BITTERSWEET TRAGEDY-DAISY JONES AND THE SIX

001: before it all

ARACELY: I know you're more invested in my experience with the band, however I believe my backstory is crucial to the story. I grew up in Mexico in a small town called Bernal. I was constantly surrounded by a big and loving family, however there always was a darkness lurking around.

My family called it "The Gonzalez Curse". The curse was that you'd slowly become insane. It started with my great grandmother, then my grandmother, and eventually it passed down to my mother. At the time things such as mental health wasn't something that was promoted, I mean it was a different time back then. Looking back on it, I believe the woman in my family struggled with bipolar disorder and depression. which eventually caused them to take their own life.

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On November 13th, twelve year old Aracely would discover something that would alter the course of her life forever.

Aracely walked into her parents bedroom, seeing the cold lifeless body of her mother. In that moment she froze, she didn't cry, she didn't scream—she simply stood there. It took her a while to process what she was seeing. She's known about the "curse" since she was little. But to actually see it come to life—to her own mother. Its something that you just can't forget.

A few days eventually passed and before Aracely knew, she was watching as her mother was buried into the ground. She wanted as the casket continued to lower deep into the ground. A part of Aracely kept hoping that it was all a nightmare and she'd wake up to her mother making pancakes. However it wasn't a dream—it was reality.

After the funeral everyone gathered at their home and began talking about her mother. It was a tradition for them, they would gather and celebrate life rather than loss.

Aracely watched as her tios and tias danced the night away and celebrated the life that was taken from them too soon. She couldn't help but sit there and wonder if the curse would eventually pass onto her.

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ARACELY: I was terrified, I mean who wouldn't be.

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Aracely's father approached her that night and gave her a choice—a chance even. A chance at a better life, a life in America.

He wanted to move there with her mother of course, but due to the circumstances that was no longer an option. Her father said moving to America would give her all the opportunities and chances she craved, but the decision was fully her choice.

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ARACELY: I said yes, without hesitation. In my head, there was a possibility that moving to America could break this curse. It could alter not just my life, but my sisters as well.

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Two months later Aracely, her father, and two sisters immigrated to America, more specifically Los Angeles. There they stayed with a few relatives while her father searched for a job.

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ARACELY: I was twelve, and I was terrified. I was in this completely new place, couldn't speak english, and was dealing with the death of my mother. It felt like my life had gotten turned upside down.

However my father knew this was the best decision for the all of us. It had to be, there was no going back now. We were in too deep.

Los Angeles was different from Mexico, people were so different. The music—oh the music was incredible. It was almost revolutionary. I knew—I just knew that one day I'd be hearing music that I made play on the radio one day.