The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano Page B

the Guardia Civil .”
    I sank down in my seat. I knew that Pedro Albizu Campos had something to do with the Ponce Massacre of 1937 and that the massacre was an attack on the Nationalists. But did Abuela have to bring that up now?
    Please don’t tell them about your husband being there and shooting into the crowd. I live in this neighborhood.
    â€œWhen don Pedro finished college, he could’ve gotten lots of good jobs, but instead he came to La Cantera….”
    I’m safe. She’s not going to say that we are related to someone in the Guardia Civil.
    â€œLa Cantera, that was one of the poorest sections of Ponce,” someone said.
    â€œI almost starved to death there,” said another bitterly.
    â€œWhen he joined the Nationalist Party in 1924, he changed it, making it more … militante .”
    I feel like a phony.
    Abuela stood up. “He came back to Puerto Rico to fight for the rights of the poorest people!”
    How could we not win? I thought. But after two hours, we got the bad news. Our pastor would not grant permission for the Young Lords to use the church for social programs.
    Sourness settled on the crowd, but not for long. Abuela had gotten the crowd going, and she wasn’t going to let up.
    â€œDon’t worry. The Young Lords are going to get what they want if they keep trying. Even if they have to change their name to the Old Lords before it happens!”
    Everybody laughed, but my heart dropped into my shoes again.

W hat is the cost of space? Not Apollo outer space, just space to be, to exist in. And how much are you willing to pay for it? The Young Lords took space on the 28th of December. This was how it was reported in the New York Times :
    HARLEM. The Young Lords, a cadre of Puerto Rican activists in East Harlem, yesterday nailed shut the doors of a church with six-inch railroad spikes and occupied the building.
    The action, which came at the end of regular Sunday services at the First Spanish Methodist Church, was the latest maneuver in a series that began three months ago in an effort to gain church space for a free-breakfast program administered by the Lords.
    â€¦ a spokesman for the group, rose and attempted to address the congregation. For the last 12 weeks, many of the 80 parishioners and 150 supporters of the Lords have come to regard such speeches as part of the service.
    This time, however, most of the parishioners filed out of the church, which is at Lexington Avenue and 111th Street …
    â€¦ As they left, crosspieces were quickly nailed onto the church’s two doors, which were also chained from the inside.
    What was not in the newspapers was what went on at church between my mother, my grandmother, and me. We were sitting in our usual spots. I on the left with Abuela, surrounded by the supporters of the Young Lords, and Mami sitting on the right, surrounded by the uptight parishioners. The sad Young Lord made a last-minute plea for the church to let them use the space for a free-breakfast program.
    I looked at my shoes, Abuela looked straight ahead, and most of the parishioners left. But then, suddenly, faster than I could even see, the doors were being chained shut. Seconds later, I heard pieces of wood being nailed to the doors outside. The Young Lords moved quickly and efficiently. This takeover had been planned way ahead of time.
    Confusion erupted immediately. People didn’t know what to do. Were we trapped? Being held hostage? A Young Lord told us to stay calm. That they were going to occupy the church. That in just a while, some of us could stay or go. Abuela braced herself, and Mami rushed over to me.
    â€œI’m going to stay,” I said.
    â€œNo, you cannot stay.”
    â€œMami, I’m staying.”
    â€œThere are police outside,” she said. “You are just a kid!”
    â€œSo are the Young Lords.”
    â€œThen I am staying, too!” Mami insisted. Summoning all of her extra weight, she sat