I MARRIED A DUG DUG
by MARGARET DE LA TORRE WILKEY
In June of 1967, when Jorgie was 10 months old, I found out I was pregnant again. Armando came to the hotel one day, and announced that we were going to move into a big home out in Colonia Vista Alegre. It was a little bit on the outskirts of Mexico City, but still in a metropolitan area. I thought, well now, I can have my own kitchen and maybe finally do some cooking and setting up a home. That dream was not to be fulfilled.
Armando had rented us a home that was fully staffed. The owner of the home would be the cook and house cleaner, and she had an assistant. There was really no yard work except washing down concrete, and the owner's son would come and do that. So again I had a lot of empty hours on my hands. The days were now filled with playing and caring for my son, and waiting for Jorge to come home.
We were given a nice roon on the second floor. It had twin beds, Jorge and I slept in one (when he was home), and Jorgie slept in the other. Their lives were very busy now. Personal appearances, recording, live shows, and magazine interviews. The fans could not get enough. I was never asked to these events, and the only social life that Jorge and I had now was going to the movies occasionally.
Armando announced that they would be going back to Tijuana to play at Mike's for a time, that the money would be good, and they would be back in about a month. I wanted to go home at this time, but Jorge said that I had to stay behind. So one day, they all piled into Armando's old car, and back to Tijuana they went in a blaze of glory. I stood on the sidewalk of our street waving goodbye, holding my baby in my arms, felling more lonely and depressed then ever before. I wished them great success, but at the same time selfishly wished they could stay back here with us. Jorge waved goodbye to me, and that would be the last I would hear or see of him for 3 months.
My days were filled with tedium and boredom. I had no money to speak of and it's a good thing Jorge had paid the rent, or I would have had nowhere to go. The ladies in the home became my lifeline. They paid for food for Jorgie and fed me. I was very thin again and carrying a new baby, and I think I needed more then I got. Also living in this house was Miguel "Mike" Ibarra, the drummer for Los Yaki. We became very good friends, and he also helped out with whatever I needed. He and his brother Benny were 2 of the members of the rival band to the Dug Dug's. He was engaged to a wonderful Mexican girl who also took me and Jorgie under her wing. I thank them so much for all they did for me and my baby. They even paid for me to go to the hairdresser's and to buy some new clothes, because I was starting to show now and my clothes were getting tight around the middle.
Then one day, just like magic, I heard Jorge's voice downstairs and I knew he was home. My heart was in my throat. I was so excited, I ran down the stairs to greet him, and the smile fell right off his face when he saw what I had done to my hair. He immediately became very quiet and wouldn't talk to me. I felt so bad for disappointing him. I knew he didn't like me to have tinted hair, and I went against the traditional Mexican moral that in a relationship, the man is the boss, period.
He asked me where I got the money to do this, and when I told him it came from Mike Ibarra, he came unglued. My wonderful homecoming with Jorge turned into a jealous rage. Thank God Mike was there and came out of his room and intervened. They did some serious talking back and forth until Jorge calmed down.
He was sweet with little Jorgie, and truly acted like he missed him. He had brought some gifts for the boy and they played together the rest of the day, until it ws time to go to bed, That night I slept with Jorge, and many nights after that. I felt in my heart that the fame and fortune ws going to his head. I didn't yet realize he'd developed a severe drug problem. I only thought he was drinking. Our lives went on like this for awhile and then went back to being somewhat normal.
The return of the Dug Dug's was a victorious one. They had increased their popularity tenfold by traveling across the country and playing in Tijuana again. Armando had a lot of business savvy and always seemed to know exactly what the band needed. They did have a manager, but it seemed that Armando was taking on the role more and more every day. They were working very hard and tempers were short. They were making personal appearnces all over Mexico, and they never seemed to have any days off.
When I was really starting to show with my daughter, things took a turn for the worse in my relationship with Jorge. He was fooling around all over town and coming home later and later at night -- sometimes not at all. And when he was home, he was always in a foul mood. He no longer wanted to be with us, I could feel it. It was too much responsibilty for him, and he wanted to play the single, famous, sought-after rock star. I think he resented the fact that we were in his way.
One day Jorge came home and was in the foulest of moods. He would hardly speak to me, and went in to get ready to go back out again. I was so hurt that we meant so little to him. I begged him to stay home, but to no avail. I followed him down the stairs, crying and asking him what was wrong. I knew something had to be done about this relationship, but what I wanted and what he wanted were 2 different things.
As I caught up with Jorge, he turned around and looked at me with hate in his eyes -- and that's when I knew that it was all over between us.
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