Photo of Dr Fan and Magda at a funeral Around them are their sons and...READ ON
Photo of Dr Fan and Magda at a funeral Around them are their sons and daughters milk teeth I found inside a porcelian box. My grandmother told me she kept them to remember how much they have grown. Some months after this photograph was taken, someone broke into solitary house and stole the porcelain box with the milk teeth inside.
Magda reads a prayer. When she comes back to her home in Juchitan, she lights...READ ON
Magda reads a prayer. When she comes back to her home in Juchitan, she lights a candle for Dr. Fan and those close to her who have passed away.
The house is mostly empty. I find portraits in the objects and light that...READ ON
The house is mostly empty. I find portraits in the objects and light that comes through the windows.
Dr. Fan (crentre) Magda (centre) and four of their eleven children at their...READ ON
Dr. Fan (crentre) Magda (centre) and four of their eleven children at their back Felipa, Piedad, Elisa and my father Andres. Family portrait at their home in Juchitan, Oaxaca.
Magda resting beneath the shadow of the mango tree
Dr. Juan Martinez Lopez (Dr. Fan) agenda from 1977. Dr Fan was a doctor and...READ ON
Dr. Juan Martinez Lopez (Dr. Fan) agenda from 1977. Dr Fan was a doctor and writer from Juchitan de Zaragoza, Oaxaca. As my grandmother Magda recalls, "Juan always took care of patients at their home, and I would deliver the babies of women in the rooms upstairs"
Dr Fan´s badge as a member and founder of the National Union of Members...READ ON
Dr Fan´s badge as a member and founder of the National Union of Members of the Press, Salina Cruz Delegation (1967)
An orange tree that had to be cut to put up a fence on the front porch of the...READ ON
An orange tree that had to be cut to put up a fence on the front porch of the house to prevent burglars from breaking in again.
The last orange from the orange tree
A fish carcass, Dr. Fan found by the sea. Magda dried up and preserved in her collection
My grandmother Magda collected many object along her life. Among them are...READ ON
My grandmother Magda collected many object along her life. Among them are perfectly round rocks that Dr. Fan and her found along a river
Photo of Magda with the mango tree Magda planted this mango tree over 30...READ ON
Photo of Magda with the mango tree Magda planted this mango tree over 30 years ago before moving away from Juchitan. Today, the mango tree shades the whole backyard. Every year, the mango season brings many fruits into her backyard. Magda tries to make the 14-hour journey from Mexico City before the mangoes mature and go to waste.
Magdas reflection and mango leaves
Dry mango leaves the wind piled in the backyard. Mango stains in the ground...READ ON
Dry mango leaves the wind piled in the backyard. Mango stains in the ground from all the fruits that fell and weren´t eaten over the years.
A dried mango seed found in the backyard
Mangos from the mango tree my grandmother planted 30 years ago at her home in juchitan.
Portrait of my grandmother Magdalena Diaz at her home in Juchitan de Zaragoza, Oaxaca.
En 1987 mi abuelo, Juan Martínez López (Dr. Fan, como él se hace llamar), y su familia emigraron a la Ciudad de México, dejando atrás su vida en Juchitán, Oaxaca. A pesar de su migración a la ciudad de México, mi familia conserva sus raíces y tradiciones en su comunidad y la casa que algún día vivieron. Mi abuela regresa a Juchitán cada que puede para cuidar de su casa y su árbol de mango que ella plantó hace años. Mi abuelo falleció cuando yo tenía 12 años, era médico y escritor y nunca dejó de escribir sobre su hogar en la región de Tehuantepec. Conocí a mi abuelo por medio de sus poemas y cuentos, muchos de ellos en zapoteco con traducciones al español.
Este ensayo sigue a mi abuela en su regreso a Juchitan despues de que ladrones entraran a robar las tuberias de cobre de la sisterna. El arbol de mango y el viento de Juchitan nos guian por los recuerdos de mi abuela mientras trato de imaginar un Juchitan cuando mis tios y tias eran un niñxs, cuando mi abuelo seguia vivo.
(Proyecto de largo aliento en proceso...)
In 1987 my grandfather, Juan Martínez López (Dr. Fan, as he calls himself), and his family immigrated to Mexico City, leaving behind their life in Juchitán, Oaxaca. Despite their migration to Mexico City, my family preserves its roots and traditions in the house they once lived in and their community. My grandmother returns to Juchitán whenever she can to take care of her house and her mango tree that she planted years ago. My grandfather passed away when I was 12 years old, he was a doctor and a writer and he never stopped writing about his home in the Tehuantepec region. I got to know my grandfather through his poems and stories, many of them in Zapotec with translations into Spanish.
This essay follows my grandmother as she returns to Juchitan after thieves break in to steal the copper pipes of the system. The mango tree and the Juchitan wind guide us through the memories of my grandmother as I try to imagine a Juchitan when my aunts and uncles were children, when my grandfather was still alive.