1934 Lima, Peru

Elvira Gonzalez

1927

Lima, Peru

Interviewed on January 31st and February 4th, 2022

by Samantha Adrianzen

(Translated from Spanish)

In my childhood, people were really poor. It was always raining. People would just stay home all the time. You would enter someone’s home and there was almost nothing–nothing. There might be a table and a few chairs–that was all you could include, since there was a lot of poverty. If you entered a home, that’s all you would see–a few chairs and a table. 

I didn’t have a TV at home. I would watch films outside. At my neighbor’s, on the street, or in a store, I would see films. My dad wasn’t addicted to that kind of stuff. In fact, he didn’t really like television–but I was. I loved it. Even when jukeboxes were popular, my dad didn’t want to buy those kinds of things. He just needed his guitar and, with his friends, went out and lightened up the lives of those in Lima. At that time, Lima was still developing and growing. It was a really small city back then. And so, they lived like Bohemians, played music, and drank a lot–they bought a lotttt of Pisco.

When I watched films at the store, I had to buy some sort of thing–a Yapa! My dad would give the four of us siblings a gordo (trans. two-cent coin; lit. trans. plump) so that I could get something I want. So with that gordo, I bought candy. The coin was stronger and more highly regarded at that time.

My neighbor had one older daughter–that’s who I would watch television with sometimes. They would also take me out for walks. That neighbor would go to the beach and serve four, five, six workers who worked nearby. She would go there with food–and often take me to entertain her daughter. I joined in–I would go out and enjoy myself! I would tell my mom “I’m going to the beach with my neighbor and her children,” and my mom would say, “Oh okay, go ahead!” I would walk around and eat well. At home, it was quite boring. I just ate there–we didn’t have a TV or anything.

But movies kept on progressing, little by little, you could see …forests–Tarzan! My father really liked that film. He was in the jungle, completely naked. Well, maybe wearing a tiny piece of underwear, and he also yelled a lot, “Ahhhh!”–like a monkey–and he’d grab one branch, and then another, advancing through the jungle. I loved it because it was a new thing and there wasn’t much else to watch… It was just that, so there I was gawking at it, “Wow, Tarzan!” 

I saw Tarzan outside on a public screen–not at home. There was a public screen so that everyone else could watch–a shared screen. My dad at that time still hadn’t bought a TV. It was just a store–a commercial store–you’d just buy something at the store and then you could watch TV there. I lived in the heart of Lima. Half a block away was the Justice Palace, and in front of that was the city jail. So I lived half a block away from the store. Not even a block! That’s how they designed the city plan. See? It was super close by! There wasn’t much else out there. The center of Lima also had some special seating by the grass–nice, round benches for around four people to sit on. They put around six to eight benches out there. The architect did a beautiful job. 

I also really liked watching things in person–like the bulls. I would plant myself there in the stadium and watch the Spanish bulls tour Lima. My dad, though, was a little strange and was obsessed with his guitar. Playing the guitar was really intimate for him. But, we all preferred watching the bulls in person over watching films.

There was a fantasy film that my dad liked, where the characters were made of rock, they’d camouflage with the rocks. My dad liked that film, and also Charlie Chaplin–he’d say “Oh, what a brilliant man!” My dad wasn’t really into films (he felt like it was a waste of time), but watching Chaplin’s films was special for him. Hm, I wouldn’t say we watched it together frequently. He was quite …unpredictable. I wouldn’t consistently watch films with him. However, he was very consistent with hanging out with his friends, who accompanied him on his musical journey. He was really focused on that, with some drinking on the side. He worked a lot and gained some money.

My siblings? My brother was two years older than me but he didn’t really like television–he didn’t like Chaplin and preferred to go out with his friends to play sports or something. My brother would look at Chaplin’s films from a distance but I was different. We had different tastes. My brother–as soon as it was nine in the morning–would go swimming in the river, swimming, swimming–and then he’d eat like eight pieces of bread back home for breakfast. And we were supposed to share the bread! My brother was more concerned with his friends than being at home. He was like a stranger, honestly.

I loved Charlie Chaplin–there was no competition against him! I saw a few of his films as a young girl–he was so silly. He was truly an artist that made everyone feel better and laugh–una maravilla de hombre (trans. a marvel of mankind). I was a little girl, around seven to eight years old and he made me laugh a lot! He really lifted up my spirits and made me forget bad memories. I don’t know if that man had surgery to walk the way he did. *demonstrates the way Charlie Chaplin’s feet moved with her hands* He characterized himself by having really loose pants, he didn’t wear tight pants the way people normally did–he was extravagant, that’s the word, yes, extravagant. He was also quite exclusive–not just extravagant–but exclusive, úniqo (trans. one in a million; lit. trans. unique). I knew that at that time, he was unique. There was no comparison. At least, there was no one that I can remember.

Chaplin was, how to put it… Very hearty, he was. He was always looking out for his friends, trying to help them, although he probably… just had enough for himself. But, he always had some sort of small reserve to give to his friends. He was detached from his money. He wasn’t stingy.

Well, I don’t know about his relationship with his mom, but it seems like he was abandoned. And he alone grew, and he alone made something out of himself, he made himself known, and many people loved him. People esteemed him. He… had a sentido (trans. feeling, instinct) that people were attracted to. He alone! It was an era where people were so poor… how do I say this…they didn’t socialize or go out too much. People were quite secluded.

But, people did get together–oh, that reminds me: one time in a film, I saw that Chaplin entered a congregation, se zampa (trans. he walked in without paying). So he was just inside there. The person watching over the entrance and that whole sector would discover that he entered without paying *laughs slightly* and kicked him out–that would crack me up! *gets very enthusiastic* I exclaimed, “Ah, hide, hide, hide!” and this girl also said, “Hide, hide! So that the guard doesn’t see you…” The guard eventually figured it out *laughs and slaps lap* and he kicked Chaplin out. *laughs* Kind of like a baby, con las patas arriba (trans. with his feet upwards), he was kicked off to the entrance of the premises. I really liked that, because seeing that as a young girl was exciting… because he was really spontaneous, really loose, really natural, and really cheerful. 

He had a car and with his girl friend, they would travel around–one of those super old and dirty cars. *laughs* They’d travel around in that car, and sometimes the tire would stop working and he had to hop off and fix the car. *laughs* Yes, he had to go down several times to fix such an old car! He had to fix it and he had to go through all of that–I really liked that and well, it made me laugh. I loved it. I was very content with life, very fulfilling… However, if these films had another person… I wouldn’t have liked the films as much–but I really liked Chaplin, I did like him. 

Yeah, all of Chaplin’s films were in English, not in Spanish, but one would try to mimic what he might have said. Yeah, those films were mostly silent and I didn’t see too many of them. Even after, the talkies were in English. I saw more of those for sure. I barely saw the end of the silent film era, but yes, with Charlie Chaplin. Oh, I loved him so much. Everything he did ended up badly. *laughs* If he put on pants, they would fall down. If he put on his shoe, he’d put it on incorrectly or in reverse–he did everything like that. Oh, the little hat era el pagano (trans. was a heathen). The hat would fall in the water, and then he would shake off the water and he’d put it back on. The hat was “punished” very often. *laughs* He was always falling in water and then he or other people would help him get out and shake off the water. So funny! Charlie was unique in the world at the time and his work was special. I liked it. He was special, different.