Estadistica

Other people's clarity

They wanted to leave the darkness of the muffler that covered their head behind and they preferred to look for the light in handkerchiefs of American origin; but the meaning of that light that point yearns extends beyond the mere change in its dress; he has to do with the search of what they consider a better life.

SAN BARTOLOMÉ QUIALANA, Tlacolula, Oax. - they Left the muffler and they opened the way to the " handkerchiefs " to cover their head of the sun. The American influence has been such that almost without to realize, the women of this earth were substituting part of its traditional dress. Of the darkness of the mufflers, they passed by the light of alive colors that in spite of their beauty, they represent an element unaware to their culture.

Since they begin to take their first steps, San Bartolomé Quialana's girls shine big handkerchiefs that cover their small heads. The colors green, rosy, yellow and blue dresses the streets of this town. It seemed that somebody caught all the flowers of the field it stops later to place them carefully on the cloth of the handkerchiefs and to add them golden threads that shine intensely with the sunbeams.

The blouses are also of attractive colors. There are them of two types: of cloths brillosas and a single color, or of opaque and replete cloths of flowers.

The skirt, on the other hand, is of a single type: cloths to squares in dark tones that cover their legs and they arrive almost to the ankles.

To arrive to the earth of these women is simple; coarse to take the federal highway 190 that it is located to the east of the capital oaxaqueña, to advance 32 kilometers until arriving to Tlacolula of Matamoros, to follow the deviation that takes to the south of this place and to travel seven more kilometers approximately.

What is not easy, is that they allow to be depicted; they find the coexistence with people unaware to its community not very pleasing because they think that they only want to take out profit of them, however, some accept to chat, maybe to relieve its hardships a little.

The departure comes closer
The encounter is casual; Isabel goes to a humble construction in the one that her and her four children wait the arrival of the boss of the family". Coarse to exchange some how many words so that without planning it, arise the topic of the migration.

Isabel lowers the main street of her town carefully, you takes to her smaller son tied to her body with the black muffler that before covered her long hair. Of a time it stops here, these pieces are already used only to maintain the children together to the body of their mothers, while they load their bag or baskets with the hands.

Isabel is a relatively young woman, she won't have more than 35 years and she already has the responsibility of taking care of four children smaller than nine years. Their husband left to the United States, for what she has to look for the way to provide them of foods.

Although the man sends money for the four children, anything can fill the hole of his absence.

The children don't still understand why their father is so far; they only know that every fifteen days their mother returns to the house with the money that he sends them. That day, their face shines different to the other ones, because he doesn't have to become distressed to get the food. What they don't perceive, is that at the same time there is a certain accent of sadness when she thinks of all that will have had to pass their husband to send him that money.

The daily battle
The necessity here, the same as in a large part of the territory oaxaqueño, it is very big because the work in the field hardly leaves for means to eat. Who have family in the United States they are the only ones that live a little better; but those that not, they have to sow corn, bean or chickpea and to work from sunrise to sunset to get that the earth responds to its necessities.

With the product of their crops, San Bartolomé Quialana's women leave to the market of Tlacolula of Matamoros with the hope to sell enough to complete the feeding of the family that as a rule decreases to beans and nopals accompanied by tortilla.

The women of Quialana have had to devise a variety of stews with these same elements, so that their children and husbands continue consuming them.

Only during the parties or on Sundays are given the luxury of eating meat, sometimes chicken, other times head meat or of pig, but in general the consumption of these foods is scarce.

Before entering to the primary school, most of the girls of this community enter to the kitchen with their moms to begin to toss memela with their mom, that is to say, to model the mass and to make the first tortillas that will accompany their food.

While they are small and they need to be with their parents, San Bartolomé Quialana's women help in the works of the home, but once they grow, the history is different.

To this population people arrive with the purpose of inviting the girls leave to work to Mexico City; they offer them a good salary and a place to sleep. Some have left this way that they make their life there with the step of the time and they lose contact with their family.

Others make the decision of leaving farther, of crossing the frontier that will take them to meet with their siblings, husbands or parents that were already able to step the floor of the United States.

This Saturday it leaves a truck it stops there, Isabel counts, but she stays here, beside her children.