Hello we are Alexandra, Xantal and Andriana. We explain the life of Alexandra’s grandfather, Juan José García Cabalgante, because he is a very extroverted, wise and funny person.
He was born in 1935 in Higueras de Bargas, Badajoz. They are eight brothers but five of them already died. One brother lives in Badajoz, but he and his sister live in Catalonia.
When he was three months old, his mother died. He never met his mothers and didn’t have any photos of her because at that time, photographs were not very common. When his mother died, as he was a baby, neighbors of the town suckled him. But he had a good relationship with his father, he loved him very much
. When he was young, his favorite food was Rabbit with garlic. In the courtyard of the school he always played football with friends. The music that he likes most is the Paso Doble and rumbas.
He said always:
- I was never bored because we were going to dances, parties... We stood never at home; the most important thing was to do anything, to enjoy life.
José met his girlfriend from very young. They were twelve or thirteen. They were neighbors of the same street. They were the first and the last couples they had. They were married in Badajoz. They had two sons: Maria Eugenia and Isabel García Carretero. Isabel is the mother of Alexandra.
He never went to school, only the first basic years due to his familiar situation because they preferred that he started working early.
He was born before beginning of the Civil War. From very young on, he went to the military formation in Spain. He became the chief of his division. In many photos we can see him as a soldier.
His first job was in a mine cutting stones in Badajoz. Later, when he came with his family to Catalonia, they lived and worked in Garriguella. His job was a farmer - he looked after the animals of the poultry and pigs. After that, they moved to Castelló d’Empúries and José started working in the flour factory.
There, José and others workers recorded a very popular film of the factory. This film explains the functions, procedures and origins of the factory. In fact, when he was young, José had already recorded a film that spoke about the war and the military. But with the time, the video got lost and nobody knew anything about it.
One night, somebody went into the factory and moved all the machines; when his grandfather arrived the next morning, he recognized that all was changed. A colleague helped him to move all the machines in its original places, but suddenly, when he tried to lift up one of them, a machine was just fallen on his pelvis. They went immediately to the hospital of Sant Cugat - Barcelona and he was admitted for over a month.
My grandfather was always sick stomach. I remember it although I was very young. He was a lot of time in the hospital. When I went to visited him, I stretched in his bed and I ate his meal. He had an operation and now he hasn’t a stomach. Now he just has a gut, for this reason now he can’t be fatter.
One of the funny experiences of Alexandra's grandfather was when he travelled to Santander with his wife to celebrate their two years of marriage.
When they went to the train station they lost their entire luggage. Then they went to asked where the lost luggage was. The man said that he didn't know anything about these things. The couple was very angry because they didn't have their luggage. Finally they remembered that the suitcases were inside the train. Some hour’s later one man who worked in the train called the couple and said that the luggage was in the train and the suitcases were ok. When they went to collect their luggage, it wasn't in the train. Finally they decided to come back to Badajoz because they lost all their things and this was their first travel.
Xantal Solé
Andriana Halchyshak
Alexandra Puentedura
