ALFONSO "PONCHITO" BENAVIDEZ

JAMAICA EN CHETO   My wife Lidia and I went to Asherton and la Frontera to experience the ambience of “Cinco de Mayo.”  In our itinerary was a visit to PONCHITO 1---As of Today 11.27.2014-THANKSGIVING DAY with respect, gratitude and honor, I will regard PONCHITO as PONCHITO 1.

As we arrived to his modest home #541 we knocked on the door and he asked us to come in.  As Lidia and I would make ourselves comfortable we could feel the positive energy of this “Man of the Century Person.”  His smile was sincere and constant.  The walls at the entrance and tables and ledges were adorned with photos and memories of the past.  For those of us who are lucky to understand “Cheto” a special name given by the Tejanos/Mejicanos by the Ashertonians, the visuals he displayed provided a TIMELINE that stretched from the time that Ponchito 1- and his amigos and compadres were ball players in Asherton.  As I pointed to the team that consisted of >>>>> he would name the players and their position in the dirt field of any baseball diamond.  Three activities made Asherton a PROUD TOWN-baseball, musica and field work; it seems that all three were interwoven for these young men.  Ponchito 1 would express a light sigh ..”Ya nomas yo quedo”  I am the only one alive.  The Cheto TEAM el EQUIPO…I feel blessed to have had this opportunity to know Ponchito 1.

No conversation in Cheto is monolingual the flavor of folklore continues and social contact includes a duality of language use unique to many of the Tejanos and in particular gente como Chetonian!  “Spanglish” Que mas?

Read Obituary Here

After the town was founded and incorporated, the majority of Mejicanos-Tejanos became the workforce that gave the little town of Asherton-Vida-Life! Not even a decade had passed and Alfonso Benavides was already part of this little town.  A lucky town that had a library of knowledge for almost a century-PONCHITO 1.  Lamentably one day before THANKSGIVING  Ponchito—that means “little Alfonso”—(un hombre con cariño y de cariño) llego a la Y-griega de su VIDA.  Porque la Y-griega?... porque Ponchito nomas pasó a la vida ETERNA.  Ponchito estaba enamorado de la VIDA pero sabía que un día iba a transcender a la vida ETERNA…He said last time I was with him in 2012..”Ya no quiero festejar mi cumple años todos los aňos”…. “Quiero esperarme cada cinco aňos”… Con riza empecé a bromear con Don Ponchito.  Quizás en privado y de un modo especial el expresaba su FIN en poco tiempo.

I don't know who gave him the nickname of "Ponchito"; perhaps a small town custom.  Ponchito was not a small man; he stood over six feet tall and a mind and memory that was “crystal-clear.”  One should be so lucky  to posses even half of this memory, good health, attitude and humor…even a la dead de los tres reales…pero lo dudo!

Mi amigo Martin Zavala our Cheto die-hard friend called me on Wednesday 26th, one day before EL DÍA DE DAR GRACIAS..to share the bad news.  Cheto Raza and those who don’t live there y pegostes como yo is lucky to have such a friend.  El es el periódico del pueblo.  SU personalidad, carácter y su música lo hace un NATURAL para que represente el pueblo.