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Casimira Madrid: More than a century of loving and praying
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| The late Casimira Madrid sits with her friend, Irene Torres. |
By Larry Torres
How many people can say that they’ve been alive longer than New Mexico has been in the Union?
Up to Aug. 24, one lady living up on El Salto Road in Arroyo Seco could. Casimira (née Romero) Madrid was born March 24, 1903, which means she was almost 9 years old in 1912 when New Mexico became part of the United States of America.
She could vividly recall riding a donkey with schoolmates around the old church of La Santísima Trinidad, long before automobiles were seen in Taos County. She spoke fondly of her first and second teachers Jacobo Martínez and Cristóbal Quintana at the Escuela del Alto, as the first elementary school in Arroyo Seco used to be called.
“It was located across Arroyo Seco Creek in property now owned by Taos Pueblo before it was transferred to the people there in 1933,” she once said. An avid domestic artisan well-versed in weaving, crocheting and tatting, Madrid loved to spend her evening hours memorizing volumes of local prayers and invocations to the saints and angels.
Her final words as she received Holy Communion from the hand of Fr. Titus Augustine for the last time of Aug. 19 were, “Jesús, Jesús, Jesús.” She spoke vividly about an Italian cleric named Fr. Tomasini who first brought the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the Taos Valley in 1915 and founded its confraternity chapters here. She recalled the many times she had joined in the local feasts in honor of San Antonio, patron saint of things that are lost and of things that are forgotten or far away.
As of this year, not including in-laws or spouses, Madrid had 179 direct descendants. The break down included 10 children, 32 grandchildren, 68 great-grandchildren and 69 great-great-grandchildren. Casimira was the daughter of Plácida Romero. She and her sister, the late Fedelina Sánchez and her late brother Eugenio Romero were baptized by Fr. Giraud. Her paternal grandparents Miguel Romero and Feliciana Medina had settled in Arroyo Seco from the towns of Jacona and Jaconita in Río Arriba County.
At age 17, she married Melquiades Madrid of Arroyo Seco. Together they had 10 children. She was preceded in death by four of her children: Juan Francisco, Oclides, Leonel and Remigio. She is survived by her other six children, Casilda (Seova) Martínez, Eliza Martínez, Plácida Esparsen, Eraclio (Marcia) Madrid, Arturo Madrid and Ramón Madrid. Fr. Vincent Chávez, now serving as rector at the American seminary in Louvain, Belgium, recalls watching Casimira Madrid’s granddaughter Violeta (Veta) frying some potatoes for Casimira and topping them off with a big dollop of bacon grease.
He jokes that this was possibly the secret Madrid lived to be 105 years old. But Veta believes that Casimira had a different purpose for living so long.
“People sometimes commend my husband Luis and me for taking care of grandma the last 14 years of her life. But the truth of the matter is that after the untimely death of our daughter Valerie in 1998, grandma took care of us with her prayers and quiet presence in our home. She would weave and pray at a little loom that we set up in her room out back.”
Many people helped Veta and Luis in caring for Grandma Casimira. Casimira had a pen pal correspondent with Fr. Casimiro Roca of the Santuario de Chimayó. This Catalonian priest, who has been caring for the holy site for over 50 years, was very proud of the fact that Madrid was his tocaya (namesake). She cherished her time spent with her great-great-grandson Isaiah, whom she called “Teah.”
She taught him about her favorite saints: “San Martín de Porres es mi doctor, San José es mi protector y San Antonio es mi abogado.” (St. Martin is my doctor, St. Joseph is my protector and St. Anthony is my lawyer.) As she lay dying Aug. 24 at home shortly before the hour of Mass, she held Veta’s hand and cried out: “Sagrado Corazón Benito, mándame al ángel de mi guardia.” (Most Sacred Heart, send me my guardian angel.)
Then she exclaimed: “¡Mira a quien me mandaron!” (Just see who was sent to me!) The rest is a very beautiful, but very private and personal experience that will be quietly treasured by Luis and Veta for the rest of their lives.
Two rosaries were recited in her honor. The first was prayed at Rivera Funeral Home on Aug. 26 by La Liga de San Antonio. On Aug. 27, La Cofradía del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús prayed a second one at Holy Trinity Church. Her Mass of Resurrection was held on Aug. 28 in Arroyo Seco, with interment following at the local cemetery.
Up to Aug. 24, one lady living up on El Salto Road in Arroyo Seco could. Casimira (née Romero) Madrid was born March 24, 1903, which means she was almost 9 years old in 1912 when New Mexico became part of the United States of America.
She could vividly recall riding a donkey with schoolmates around the old church of La Santísima Trinidad, long before automobiles were seen in Taos County. She spoke fondly of her first and second teachers Jacobo Martínez and Cristóbal Quintana at the Escuela del Alto, as the first elementary school in Arroyo Seco used to be called.
“It was located across Arroyo Seco Creek in property now owned by Taos Pueblo before it was transferred to the people there in 1933,” she once said. An avid domestic artisan well-versed in weaving, crocheting and tatting, Madrid loved to spend her evening hours memorizing volumes of local prayers and invocations to the saints and angels.
Her final words as she received Holy Communion from the hand of Fr. Titus Augustine for the last time of Aug. 19 were, “Jesús, Jesús, Jesús.” She spoke vividly about an Italian cleric named Fr. Tomasini who first brought the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the Taos Valley in 1915 and founded its confraternity chapters here. She recalled the many times she had joined in the local feasts in honor of San Antonio, patron saint of things that are lost and of things that are forgotten or far away.
As of this year, not including in-laws or spouses, Madrid had 179 direct descendants. The break down included 10 children, 32 grandchildren, 68 great-grandchildren and 69 great-great-grandchildren. Casimira was the daughter of Plácida Romero. She and her sister, the late Fedelina Sánchez and her late brother Eugenio Romero were baptized by Fr. Giraud. Her paternal grandparents Miguel Romero and Feliciana Medina had settled in Arroyo Seco from the towns of Jacona and Jaconita in Río Arriba County.
At age 17, she married Melquiades Madrid of Arroyo Seco. Together they had 10 children. She was preceded in death by four of her children: Juan Francisco, Oclides, Leonel and Remigio. She is survived by her other six children, Casilda (Seova) Martínez, Eliza Martínez, Plácida Esparsen, Eraclio (Marcia) Madrid, Arturo Madrid and Ramón Madrid. Fr. Vincent Chávez, now serving as rector at the American seminary in Louvain, Belgium, recalls watching Casimira Madrid’s granddaughter Violeta (Veta) frying some potatoes for Casimira and topping them off with a big dollop of bacon grease.
He jokes that this was possibly the secret Madrid lived to be 105 years old. But Veta believes that Casimira had a different purpose for living so long.
“People sometimes commend my husband Luis and me for taking care of grandma the last 14 years of her life. But the truth of the matter is that after the untimely death of our daughter Valerie in 1998, grandma took care of us with her prayers and quiet presence in our home. She would weave and pray at a little loom that we set up in her room out back.”
Many people helped Veta and Luis in caring for Grandma Casimira. Casimira had a pen pal correspondent with Fr. Casimiro Roca of the Santuario de Chimayó. This Catalonian priest, who has been caring for the holy site for over 50 years, was very proud of the fact that Madrid was his tocaya (namesake). She cherished her time spent with her great-great-grandson Isaiah, whom she called “Teah.”
She taught him about her favorite saints: “San Martín de Porres es mi doctor, San José es mi protector y San Antonio es mi abogado.” (St. Martin is my doctor, St. Joseph is my protector and St. Anthony is my lawyer.) As she lay dying Aug. 24 at home shortly before the hour of Mass, she held Veta’s hand and cried out: “Sagrado Corazón Benito, mándame al ángel de mi guardia.” (Most Sacred Heart, send me my guardian angel.)
Then she exclaimed: “¡Mira a quien me mandaron!” (Just see who was sent to me!) The rest is a very beautiful, but very private and personal experience that will be quietly treasured by Luis and Veta for the rest of their lives.
Two rosaries were recited in her honor. The first was prayed at Rivera Funeral Home on Aug. 26 by La Liga de San Antonio. On Aug. 27, La Cofradía del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús prayed a second one at Holy Trinity Church. Her Mass of Resurrection was held on Aug. 28 in Arroyo Seco, with interment following at the local cemetery.
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