My ama used to tell me stories.
Some were of her, some of my father uncles tias the pueblo, but usually they were of my apa, and occasionally, some were of me.
My favorite was the one she would tell with a smile on her face of how I would disappear and everyone would have to search the house and street for me. My apa always knew where to find me, she would say. Siempre te encontrábamos en el tapanco y decías, “estoy desgranando el maíz!” She would chuckle the most tender chuckle every time she would tell that part of the story and her face would sing as if her soul was soaring.
It’s in part because of her that I love stories…to read them, hear them (though no one can tell stories quite like her), and to write them, tell them… Fiction and Non-fiction. Except, I am skeptical about labeling anything Non-fiction as our stories tend to give our interpretation of the truth always colored by our experience…
These have only kernels of truth ensconced in storytelling… solo unos granitos de verdad entreverados en cuentos de la imaginación... I hope someone finds joy from the stories herein… The same joy my ama found in telling stories and I in hearing her tell them.
Desgranar: separar los granos del maíz, de la mazorca… decir varias cosas una después de de otra.
Ama, estoy desgranando…
Read about my medicina here: medicina and my stories here: words of the soul and here words of the mind
About the Author: Yesenia Fernandez, is a Chicana- Mexicana first generation college student, first generation faculty, who earned a Ph.D. in Education at Claremont Graduate University. Her ancestors are from Purepecha lands and Tenochtitlan and she is from Santa Ines Michoacan, Mexico and grew up there with her father’s family, in Rosemead, CA with her single-parent mother, East Los Angeles and City of Commerce/ Bell Gardens. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School Leadership Program at Cal State Dominguez Hills. She studies how systemic racism in K-16 perpetuates inequities that preclude minoritized students from persisting in higher education particularly English Learners/ Emergent Bilingual Students as well as the experiences of First Generation College Students. She most recently served as K-12 district leader where she led several departments including assessment & accountability and secondary education. She developed systems to improve equity and access to higher education for English Learners and first generation college students. She is also a member and board president of the East Yard Community for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) Board of Directors and is involved with other grassroots organizations focused on protecting and healing our communities. She is a daughter, a sister, a tia madrina, a friend, and constantly learning from everyone else’s light and reclaiming her ancestral connection to plant medicine. We are all related. Email: yfernandez@csudh.edu
estoy desgranando 