Jerry Martinez

Who Am I: The Story of Rosita Jovani Bustos Jerry Martinez

Rosita Jovani Bustos survived abandonment, illness, loneliness, sadness, injuries, and abuse--all before the tender age of ten. Above all that, she stood strong, working to buy her medicine and writing her memoirs. She survives because she strongly believes that God--her Diosito, her Chuchin--has been her guide. Such is her faith.

Barely a few days old, Rosita was abandoned by her mother. Reyna dropped the baby on the side of a dump site. The fall injured her young skull. Rosita's loud crying led her grandmother to the site where she lay near death. She was rescued by Sinforosa, her grandmother. She was diagnosed with epilepsy caused by the injury to her skull. Because of her illness, she suffered daily convulsions. Her shadow was her companion, the light of the moon her guide through her darkness.

Rosita longed for the day her mother would give her a loving hug, but it never happened. Scorned by her mother and abused by her mother's lecherous friend, she was rescued by the nuns and taken to an orphanage.

Rosita grew up not knowing the identity of her real father. She wonders whether Reyna is her real mother. Her birth was not registered until she was six years old. Throughout her life, many people had asked her, "Who are you?," when they feel Rosita's incredible presence. She listens to the doves and smiles when they cooingly appear to ask, "¿Quien eres tú?" (Who are you?)

Rosita looks to Diosito in the heavens and asks, "Who am I?"