Breathe
By Frida Mendoza
"When I am in another Mexican city, people always have something to say about Yucatán. If they are friendly they will talk about how delicious the lime soup is and the beauty of its small streets. If they are looking for a refuge they will ask if it is still the safest city in the country, they will even say that I am lucky to live in such a quiet place. If they are cynical, they will say that they would like to come here to lock themselves in a hotel and visit the beaches and cenotes. Most likely, to all the comments, I will smile as I look sideways and think that it is a fantasy with too much publicity. I will respond, perhaps, that they are talking about Mérida, that Yucatán is something else".
This fragment is the opening part of "Hay cosas que nadie te puede quitar", one of the chronicles that inhabit the powerful, potent and necessary to read "Tierra de fuego" by Katia Rejón.
Katia is a very dear friend, one of those you meet while doing journalism, sharing on social networks, perhaps agreeing on some ideas and later gossiping at events. Katia is, without a doubt, one of the best journalists, chroniclers and writers of my generation and for those who know her -and very soon also for those who don't- it is no surprise that her book is taking off so well.
Like the dilemma of the chicken and the egg, I could assure from my perspective that there is no Yucatan without Katia Rejon and there cannot be Katia Rejon without Yucatan, so this book and the love letter she writes to her state is a necessary tool in such hard times to understand why the defense of the territory and the climate emergency are so interpellated.
Throughout its pages I was able to get to know municipalities and sites that I was completely unaware of, because yes, beyond Merida, there are others such as Dzilam de Bravo, Chicxulub, Sotuta, Oxkutzcab or Tecoh, where the politics of nature are reaffirmed.
To get to know Yucatan through the pages of "Tierra de sol" is to immerse oneself in the curves beneath the earth, to observe with another perspective the orchards full of sunflowers, amphibious vegetation and ports without sand because of the concrete constructions.
It is also with Tarzan, the fishermen, the pirates, Darwin Sosa, the political occurrences that leave serious consequences over the years, the resistance of Gladys Uc speaking Mayan, the network in Sotuta and so many endearing characters whose anecdotes, feelings and experiences, along with those of the author, give life to the book and to Yucatan.
In one of the reviews of the book published in La DesveladaNikthya N. González says that all the information that is handled - because yes, among the stories and anecdotes we discover the result of misapplied bans, the wear and tear that every monoculture leaves on the land, the greed for territories and displacement - reading this book is like listening to your friend talk about the place where she was born and what happens there, and I totally agree.
We have heard about Yucatán and its cenotes, about the Tren Maya -from those who celebrate the project as well as from those who denounce it- from partisan and even paternalistic perspectives, taking away agency from those we should be listening to, but really listening to, actively: its inhabitants, those who take care of the land and abandon any political party color to speak from a political nature. Because, as it is well mentioned in the book -and I love to believe in it-: to defend the territory is also to defend the memory.
Something I really like about Katia's work is that it conflicts me, challenges me, motivates me to write and above all makes me imagine that there are different places.
"Tierra de sol" was published, virtually, on February 29th of this year 2024 and shortly before seven months of its virtual life it came out of the printing press reedited. As I write these words, Katia is in Mexico City appearing in different bookstores, this Friday 18th she will be signing copies at the International Book Fair in the Zócalo and I can say that I will have the honor of being with her this Saturday 19th at U-Tópicas, in Coyoacán.
Come, come, come, buy, buy. And above all, let's hear an urgently needed perspective on Yucatán.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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