Thoughts on 90 days of quarantine.
Today, I dedicate this post to my father.
My father, Manuel Antonio Flores Barrera loved Radio! What I remember as a child is that my Father was very admired by the people in the Radio business.
My father became a legend. He was very successful. He acquired many land investments everywhere in El Salvador (because he needed them for the radio antennas.) He had strong opinions on practically everything, especially politics.
Nothing amused my father more than discussing politics. He always stood against Fidel Castro and the devastating effects of Communism. His biggest fear was that El Salvador would become another Cuba. He was not ok with the thought that you became property of the government, became even more poor and were not free. He did't like that you are not allowed to believe in God either. Those were his feelings during the cold war and continued up to the end of my father’s life.
My Father was a man of few words. People called my dad Meme or gato, (cat) his nickname. His eyes were soft blue and always since I can remember wore a mustache. As the parent of six children, one son and five daughters. (Two children from a previous marriage) He got used to being around females. When his daughters approached the age of dating, my father like any good father, always wanted to check them out but I am afraid those boys were unprepared for the unique inquisition to which they were about to be subjected to. My father never spoke very much except when interrogating our boyfriends.
My Father was a hard worker, from the time he was a child, he needed to work. His schooling ended after his father passed away and he had to find work to help his mother. He was an avid reader and he was blessed with a retentive mind. He conversed easily with men and women from all walks of life. He listened as attentively to little people with big problems as he listened to CEO of companies, Ministers and Presidents, many of them were his friends.
My dad was as comfortable in an elegant mansion as he was in a humble home of a peasant. He knew personally many past Presidents and city mayors of El Salvador. One time he got to be an interim Mayor for two weeks while the Mayor of San Salvador was out of the country. I remember this because my father was the one who signed my ID (cedula) and married some people while I waited in the foyer outside his office.
My Father loved to watch all sports! He was a big fan of watching any kind of sport but soccer was his favorite. He even owned a private room at our national soccer stadium “el palco,” to watch the games. At one time he sponsored a soccer team. He could watch one game after another. The one image I have of my father is watching soccer matches and when the world cup was on, he could not be interrupted. He got so into those games that it was the only thing on his mind. He also enjoyed watching car races, horse races, basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, etc.
My Father was not a big spender because he was an entrepreneur. His money was always tided up. He needed the money for some other future investment. Besides broadcasting, he tried many business ventures before their time. For example, long before Costco appeared on the scene he ventured into a similar business by the name of “Mi casa” but the other partners scammed him and took his money. He always regretted trusting those guys. Another business he owned was a night club type of business by the name of La Roca. That business brought very famous singers to El Salvador, similar to a Hard Rock Cafe.
My father believed in God. I remember him saying I believe in God and in the destiny of men. He believed God was in charge. Honesty was his middle name. Anything he ever borrowed, he gave it back. I am proud of my father who never gave into bribes. He did business with people the most honest way possible. Unfortunately, some crooks took advantage of him. One man from Los Angeles, Jose Reynaldo Flores opened a phony money exchange business in El Salvador, by the name of Flores Express Corporation. He gave my father two checks worth $20,000 dollars each that bounced. That thief conveniently went bankrupt. Those checks from Bank of America could never be cashed. You could buy a home with $40,000 in those days.
My Father had a good heart. He believed in people and was generous with his money but some were dirty scoundrels and only stole his money. Conversely my father introduced me to nice people and places more fascinating than anyone or anything I ever encountered as a young girl. Anyone of importance, dignitaries or celebrities who visited El Salvador such as Jose Jose, Alvaro Torres, Vikki Carr, Juan Gabriel, Alberto Cortez, Enmanuel, and Roberto Carlos, to name a few, stopped by the radio station to see him because they knew my father would support their concert, cause, or mission at the time when they were starting their singing careers.
He was generous with his time and even air time and money. He supported many causes to help the poor. Many would come to him for financial relief.
I can’t lie, my father was not perfect but he remained in good standing with the Catholic Church. He could never convert to becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it would required him to give up drinking and his lifestyle but at least he was not a hypocrite.
My father loved to travel. Most of our travels were to the U.S. mostly to Utah and Florida because that was his favorite place to visit. He even purchased a condo in Miami. The only time I remember going to Hawaii was with him. A highlight I remember was going on my first cruise to the Greek islands. We also stopped in Holland, Turkey and Spain. Another memorable trip was our South American vacation climbing Machu picchu in Peru and going to Santiago, Chile. That trip plus countless of others were curtesy of my father and were the things he liked doing together as a family.
My Father created a radio station that represented the voice of the people of El Salvador. I don’t know if this phenomenon exists anywhere in the world because the radio had no specific format. He gave air time to everything and anything. Radio was his livelihood and later it became his passion. He named his radio station YSKL The station dealt mostly with news and sports, my father’s favorite topics.
The demands of his Radio business meant that my father was unable to spend as much time with his family as other fathers could. Growing up as a child, I always wished I had a normal father. One who would simply be home but later I understood that his business was the only thing that made him happy. The business kept him alive because he was so passionate about it so I was fine with that. People marveled at my father’s grasp of all matters political, economical, scientific, anything. He could remember in detail historic events that took place decades ago and had so much knowledge about the radio business.
Elder Robert D. Hales stated: “Accomplish personal goals in each of these categories: spiritual development; physical development; educational development; personal development; career development; and citizenship and social development” I don’t think my father had that type of balance. All papa Meme did was work. He needed a little more balance in his life for sure.
My father loved music. One of the reasons why he was so passionate about his radio business was the love he had for music. All types of music. He loved the oldies but goodies as much as he loved contemporary music. One minute he could be listening to the great big bands and the next minute he would listen to Frank Sinatra or Liza Minelli and the next minute he would listen to Carlos Santana, The Rolling Stones, Steve Wonder or Michael Jackson. He loved any kind of music as long as it had a good tune. I liked the fact that he didn’t mind listening to Rock and Roll. We both could listen to the same artists. My dad loved to play the guitar and piano. In our home we had a piano, two organs and many guitars. He had a good ear for music to play his favorite songs. He never stopped taking piano and guitar lessons even at a very advanced age.
My Father taught me a lesson. I remember vividly one Friday morning, February 3rd 2006 when I was informed of my father’s death. My dad had type 2 diabetes and had been very ill for two years. He was getting dialysis so in my mind he would live for a few more years but the dialysis treatments he was receiving twice a week were not enough. That day, he woke up not been able to breath so they rushed over to the dialysis clinic but his lugs collapsed before they got there, they were filled with water and that is when his heart stopped beating, my mother was at his side and saw when he took his last breath. He died peacefully in her arms. If there is one way to go, it would be that way; no pain whatsoever.
His death couldn’t have come at the most precarious time in my life since I was dealing with a painful divorce. It felt unbearable! I thought, “why is this happening precisely now”? He was 83 when his death was announced over the radio. His funeral was attended by at least 800 people who knew him and was transmitted all over the airways. I even spoke on the air to hundreds of people listening where I bore my testimony of what I knew of the plan of happiness. The city of San Salvador mourned the loss of a business icon but we, his family, mourned the loss of a very special father and grandfather.
Despite his idiosyncrasies, my father managed to show us how to save money for a rainy day, how to laugh until your stomach hurts, he had so many jokes to tell, but most of all, how to be honest and take care of your hard earned money. He showed those around him how to be a hard worker. Having said that, as I watched his casket been placed on the ground, I suddenly realized, he is teaching me one last lesson because he is not taking any material possessions to his grave. All he is taking with him are the memories we have made.
That day at my father’s funeral is one I will never forget because it made a huge impression on me about where I want to invest my time and with whom.
¡Feliz Día en el cielo, papá!
Con amor,
Vero
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