Shallow Ground

The Condenados are the most influential and respected families living the American dream. Migrated, worked hard, turned rags to riches by managing Regreso a la Vida- a successful mortuary empire. Fame and fortune hasn't stopped them from leading a mysterious private life but publicly they're surrounded by gossip many speak about but don't dare challenge. Rumors said they hide a dark secret behind closed doors haunted by the World of la Niebla, their purgatory; the World of the Dead. Are they condemned true to their last name? Or just vicious rumors to discredit their reputation? My family was granted access to their inner circle because of friendship ties bound not by blood but by tradition, an Oath made in Baptism. I've always tener los pies en la tierra, now I'm walking on shallow ground, my faith is being tested questioning the unexplained... the occult, the darkside o f what most people refuse to believe exists until it happens to them. This summer in Tala, Jalisco my heart raced of paralyzing fear when lured with uplifting banda music. Face to face with the infamous Las Catalinas; calacas with long hair up to their knees with a cross between catrina and bruja. Transparent skin with a ghostly hue displaying skeletal bones with large hollow shaped inquiring eyes, huipil embroidery fitted dresses flaunting voluptuous curves with their huaraches with bare feet dangling several inches above the ground. Thought it was folklore until my curiosity got the best of me leading into a dark alley promising the answers to questions locals warned tourists about. "e;My name is Reina Dolores Angeles, a fourteen year old fraternal twin on vacation with family visiting Mexico happily embracing my latin roots until my life turned upside down; now I'm facing my greatest fear of being haunted by the town's legend. Caught in the middle of family feuds questioning secrets that were buried but now being resuscitated. This is my life, my journey, my story."e;