Written by About Marquesa Lola
My mother calls me Dolores, my friends and family call me LOLA, my students call me Maestra. But I see myself as MARQUESA LOLA the nurturer of a pack that conforms my life.
I am a 60 years old active woman, who was recently emotionally wounded by a life partner. But my life is not defined by this fact, but rather it is defined by my origins.
I was born in a small town in the Basque Country under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. As a little girl, society tried to mold me to conform to rules designed to create perfect submissive future wives. Going to university was relegated to rich males and few privileged females. Only, none predicted that under all the repression, I, along with many girls like me, were educating ourselves to become independent, liberal, working women. And at the age of 15, when Franco died, I was ready for a life transformation that included demonstrations, education, travels, and new wild experiences.
As I found Spain to be, still, restrictive, at 20 years old, I traded Spain for London and there, I learned the courage and strategies to feel independent to survive in a man’s world. Then, I met my partner of 40 years. He brought me to America and we pursued the American Dream. It seemed fine for a while until I realized I had lost my freedom under his wings.
” I learned the courage and strategies to feel independent to survive in a man’s world. “
Nevertheless, I am a resilient person and despite him, I managed to find my dream job as a teacher, completed a masters degree, received various teaching awards, made many true friends, and the best gift of all, I had an amazing son.
I took care of his sick mother for years, and, yes, at the age of 60, my life partner left me for someone new and younger.
A passion I have, aside from teaching, is fashion. Fashion defines my moods on a daily basis. It helps masquerade my sorrow at times and accentuates my happiness. I love fashion, because it allows me to express my creativity in a non-threatening way. My clothes never argue with me or judge me. They are happy to cover my aging body with textures and colors I select. They seem to say, “you go girl!” I want to inspire others, who have similar views and experiences in life.
“Antes Muerta que Sencilla”
“I’d rather be dead than be caught being a basic girl!”
1 comment