Natalia Horcasitas and Richard Horcasitas

00:03 I my name is Natalia orcasitas. I'm 40 years old and I'm here on Sunday November 24th 2019 in Yuma Arizona with my brother Richard.

00:18 My name's Richard La Casitas. I'm 43. Today is Sunday November 24th. 2018. I'm in Yuma, Arizona with my sister, Natalia.

00:34 All right color Tire.

00:37 Natalia for short but some people think that somehow harder also, they don't spell it right so I don't

00:43 Yeah, that didn't really help that you shorten my name to tie a I know you were trying to be helpful. I was trying to be helpful because I was so like how did that happen? Like Natalia or Taya like either one of those are easier, then I was like, yeah, my brother would couldn't say Natalia. So he would say Natalia and then it just got shortened to Taya and they're like Mom told me like you came up with the idea and you always just called or Ty I just I just tie for short now. It's doing shortened to tie a tie easy for you people tie and I talked to friends of ours and I'm like, oh like I actually use your real name like Natalia Natalia Dyer. Oh, okay. Yeah, okay.

01:43 States the kids two different entities like everybody and yeah growing it or we were in church and everything and live in more than like color that it's Tire. Don't call her know if I think she's in trouble for me to get scared like someone's going to get hurt talking about

02:10 Growing up

02:16 Not like I was showing you the pictures like I don't know are we I just think it was like the time that we grow up, but then I'm also like I don't know where this is us and our friends so lucky that

02:29 We bonded like we're family. And so that's how we still treat each other and we just constantly will you know, we're still in contact with each other no matter everybody mood married in their own families. Like we're still really close kind of think. We were lucky and the fact that our parents with everybody worst was so close and came so close and involved in each other's

02:56 Family

02:58 Interactions and stuff. I mean we lived on our block and we still live on our block stuff but

03:09 Out of those out of the whole street like we got four houses, you know that three houses being out but like for one family.

03:31 And I had no idea about economic differences and there was so much and it was different. You know, they now thinking about it like

03:45 The sound of owls across the street, you know, they were we were the middle class and then it was us we be considered the middle class, you know, and then there were three more than we were but for all of us to still talk and stay in touch.

04:17 And but none of us knew we were for until we started learning about like I'm doing all the stuff has that much money like so how did Christmas even happen? Well, what we were there for him was like yeah, we were for I remember that milk and that was her tear we have a struggle there for a minute. It's like when did we? Yeah, I mix it with the regular guys. Never knew we do that kind of was getting lighter sweet rice in the morning and beans for lunch beans for dinner. I can't eat another whole bean or beam. What kind of Mexicans are you? You always eat beans. No cuz we had like a couple of years the only beings and it doesn't I can't do any more beans right now.

05:05 Didn't know what for was cuz we had Commodities if we have one then like we didn't know because

05:16 No one was without if this person had stuff for salad and that person had the meat in the freezer then do you know what if we're all going to struggle? It not have a meal that we came together and we had a meal together true which was most the time and then that barbecue turned into an all-nighter the parents playing cards us kicking a soccer ball and then up everyone passed out cuz my parents are drinking we stayed up until who knows what time and then sugar than I'm making breakfast the next morning because she went to her house and grab whatever and then the log is Rado or whatever and then whatever was in our kitchen breakfast.

05:58 I know the weekends.

06:01 That's what I miss is just

06:05 Being with everybody and us just doing everything together. I mean, yeah, the maze even lived a couple of streets away from us, but

06:17 We were always at each other's house. And then like we even went to different schools, but once school is out we were together by

06:28 Not even think about that. They went to McGraw, huh?

06:34 I don't like what is it what's different now? Because they're like choice in the school you go to so even though there's other kids on my neighborhood now. I'm like, my kids are friends with them cuz everyone goes to all different schools. But it no that's not it either because

06:49 Then we went to a different school to it wasn't because we all walk to school together and home together cuz I assume that but yeah, they went to they went with a friend Elementary School. Yeah, but the thing of it is is like even when we moved from

07:07 1st and orange and we moved over to 26th Place. It was like the maze made their way over to our area that hard and it was our us to walk to each other's houses.

07:24 Get to each other's houses at all.

07:27 Not like we use the streets. Anyway, we just jumped through people's backyards space. We just walking along the fenceline. So yeah, we're not in your yard. Why you yelling at me? I'm not in your yard. This is not quite anybody's property rights are property. So right property line.

07:59 Just

08:02 But it's hard to tell my kids know the way viruet we know.

08:07 Because if I can we please go play in the alley and I'm like why you can't play in the alley and then I'm like, yeah, you can play in the alley cuz my like favorite times were running around in the alley whatever the different.

08:25 All the fruits on the you know, it's it's in the public egress so I can have a pomegranate so I'm not going in your yard.

08:34 What are these Treasures right?

08:39 That's the stuff.

08:42 Just our own like our own world because of there is nobody over here looking in the alley.

08:51 That we were we would disappear.

08:54 All of us. Yeah, I won't even let the kids go to Circle K alone. Like we live well and what I was explaining to them is that when I tell them stories like yeah, we were we go to Circle K and we buy our grenades are water balloon grenades and and have a war water war after we dug around swimming pool lined it and seven trash cans or whatever or we can find to get cool in.

09:23 And I was like, okay and then if we have money we would only cost a dollar for like a hundred water grenades and those things like broken contact, but I was like but you thinking that we cross this busy street and we didn't because that one building like they're literally was a Circle K on every corner at that time. So would like the one that we go to all the time on 24th Street was always there but we didn't even have to go that far cuz I was the one right there at the end of our block. It was like 26 Place house and then down the alley was at Circle K right there. So I'm like, yeah, we were young and going to Circle K on her own. But really we were just going out the trash chute and walking up the alley and going back home.

10:05 You know, I'm like you have to maneuver pass all these drivers that don't pay attention to get to where you're going and your kids not paying attention. So

10:17 Sorry, you can't go unless I go and I don't want to walk. I'll drive you there. Now. We wanted to walk a ride our bikes which is why they want to go to your house. If we go to Richard's house, then we can ride the bicycle K. Yeah.

10:34 The other weekend when I had them and I walked outside and stuff and saw them playing Legos and the dirt and stuff. I was Serbia part, right? Yeah exactly was funny cuz they can you didn't like the yard and stuff like that. I I still find are Hot Wheel cars and stuff. Like it's still there very each other the animals animals like at everybody up to each other's necks. Cuz and that was fun. Yeah, we were allowed until Cisco almost suffocated rumor that yeah. We're in his backyard and we dug too deep.

11:22 Accepting it went underneath the

11:25 Stop porch their ports and everything and act like I don't know we're supposed to be digging out of the trunk or something like that and we just got done digging and digging digging digging.

11:46 And he was there without me one day.

11:50 No, I only ever went over like when Pat service ice cream and then like when they were older that I have enough nerve to go over and listen to Cisco's are R-rated me. No explicit. Lyric 2 Live Crew and you know, whatever really bad music he had his like I know I'm not sneaking in there. Yeah. I remember I remember going over and Richard will get me and then he was like a museum and they sound like

12:33 I like all the sea creatures and stuff like that by pufferfish and everything and I'm like not to be there in less than 30 me ice cream some kind of food at the kitchen. That's as far as I like to go packs of gum to taste her fire. Chili cuz Cisco and I don't even do that.

12:59 There's a chicken.

13:02 I remember their grandpa, he'd have his pocket knife and be like God come here. I'm going to cut your little pecker with this. She always coming be like you better behave and if something like and then finally I realized what he was meant by it was okay leave Ronica alone, and I like those, you know, so our parents friendships were so strong that the little friendship that we still have now like our families from New Mexico. But the first time we went to New Mexico was the over the bus animals, that's a long drive, but we came to hang out.

14:02 Yeah, because we haven't seen over 5 years. We almost died.

14:10 Okay, we talk to them like like even the movie in like writing letters to each other like writing letters to Cisco talking to him all the time on mom. Like you can't be calling him every day my phone bill on family member. Yeah, your dad's family members without my dad yells at me to get off the phone with Aunt Esther and you're over you kids are on the phone for an hour.

14:43 Are we all talked with in that hour and if you get on the phone with an ester, you're on the phone for 3 hours. Nobody can get a call through the phone bill is ridiculous reading beans again for 6 months.

15:08 That's just saying all those good memories and

15:15 Night for reals like not knowing

15:20 That

15:22 Where we were we were poor stuff and how much our parents all together like wood.

15:32 Come together to try to get us all the same things where it wasn't like, okay, cuz they could afford the actual.

15:46 Not knock off brand but you know, but the knockoff, you know, your kids are getting a Schwinn this here. Okay, then what kind of bikes can we get our kids looks like we it's bike here. Okay this year the bikes the kids are getting bikes for Christmas and everybody else is getting you know, Strawberry Shortcake, whatever whatever steam bike say, okay and I'll Gave Over joint the scooter this year. OK gordyville. Victoria's going to get a beach cruiser. She's been wanting so and then I remember that one we weren't supposed to be writing each other's bikes and stuff and they could all Yuma Daily Sun.

16:34 What are the kids out having fun in the summer know it was we were going back to school. It was across the Pacific and it was it was the pit. The caption was back to school after Christmas break and stuff and it showed me and me and Gordy walking each other's bikes across the street if I was her beach cruiser, and she had my scooter and we're walking them across the street and then we got home and was like that morning in the newspaper came out by the time we got home and stuff and mom was like

17:22 So how do you get school school scooter scooter nobody else or just scooter? You didn't write anybody else's bike? No.

17:41 No, really?

17:45 You swear on the Bible. I remember to bring the Bible where on the Bible and it's like if she was asking us that deliberately she already knew. I know we are like no. No, I don't know what you know, but it's wrong I swear.

18:09 It wasn't I swear I swear. I swear. You said something else nice Square. Yes.

18:26 And she's like and what's this? What's this the paper lies that pictures lying?

18:35 I know when me and Lisa rode our bikes.

18:41 I'm assuming to the rez because we cross the Colorado River to get there.

18:47 And she was like, so what'd you guys do do do today? Oh, nothing just hung out or just hung out like where you know around here just riding our bikes around. You knows I wasn't alive. We were riding our bikes around. Oh, okay. So you weren't on 1st Street know we weren't we weren't next to the Colorado River ever we talked about like we weren't even near who said anything about the river. I didn't you ask for Offer Street, you know, that's that's by the river so

19:20 Don't lie to me. This is your last chance tell me the truth. She's watching the washing the the washing machine go making sure it's clean incorrectly. Don't lie to me. I'm not lying Mom. This is your last chance like giving me every chance to tell the truth and I my mom know. Okay. So anyway, you only told me that she seen you to driving nearby. I'm like these that work with you know, where your sister lives why we ride our bikes. All right pastors after the farm and I'm like, oh my God into and then you wonder why my dad doesn't want to hang out with you when you're like no this is go visit visit my boyfriend. Okay. Now my legs are dead. I'm like crying cuz it was so far to get home. And that was like too far like if we had off-roading like after we went to prison over with all the dirt after that I like

20:18 Never again never again and you lied to me. So yeah, you're not mean that for a while cuz you're grounded.

20:29 Yay, it was fun until we got to Yoli's house and then there was like no more fun because that's when I found out that she live there and she's like, I think we were spotted. I'm like now you're telling me why would we be driving right? Like we could have stayed on 1st and not drove by her Apartments.

20:54 But now you're telling me that's where she lives and you think you saw her looking out the window right as we passed clean.

21:02 Funny

21:08 Wouldn't want that kind of expectation.

21:13 Being good at

21:17 What is like you remember some kind of like dick taste like do this when you grow up or be this when you grow up be honest and true to yourself.

21:27 And my mom was

21:31 Do what makes you happy there was never accept Ryan the military cuz I work for a heart can handle that. You can be anything. You want to be your the greatest. You will be the greatest. Just please don't ever join the military. My heart can't handle that and of course we live in a military town. So do you know the recruiters are coming in.. What will we're going to go talk to him get some more information. Why what because we think it's ridiculous of course us women are not going to handle boot camp. Like we don't think so. So we're going to go ask more questions about boot camp. We we know that we would have to go through boot camp first and so we're going to go ask questions. Why would you even ask questions? You can join the military? Oh I can do whatever I want to do cuz that's how you raised me. I can do whatever I want to do, whatever I want to be.

22:28 Song I just to be kind and be good to each other and other people was really I feel the only expectations are parents put on us, which was also the same except for the Sandoval. They have much higher expectations, but they never were like, you can't hang around with people that aren't going to shoot for the stars like we're going to make you yeah and never look down upon for not not doing that. Don't look down upon somebody that's not as well off as we are, you know, if anything you help

23:08 You help those people and stuff and

23:12 Like with Thanksgiving coming up. My mom was the type of person that we had to like prevent her from bringing all the homeless to our house to eat. Like, you know, like yes, we are grew up in a military town. So if you want to invite a bunch of single guys, I don't have any family here to our meal fine, but you can't just pick up every homeless person that we see alone because that's not right for someone to spend the holidays alone and we have plenty you so let's just bring them on over let you know Mom dad's going to get mad like we can just bring all the homeless people from all of you much or house to feed them.

23:51 Young though they

23:55 I just think big I was just always crazy just so you know, just the amount of people sure just friends like

24:09 It was just like our family, you know our immediate family, but we had up towards 50 easy.

24:20 You know, but then again, that's just three other families.

24:28 Feel like you use the maze.

24:30 Phenols

24:33 But that was a weird like shift when you know when we got older and people start having kids. It was like we don't fit anywhere anymore cuz you know, 40 turning the 75 real quick and then I'll say there's nowhere for us to me. So we have to like

24:49 Like the

24:51 The one year that we were meeting on the Mesa and it was like I think the picture is literally like everyone like kind of stacked on top of each other and it's like a human pyramid on the den Easter even like we had started having it up Parks just

25:14 Share amount of people that I mean family and then I was at that one.

25:24 That one Easter that bite I really remember was when we had the photographer and stuff and just everybody like Brenda, you know.

25:39 Yeah, you know, I'm just

25:43 I was so devastated when they broke up. I'll take know you love her.

25:51 Yeah.

25:53 She babysat us his mom's crazy friend and then it was like she's not my friend.

26:03 Are other fourth Amelie?

26:06 AZ are Family from Winter Haven

26:12 Can you?

26:15 How it feels or what? How does it feel to have that kind of community and that kind of upbringing like what does that do for you,, So level?

26:31 I mean, it's it's great that like it makes me sad for my kids that I am not anywhere close to my mom or my dad that I'm just not like like I'm not close to them like on their level of o-mai open hard and my open door and you know come and gather here in my space. I will have an Immaculate home at all times and neighbors be best friends, but then it warms my heart at the same time because these friends that they are family to us. They were like cousin we we call each other cousin and something growing up when like their younger cousins are coming up and they're in school with us and they're like, we are you guys cousins or friends or what? Are you we're both know you are you related or not or not, but we are and so like I feel sad that my kid.

27:31 Don't have this extended family.

27:35 Because of the way I am, but then they do because of the way my parents were so those those people that are my best friends. My cousins are now.

27:47 My kids and some ankles and cousins so they still have this huge extended family. That's still just that's not going away. I don't have to be my parents. I don't have to be as open as they are because I would never say these people that aren't actually related to us aren't on our family.

28:14 Vino in the how does it up? It affects us negatively as we get older that you know, we have a big enough family as it is blood family. But then as we lose family members from this non-related family, it's just as hard we still the same loss.

28:35 Yeah.

28:37 Just as

28:40 It's like you think I've already lost all the important women in my life. And then we lose Vicky in the last year and it's like damn. It's like I want I lost another Mom all over again.

28:54 And then you know you and then you start worrying about old. You know, it's sugar. Okay. I need to go visit sugar more often because I still have more moms out there that I can turn to do that that I could steal that I still have to lose.

29:11 It's

29:14 It's great with.

29:20 Like my child like our childhood like

29:27 I can't stay late yesterday was bad times, but the good times so much weight outweighed.

29:37 Pain and hurt and everything else that was went along with.

29:43 Childhood in and

29:48 My parents were amazing.

29:51 Missing my mom was amazing.

29:57 And it's not sugarcoating it because like you said before you even started the interview, we're completely open we talked about, you know, once we became adults and we're out of the house and shared ghost stories like oh damn you were that haunted to okay or we don't really talk about all this stuff and now they were out of the hellmouth, then we can talk about all the scary stuff that happened. Yeah, you know, we can sit there and talk about how we grew up on the same house, but how perceptions were different because of age because of what was done you no because of the bad times but then we just talked about it and work through it because we are still open and it's like, oh I didn't even realize that. Yeah, you know, I saw this, you know, it's like, oh I felt like, you know, I had the hardest and I was like really I thought you were like, oh boy as they can get away with any

30:57 You know there goes Richard and Gordy running away again, not so bad you to felt like you had it not what led you to run away together all the time trials Johnny justo they're running away again. And what's going to happen. How could your home?

31:15 And me and Lisa are over here. Like all there. They go out seeking attention. I get home like a bad will see you tomorrow. Why aren't you more upset about his running away forever forever. What time does the year will see you tomorrow? And we don't know where you guys went that you guys were not in either backyard that you were not and whatever abandoned house. We were hanging out at that. We you know, it's like they're really gone. Oh my God, and then the real panic and what's really going on, you know, but

31:58 It's just

32:00 Amazing just think I'm I'm thankful for our upbringing.

32:07 I'm so thankful for the people we grew up with the people that are still in our lives.

32:19 It's

32:22 It's sad that the one part is that is that we were so close.

32:29 AZ kids that we aren't that close as adults

32:37 And that it's somewhat of a struggle, you know, they for certain people you know that.

32:48 Cuz I know that he wouldn't have to log in the Move Tucson. Where was I almost at least once a month like one weekend out the month? I was up there. Yeah, you know what I mean?

33:03 And it's like

33:06 Okay. Now you guys are doing good, but you guys can come see us.

33:11 Yeah, but then again we weren't raised to think that way, you know, it was well, if you to do it you do it, you know and

33:25 Yeah, I'd like this.

33:28 And to not have unrealistic expectations, so it's like when Vicky did come, you know when Lisa barbecue down.

33:39 And I was like looking forward to seeing her.

33:43 And her coming over and seeing my house, which she had never seen cuz she been living in Tucson the whole time, you know, but she already wasn't well and so it's like yeah, I'm so sorry, you know, we're just here with family and she's sick and we ran into going home early and I'm like don't even worry about it. Like as long as she's okay and you have so much actual blood-related family. That doesn't see your their mom as often as I do because I go to Tucson to see you guys and stay at her house. So it's like no it's okay. I I see her Plenty and I'll go see her again where they might not

34:28 I stopped what I was doing and I'm like, oh you guys are actually here, you know, okay, I'll come over and stop then we went swimming, you know, like the last couple of times like I saw Vicky was like amazing looks great. You know, I want your peeing your green bean.

34:51 Need to talk to you anything, you know in and Gordie going to make that for you and the next day I picked up for me, you know and just

35:09 Just being

35:13 Grateful for you know, they extended family that we had and I'll just

35:18 Yeah that it didn't.

35:21 We didn't have.

35:23 A lot of actual family that lived here at the time that we didn't, you know, we went and visit her family in Vegas and la and so we always go out of town even though we don't have money we still in field park of the always went down how many people never went on vacation never left Yuma a lot of people that I talk to you now that I'm like we never been out of Somerton Yuma like I were lucky to have family out of town. So all we needed was gas money just letting gas money and some sandwiches and that's vacation, you know, we spent two weeks out of town in the middle of the Heat

35:59 And so we we didn't have a a lack of over actual blood relatives and visiting our cousins, but then because we had found friends that were like family here. Yeah.

36:14 We have missed that actual family, but we always hum.

36:23 Just say our lucky you are blessed and honored to have such a large caring family whether they were we are born into it or not. I mean couple of I mean the maze we were raised with them. So I was like brothers and I'll sisters.

36:45 They all got potty-trained on our toilet and I just stayed and hung out right Chester Chuck Wagon, but

37:06 You know, I I talk to people now and I'm like woah, my my cousin will actually you know, my friend of my cousin. This is the other day but this is like my best friend, but then even the friends that we made, you know, I was telling a friend of mine like oh, yeah, you know, my sister's best friend and my best friend growing up we're sisters and I also think that the Gonzales is too even though that was just our friendship that we made or the, you know, the friendships that we made and church later ourselves. Like we don't spend holidays with those people or anything like that, but we're still close friends. We still talk to them. I'm making plans to hang out with Lisa and Roxie cuz they're going to be down for Thanksgiving.

38:00 And now we're that close. You know that that we're still that close. So we it's not the fact that we're next-door neighbors or we went to school together. It's those friendships that bind us that that were so close, even though we don't hang out all the time. They live in Colorado now, okay. Yeah just different places that people live, you know, I mean

38:33 Text Savannah and Lisa they live in Pennsylvania.

38:38 And they still make

38:40 A way to visit not as often as we'd like, but they still make a way to visit because we love each other.

38:52 They said was one of those with another mom.

38:58 Talking to you today. I love talk to you to show you love talking to you.

39:09 Go karaoke again sometime and I even like Mathias was like why do you have club music in your truck? You're playing club music in your truck and I'm like, this is what we play. This is what was lying cuz I got it up music Turn It Down.