Temple Square Recital
Featured works like “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen,” “Let The Bright Seraphim,” and “Pie Jesu,” alongside Spanish and Latin American art songs.
Aura’s Story
Faith, family, and the journey that shaped her song.
There are moments in time that shape and change the path of our life. Those moments stay embedded in your heart and you stand in amazement as you look back at how different your life would be if just one thing had not happened. Such is the miracle of my coming to this country.
My mother, Bertha Gonzales was born and raised in the small fisherman village called Olomega in La Union, El Salvador. She lived in a humble house with no electricity, running water, or even a front door. As a child, her life consisted of going to school in the morning and going to the market to help her mother sell produce in the afternoon. On days where the unsold fruit was ripening too quickly her mother would keep from school and with a large basket of ripe produce on her head, she would go door to door selling the precious commodity until it was gone.
School was only able to attend elementary school as middle and highschool was no longer free. Soon after she finished school, she went to work in the capitol city of San Salvador. She worked as a nanny and housekeeper. With her help, her family was able to get a refrigerator, other basic household needs, and pay the school fees for her younger sister to go to middle and graduate high school.
Bertha moved back to Olomega and met her husband Santiago Gonzales. Santiago would fish and Bertha would go to market to sell the catch. They soon added two little girls to their family Claudia Maria and later Aura Nereyda. They had enough to feed their family, but no matter how hard they worked, their children would not be able to have more than a fifth grade education. Santiago and his brothers saved all their earnings for several months and were able to help Bertha come to the United States on a visa to work.
She worked for almost a year before they had earned enough money for Santiago join her while her mother Pilar watched and took care of us. They worked day and night in several jobs and lived in a modest apartment building. Their neighbors had recently joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and sent missionaries to their home. When she opened the door she instantly knew they were sent from God. They brought a spirit to their home of peace and love. She couldn’t get enough of the lessons and their visits. She often compares it to wandering in a desert and finally finding water.
It was around this time that the civil war had broken out in El Salvador. The small town of Olomega was hit hard during the war. Both sides would pillage the town. Those unlucky enough to find themselves outside during the imposed curfew would be found dead on the street the next morning. The recruitment of child soldiers and other human rights violations were rampant. Pilar, Bertha’s Mother who watched after the girls, would write to Bertha in fear that the girls would be hurt or taken.
The plan was to work and send money and save all they could and then return, but Bertha knew she had a choice to make. She knew going back would violate her visa and she had tried several times to apply for asylum with her children and was denied. If she went to bring her children, she knew it would be a long and dangerous journey. She talked to the missionaries and asked them for a blessing. She remembers that in the blessing the Lord told her that everything would be okay and that she and her children would be protected.
When she arrived in El Salvador things were worse than her mom had told her. As she stepped off the bus she would find dead bodies in the streets, shooting standoffs, and chaos all around. She feared the worst until she found us. The very next day we started our journey back. We made our way through the chaos to Guatemala and then into Mexico. The plan was to stay in a hotel in Mexico until we were contacted by the person who would help us cross.
By following the spirit we were able to avoid robbery and other harm that we were confronted with. When we arrived in Monterrey, it just so happened that there were no hotels available anywhere. There was a large convention and many military out. The taxi drove around for hours until she finally asked the driver if he would drive them to the border. He agreed and we arrived several days before the appointed time to meet our guide, Don Atilio.
She called him on the phone as they arrived to let him know they were early. He happened to be in the area just as they arrived. He told her to wait for him that they would cross the same day. My moms heart leaped for joy and fear. Claudia was five and I was three at the time and we couldn’t stop crying. Don Atilio drove around until we finally fell asleep.
He hid my mother between the tire and the engine of the car. It was hot and hard to breath. When we crossed the guards stopped him. They questioned him about us and he said we were his daughters. My mother recalls seeing the feet of the guard and the rifle hanging on his leg. After a few minutes of anxiety and fear, we were through.
We arrived at my dad's door exactly two weeks after my mother had started this journey. A journey that normally should have taken months. What a testimony it was that God knew us and that he knew our needs. What gratitude I have in my heart to have received the gospel at such a young age in my life. It has changed not only my life, but also the lives of my family and my children. My son Ethan is now serving in Guatemala and bringing hope and love to the good people there.