The Great Renascence of Irene Garza

DIANA GRACIA

Irene Garza, young, humble, and most of all beautiful. Irene’s beauty went as far as crowning her Miss All South Texas at prom during her early high school years. She was greatly envied by most of the girls in her neighborhood. Her beauty enchanted boys of all ages but angered most girls, leading her to a life of loneliness and very few friends as an adolescent. During her teenage years she had a boyfriend who was described as “sweet” and “kindhearted” by Garza’s few friends. They didn’t last very long. It was found in one of her journal’s, in her writing, that he seemed to mostly care about her beauty than her actual being and personality. Their break-up was a “kind of freedom”, said the cursive words neatly written in her journal. One might believe that beauty is all or most there is to achieve happiness but that was definitely not the case for Garza. Beauty was anything but happiness for Garza. It was what ultimately shattered and destroyed her life.

Garza lived from the years 1934 to 1960, through World War II and the eminent baby boom years. During her young adult years, McAllen was constantly under construction and growing by the day. New and bigger buildings were being built. New companies and businesses were arising. It was also the blooming of Hispanic culture in lower Southern Texas. Irene Garza benefited from this as she came from a Hispanic family and was fully Hispanic herself..

Although Garza didn’t have many outside friends, she had two close cousins who were considered her best friends. They did everything and said nearly everything to each other. They spent nights together, went to church together, and sincerely loved each other. To this day, her cousins talk dearly about her, and remember her every passing day. Both her cousins were around the same age as her. Unfortunately, her cousins didn’t live in the same city (or state for that matter) as Garza did but they had the privilege to spend every big holiday with her in McAllen, along with the rest of the Garza family.

Garza was known to be deeply religious and passionate when it came to Catholicism. She was said to have a journal in which she recorded all her blessings and testimonials whenever she found the time to write. Most of the time, Garza was busy with either school or chores. She would occasionally hold bible study meetings in loved ones houses, with different families that often held different beliefs than that of Catholics. She helped convert many of her family members and even a few friends who claimed were Atheists. Through this, Garza felt she was following in Jesus’ footsteps and rightfully claiming her throne awaiting her in Heaven in the afterlife.

Unfortunately, Garza’s mother died in a car accident but had the great privilege to see her only daughter graduate from high school, which was one of her mother’s biggest dreams. Her father became ill but was fortunate enough to get diagnosed in time and receive early treatment to treat his sickness. When Garza first found out about her mother’s death she was torn apart, and when she first learned of her father’s sickness she entered a short period of depression, so when she first became aware of the fact that her father was managing well with his sickness and receiving treatment she was beyond happy.

Garza was said to have been hesitant about going to college as a teenager but as she matured and grew older she found a great passion for teaching and spending time with children particularly under the age of ten. As an adult she found her calling as an elementary school teacher and was profoundly loved by all her students (which consisted of children under the age of ten). She loved her job and was cherished by everyone. Overall, Garza lived a respectable life. She was easygoing and comfortable to be around with, but sometimes her easygoing nature could be dangerous, and lead to a dangerous vulnerability that could backfire in the end.

It was a cold and cloudy Saturday night when Garza decided to borrow her father’s car to meet with the priest for her weekly confession in her family’s church. Never had her family imagined that a usual cold and cloudy Saturday would turn into a not-so-usual Saturday night and become a tortuous horrific night, and the last night they would ever see their beautiful daughter’s tender smile nestle upon her nourishing face. To many her beauty was a complete blessing, but to Garza her beauty was the initiating of an utterly horrifying and traumatic event that inevitably led to a dreadful death that many people of McAllen will never forget.

That same week, a few days after her disappearance, Garza was found floating lifelessly in a McAllen canal by a McAllen resident who lived in the neighborhood and took a daily stroll near the Canal. She was officially declared dead upon rescuers’ arrival. Citizens recall seeing a dirty shoe belonging to a woman, lying a few blocks from the canal. It was later revealed to have been Garza’s shoe as well as other evidence (clothes, a handbag, other accessories) hidden deep in the bushes near the canal. A few witnesses revealed to have witnessed a woman in her late 20s being forcefully pulled out of a car and dragged near the canal by a group of men the night of Garza’s disappearance. Other witnesses recalled hearing a woman scream and shout for help but had thought it to be a joke played by teenagers who were bored and looking for attention at the time. Although she lived a rather young life she was treasured by many. Her death was tragic but she lived according to her beliefs. The world is rid of her but not in her loved ones’ hearts.

“The tragedy of life is not death but what we let die inside of us while we live.”

-Norman Cousins