Envy
Once upon a time, everyone here was poor. Except for the local rich families, descendants of the caciques, or lords, everyone had just a little land, a few farm animals, and a crumbling house. Occasionally, a family that had someone working abroad had a nice house built, and could dress a little bit nicer than others. My mother had an uncle who had emigrated to the Boston area shortly before immigration quotas were established. He sent his sister some money at times, and once, a box of clothes. Wearing some of those clothes and using some of that money, my grandmother had a family picture taken of her and the three oldest children. My younger aunt hadn't been born yet, and I don't know why my grandfather didn't appear. Many families relied on outside help like that seventy, sixty, and even fifty years ago. Prosperity started drifting in by the early 1970's, always later in Franco's Spain, and even later in rural areas. But there finally came a time when people ...