In 1857 a group of woman who worked in a textile factory decided to ask for better working conditions and better wages. They refused to leave the factory without an answer. Disgustingly, the answer from their boss was to burn the factory down, with all 129 woman and their children inside. The fabric they were working with was the color lavender; this color now represents International Woman’s Day (March 8th), which was declared an official holiday in 1910 in honor of the working woman.
Here in Chiche, a world away from New York City, and almost a century later, the day was spent honoring all of the women of the world and all of the women of Guatemala.
All of the women who walked for two hours from the aldeas with their children on their backs, all of women who harvest the crops that feed me and the rest of the country daily, all of the women who sacrifice, struggle and strive simultaneously. The mother, the wife, the student, the professional, the woman who follows her ancestors ways and the woman who never learned about those ways and follows a new way of life; all united, as one, representing themselves, representing each other.
Here in Chiche, a world away from New York City, and almost a century later, the day was spent honoring all of the women of the world and all of the women of Guatemala.
All of the women who walked for two hours from the aldeas with their children on their backs, all of women who harvest the crops that feed me and the rest of the country daily, all of the women who sacrifice, struggle and strive simultaneously. The mother, the wife, the student, the professional, the woman who follows her ancestors ways and the woman who never learned about those ways and follows a new way of life; all united, as one, representing themselves, representing each other.
The library team, three women, united with Oficinas Municipales De La Mujer to celebrate the day. We worked on banners and signage for a march throughout the community. I painted a banner with two very different Guatemalan women holding hands; a strong message throughout the day. Various chants were sung, powerful words shared, and the strong presence of hundreds of women united filled the streets of Chiche as the community looked out their windows, stepped outside their homes and stood by us with smiles and applause, with love and support. Even my 6th grade English class from La Escuela Urbana came out to support!
As a symbol of respect for the culture, and of admiration for the powerful indigenous presence here in Chiche, I decided to dress in mash (the traditional maya dress) I struggled with the idea for a while,it was suggested to me by various women in the community although I always admired the tradition of the clothing since my arrival. I spoke to indigenous woman who live in the urban area of Chiche that I have come to know; I asked them if they would find it disrespectful if I wore their dress. Zoila, a stationary store owner, responded by asking if I would be offended if she wore pants! They all seemed to agree that it was a nice way for me to show my respect towards them. 
So here I am all Maya’d out. Looking like a giant next to Myra (here in Guatemala I’m tall!) but blending right with the woman we all represented that day. I felt honored when women asked me what part of Guatemala I was from and complemented how nice my corte (skirt) looked. Even if it was just for one day, today I wasn’t the gringa morena.
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