EDITION 84

FEBRUARY 2008

Memories of Queen: Anabella Gonzalez Güereña
Carnival Queen of 1958

By Consuelo Lizárraga

Among the usual Carnival characters, a beautiful and charismatic woman is etched in our memory: Anabella Gonzalez Güereña, queen of the 1958 Carnival, the Floral Games, and other festivals, which add up to seven terms as Mazatlan royalty in three years.

The beautiful, green-eyed Mazatlan woman (her mother, Marcela Güereña, was the famous Mexican actress Maria Felix's cousin) was 15 when her companions of the "15 15 Club" made her queen. Then, after returning from a year of study at the Saint Mary's Immaculate Heart Academy in Tucson, she received the title of "Queen of Congeniality" from the Muralla sports club, the oldest of its kind on the Pacific coast. A year later, the Muralla also crowned her "Queen of Spring." The Voluntary Fire Corps made her queen for two years and she marched in honor of the firefighters during the 1957 Carnival parade. Atop a float, surrounded by yellow, orange, and red cellophane flames, she emerged like a fire goddess in a turquoise dress, her hair bathed in gold dust. She obtained both Carnival crowns 50 years ago when the other candidate, Martha Cecilia "Pecky" Tirado Almada, withdrew from the race before the final vote count.

All this Anabella told us when we called her at her house in Hermosillo. She will soon come to receive a tribute for her golden anniversary. She shared her excitement over parading once again and hearing the public's applause.

Recalling her experience, she says that, "Two months earlier I had gone with my mom to Mexico City so that Señora Aznar, the modiste who dressed the national movie stars and the outstanding high-society ladies, made the royal outfit. She also made those of my ladies-in-waiting, Elvira Glora Gonzalez Collard and Silvia Reynaud De Cima."

She also recalls the affection that Mazatlecos showed her on the Friday of the Floral Games fives decades ago, when a convertible drove her from the art deco house on 21 de Marzo Street, where her parents Marcela Güereña de Gonzalez and Rafael Gonzalez Salazar lived, to the Royal Cinema on Angel Flores Street, which had been transformed into a cultural palace.

"I wore a beautiful white, embroidered dress to the Floral Games and a red velvet cape with ermine-fur tails. Dr. Hector Gonzalez Guevara, the municipal president, crowned me. The famous baritone, Hugo Avedaño, sang several arias and Carlos McGregor Ciaccinti was the winning poet. When I presented him with a flower together with the prize, he dedicated some words to me that I still treasure in my memory: 'On this night of love, of happiness...in felicitous harmony with her beauty, Anabella offers us the grandeur...of the abundance of love and happiness.'" She also remembers the elegance of the public at the Floral Games and at the dances held at different clubs in honor of Carnival.

"The girls had dresses made for each day. The young men wore cashmere suits custom-made by tailors in their downtown shops. They looked so handsome with their silk ties, their cuff links, and tie clips."

"Two days later, on Carnival Sunday, I received my scepter and crown from the state governor, Dr. Rigoberto Aguilar Pico. I wore a red dress that Señora Aznar had made for me. It was divine with red roses embroidered on it! Everyone loved it! From the cinema, we went to lunch at the Belmar Hotel. At the time I was dating a boy from Mexico City, Mario Miller, who got very jealous because the governor was complimenting me all the time, saying that there were three beautiful things in Mazatlan-the ocean, the sunsets, and me-and that if he had a son he would like me to marry him. Then he invited me to dance. My boyfriend said that if I danced another song with the governor, he would dance with another girl, so I calmed down a bit," she says laughing.

Two years later, Anabella married the Sonoran native Homero Monreal Lizarraga and moved to Caborca. Homero fell in love when he saw her photo in Impacto, a political magazine from the 1950s.

"Homero went to see my sister Irma Gonzalez de Velez, who lived in Caborca, and asked her to introduce us. Then, when he came to Mazatlan, I broke up with my Mexico City boyfriend, and six months later I married Homero."

"We had some really incredible children," Anabella says, "Homero Martin, Anabella, Francisco, and Mauricio. God willing, they will go to my homage in Mazatlan. Four of my beautiful granddaughters will also ride on the float that Rigoberto Lewis is building for me. They are as excited as I am, maybe even more, because I have told them how happy I was then. They are fascinated by the photographs. Anabella Zamudio Monreal, Anabella's daughter; Daniela, Mauricio's daughter; Maria Regina, Homero's daughter, and Carolina, Francisco's daughter. Their dresses have already been custom ordered."

Full of pride, she says it will be an honor to return to Mazatlan. "I am excited because my brothers and sisters-Rafael, Tina, Judith, Olga, Irma, Dora, Enrique, Javier, and Marcela-and I all have Carnival in our blood. I thank God for the opportunity to salute Mazatlan, which I have always carried in my heart.

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Anabella as crowned Queen of the 1958 Flower Games

In Anabella with mayor doctor Hector Gonzalez Guevara

The famous baritone Hugo Avedaño sang various opera arias during the coronation event

 

 

Anabella with her ladies of honor, Elvira Gloria Gonzalez Collard and Silvia Reynaud

PAnabella and honored 1958 poet, Carlos McGregor