfredo asked, "How are you?" he replied that he had a stomach ache. He doesn't want to go to dinner with us, I thought. Alfredo had invited him last week. And I knew in the same moment that God had other dinner plans for us.
We rang the bell at 4-A and Tania answered. She was happy to have the CD, and while we were still talking about it, Willy came home. They told us that they had been talking to a friend recently about our visit. He mentioned to Tania that he knows Horacio, Papi's eldest son! He also mentioned that Horacio's wife, Jenny, owns a dry cleaning shop just 3 blocks from the apartment. "Go there," they said to us, "Just go there, now!" There was nothing left to say, so we went. The sound of the apartment door and the building's gate closing were final sounds - both of us recognized it. Alfredo said to me, "This chapter is closed."
Alfredo was pretty quiet as we walked down 5 Norte towards town. The Dry Cleaner's would be at the intersection of 5 Norte and 3 Poniente. Suddenly Alfredo said, "I see it." Just to the right and across the street was "Lavoseco Inglesa," Jenny's shop. We walked over. It was closed, reopening at 4:30.
We ate lunch and came back, stopping at Alfredo's old church and school on the way. The shop's lights were on and the door was open. A young lady customer was chatting with a small, middle-aged woman with short, curly salt-and-pepper hair and intense, blue eyes. The customer left and we walked in. Alfredo had taken several long, slow breaths as we approached the shop, and I'm sure he talked to God on the bench outside the church. He was ready.

Jenny, Alfredo, and Paty (Jenny's sister and business partner)

(Tuesday, continued)
He asked if she were Jenny, the wife of Alfredo Horacio Escobar. She was. He introduced himself and added, "I am your husband's half brother." As he was explaining how he left Chile and why he had come back, he stumbled over the word for half-brother. Jenny took his hand in hers. "Not half-brother," she said, "Brother."
For two hours we visited in the shop. Jenny alternately listened, enthralled to Alfredo's recollections, took absent-minded care of customers, and spoke excitedly on the phone with Horacio and their daughter Coni. Jenny is emotional and impulsive but also generous and matronly. She connected with Alfredo's hunger for family immediately, and just took control. We began to realize that this was the dinner plan God had for us today.

(Tuesday, continued)
Horacio arrived after work (at Customs) around 7:15, looking exactly like Alfredo remembered Papi. He was Horacio's age when Aflredo last saw him. We said polite and slightly hesitant hellos and set out on foot for the subway and Horacio's apartment where Coni was preparing supper.
The best part of this whole day for me was walking behind those two men, the eldst and youngest sons of the man the were both named after, with the same build, the same height, the same gait, and the same hunger to look at and know the other.

Jose Alfredo and Alfredo Horacio, a few days later

(Tuesday, continued)
We got "home" to Grand House around 11:30 tonight with plans to meet Coni for lunch on Cerro Alegre in Valparaiso and hang out with her tomorrow. Our newfound nephew Toti (son of Horacio's youngst brother Lucho and Jenny's sister Paty - no longer married) wants to meet us tomorrow, and other family members have been called. Anyone who wants to meet us will call Horacio's place and they will arrange it. The other siblings are not quite ready to jump in, but that's OK - we didn't expect any of this!

Wed, Sep 6
As usual, God had bigger plans for our day than we did.
When we arrived at Cerro Alegre this morning, there were three people on the corner to meet us: Coni, Horacio and an older woman. Coni said to Alfredo, "I would like you to meet your eldest sister, Maria Inez." It was our pleasure - Maria Inez is a beautiful, eloquent, well-educated woman. We shared cups of hot chocolate and I mentioned that one thing Alfredo really wanted to do still was to visit the grave. Maria Inez asked if we knew where it was, and we said, not really. "Would you like to go with me, tomorrow morning?" she asked. Amen!
After the lovely visit at Cafe Color, Maria Inez and Horacio left and Coni, Alfredo and I ran around Valparaiso a while, including a stop at the currency exchange office that has been the axle of our adventure since that first morning in Valparaiso. The same men were there, as always, and when they recognized us Alfredo put his arm around Coni and said, "I'd like you to meet my niece." Much rejoicing and questions, and more rejoicing! We caught the bus to Viña and went to the laundry to wait for Toti.

(Wednesday, continued)
Toti arrived in his car and took us to Enjoy del Mar where we enjoyed a long talk over coffee. Toti is a psychologist and Coni is just finishing up her degree in psychology, so the conversation mostly centered around analyzing various family members and talking about the need to break the cycle of abandonment that the family has dealt with for so long. Toti understands this in a very personal way, since his father left when he was just a small child. He feels a commonality with Alfredo, because he is also trying to be a different kind of father than the father he had.

Alfredo, Toti, Claudia, Coni and Jennifer

Thu, Sep 7
(Our tenth anniversary)
This morning we got an earlier start than usual so we could meet Maria Inez and visit Papi and Leontina's grave. When we met her at the corner of Erraruiz and Franzia at 10:00, she said we wouldn't be taking the bus after all - Luchos' wife Rosa was driving us! Rosa is a striking Latina woman with curly bronze hair and skin to match. She and the dark, tiny Maria Inez made a beautiful combination. I have to say that I have never encountered more class in one woman than in Maria Inez. And to be embraced by her is a true blessing.
The visit to the grave was deeply emotional and important to both siblings. We bought flowers on the way, and they put them on the grave together, kneeling side by side. Alfredo told me later that Maria Inez said, "Papi, see who I've brought!" Rosa put flowers on her father's grave close by before driving us back along the beautiful coastal road.
We stopped at a breathtaking overlook and took lots of pictures and video. I couldn't resist the need to run and climb on the volcanic rocks. It was exhilerating - the huge, deeply-creased rocks stood at angles to the crashing waves beneath them, like so many teeth, and between them in huge black folds lay ancient lava. It had to be explored.

Does it get any more beautiful than this?

Maria Inez, Jennifer and Rosa

(Thursday, continued)
The family grill-out at Claudia's was a wonderful time of strengthening relationships and making memories. We ate, drank, ate, sang, ate, and ate, and then Toti began to speak emotionally about how thankful he was that Alfredo came to Chile and got in touch with the family. Horacio showed some emotion himself then, saying, "I'm sorry that I lost 34 years with my brother." Alfredo took his hand and said, "We don't have to lose any more." What an incredible week this has been! Seven days ago we were discussing politics and religion with our new friends at Grand House, and planning a trip to the House of Public Records to get a copy of Papi's death certificate. Tonight we're hugging and crying with family that we never knew, and yet always knew, somehow.

Brothers

Claudia and her son, Manuel

Side Note: There are some amazing coincidences in this family, including some very confusing crossover with names. Here's a brief list:
* Alfredo's twin brother is named Manuel. Claudia's son is named Manuel Alfredo.
* Alfredo has a sister named Patty. Jenny's sister (Toti's mother) is named Paty.
* Jennifer. Jenny.
* We call him Horacio. His wife and kids call him Alfredo.
* When Horacio first got Internet access he tried to get the email address "alfredoescobar@hotmail.com." My Alfredo already had it.
* Coni's boyfriend is named Alfredo.
* Toti's sister is named Susana, and her husband is named Ricardo. Jennifer's Uncle Dick has lived most of his adult life in Mexico and we all call him "Tio Ricardo." His wife's name is Susana.

Fri, Sep 8
Today we met Toti's father, Lucho. He doesn't speak English and, with his pattern of speech including so many colorful words I hadn't heard, I can't write much about his conversation with Alfredo. Despite the language barrier, he is devilishly charming and hillariously funny and he and his lovely Rosa kept us totally entertained the whole two hours we were at their home. Alfredo enjoyed his conversation with Lucho, and said his colorful speech reminded him strongly of the way his father used to talk.

(Friday, continued)
Earlier today we met Jenny, Coni and Toti for lunch and wandered around Viña with Coni all afternoon. On the way back to the shop we almost ran the four blocks to the beach to see the sunset, it was so beautiful. We stopped after a block because we realized that by the time we got there it would be over. Just then we recognized Willy standing on the sidewalk - his store is right there! Tania came out of the office and we introduced the to Coni, thanking them for their big part in making it all happen.
We ended the day, and our time in Viña and Valparaiso, around a table with Horacio, Jenny, Coni and Coni's boyfriend Alfredo (photo above).

Sat, Sep 9
We are now on a beautiful orange Volvo bus bound for Santiago. We have been on the bus 15 minutes and have not left Valparaiso - traffic is insane due to the huge Saturday market downtown and a large protest by teachers wanting to increase their salaries. There is gridlock at every crossing and horns beeping from all points. The only difference in this moment and a movie is that we're not personally in a hurry! As we arrived at the bus station, the police were lining their big vehicles up along the street, probably with materials inside to "control" the protesters. Maybe we got out just in time!

Once in Santiago and back at Hotel Orly, Alfredo spent two hours catching Ana Maria up on the amazing story while I napped, and then we went out on the town with her and her boyfriend, David. We saw some wonderful performers that I would love to bring over and present someday, and Ana Maria showed me some basic Cueca steps. We ate more great food and drank chicha, then ended up at TGI Fridays (yes, here too!) for drinks before heading back to the hotel.

Sun, Sep 10
Today we met Suzy and Ricardo. They are really special people, and we couldn't have wished for nicer family members to spend our last days in Chile with. Suzy is quite a little entrepreneur, and has started her own gourmet chocolate candy business in her apartment. Mmmm, they are yummy! We wish her the best!

(Sunday, continued)
Earlier today we took a bus out to the Las Condes district and visited the Pueblo de los Dominicas," a nicely-done artisan village. It felt a little funny just to be tourists for a while, but we found some nice souvenirs to bring home: ceramic number tiles for our house, a "Valparaiso" coffee mug for Alfredo, and a ceramic welcome sign, all handmade. And I finally got to dance the Cueca! I was faking it, but I held my own, thanks to Ana Maria's crash course last night! It was really fun, and the cowboy who asked me to dance was totally sweet.
We couldn't have wished for a better send-off with Suzy and Ricardo, Ana Maria and David, or a more miraculous time here in this beautiful country. We came here for closure, and we are leaving with that, plus a whole new chapter opened! Alfredo said today, "I came to Chile the youngest of six, and I'm leaving as the youngest of ten." It's more than just part of his past now. It's part of our family.