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Mercedes Esteban
31.3.1934 - 22.9.2015
31.3.1934 - 22.9.2015
Abuela, or Beulah as she became known (due to a spelling mistake I had made as a child) is the guiding light of my adult life. The reason I am who I am is thanks to her legacy, and everything she taught me.
One of my earliest memories of Abuela is sitting by her side watching The Pajama Game and during the song "I'm not at all in love,” she suddenly joined in on the line "you're shouting.” It was the first time I realized that she had seen this movie a few times before and that she Knew Things.
Abuela took me to my first opera, Carmen. She had tickets for her birthday and wanted to take one of the granddaughters. She wanted it to be fair, so she put our names in a hat. I was lucky enough to be drawn out.
She took me to a ballet eisteddfod and told me that she "knew" I'd win because I was her granddaughter. She came to all our performances, and we laughed when we discovered she had taken a liking to the young boy band Human Nature at School’s Spectacular.
Abuela accompanied me to the wilds of Erskineville for my first big audition that led to singing in the Olympics. After the Olympics, we danced together in the Domain at the volunteer parade. I found her in the crowd after the film crew had shown her smiling, gorgeous face on the big screen.
She was with me at my first musical, A Chorus Line. A line from that show, “I used to dance around the living room” was my life. I used to dance around Abuela’s living room. Her collection of tapes, cds, and videos are the essence of my childhood. Fiddler on the Roof, Singing’ in the Rain, and The King and I are as inextricably linked to Sunday lunch as flan and bibingka.
No else made flan like Abuela. She was incredibly proud when I asked to include her flan in the international cookbook at uni. Of course, I just had to watch and make notes, but it was a big day when I was able to cook flan for her 75th birthday!
When I became a vegetarian she lamented that she never knew what to feed me. Lentejas were not lentejas without the chorizo.
Abuela was utterly devoted to Abuelo. They met some enchanted evening, and when Abuelo came to visit the next day and Abuela was up the apple tree with curlers in her hair. It was a bit of a scandal when we discovered that before Abuelo, Abuela had been eyeing an American airman. Of course, after the enchanted evening, there could never be anyone else, and there never was. Without a doubt I know they are together now, dancing in heaven. Every time I hear a thunder storm, I’ll know they’ve gone out bowling with the other angels.
A few weeks ago I saw The King and I at the Lincoln Center in New York. It occurred to me that the reason I was even in New York, the reason I love musicals, opera, and music, is because of my Abuela.
It was a privilege to grow up with such a wonderful grandmother. It was a privilege to be with her in her final moments.
Abuela, thank you for everything I know. I love you.
One of my earliest memories of Abuela is sitting by her side watching The Pajama Game and during the song "I'm not at all in love,” she suddenly joined in on the line "you're shouting.” It was the first time I realized that she had seen this movie a few times before and that she Knew Things.
Abuela took me to my first opera, Carmen. She had tickets for her birthday and wanted to take one of the granddaughters. She wanted it to be fair, so she put our names in a hat. I was lucky enough to be drawn out.
She took me to a ballet eisteddfod and told me that she "knew" I'd win because I was her granddaughter. She came to all our performances, and we laughed when we discovered she had taken a liking to the young boy band Human Nature at School’s Spectacular.
Abuela accompanied me to the wilds of Erskineville for my first big audition that led to singing in the Olympics. After the Olympics, we danced together in the Domain at the volunteer parade. I found her in the crowd after the film crew had shown her smiling, gorgeous face on the big screen.
She was with me at my first musical, A Chorus Line. A line from that show, “I used to dance around the living room” was my life. I used to dance around Abuela’s living room. Her collection of tapes, cds, and videos are the essence of my childhood. Fiddler on the Roof, Singing’ in the Rain, and The King and I are as inextricably linked to Sunday lunch as flan and bibingka.
No else made flan like Abuela. She was incredibly proud when I asked to include her flan in the international cookbook at uni. Of course, I just had to watch and make notes, but it was a big day when I was able to cook flan for her 75th birthday!
When I became a vegetarian she lamented that she never knew what to feed me. Lentejas were not lentejas without the chorizo.
Abuela was utterly devoted to Abuelo. They met some enchanted evening, and when Abuelo came to visit the next day and Abuela was up the apple tree with curlers in her hair. It was a bit of a scandal when we discovered that before Abuelo, Abuela had been eyeing an American airman. Of course, after the enchanted evening, there could never be anyone else, and there never was. Without a doubt I know they are together now, dancing in heaven. Every time I hear a thunder storm, I’ll know they’ve gone out bowling with the other angels.
A few weeks ago I saw The King and I at the Lincoln Center in New York. It occurred to me that the reason I was even in New York, the reason I love musicals, opera, and music, is because of my Abuela.
It was a privilege to grow up with such a wonderful grandmother. It was a privilege to be with her in her final moments.
Abuela, thank you for everything I know. I love you.