Today is a historic day in my country, we’re fed up with gender violence in Mexico. They’re killing us. Picture this, you can’t walk outside your own house because you fear the worst, you fear that your clothes are too revealing, you fear that you’re too alone, you fear that you’re walking the wrong streets. Day after day you wake up to the news of another feminicide. They’re killing us. You see it, you hear it, you fear it. What if I’m the next one? You’re always wondering. They’re killing us.
10 women are killed every day, only because they’re women. And it doesn’t matter where we are, what we’re wearing, who we are. It’s not our fault, because they keep killing us.
If we keep up at this rate? What’ll be of us?
Yesterday we marched.
(None of the pictures are mine)
“I march because I’m alive and I don’t know until when.”
“Today, all our voices aren’t together because, from death, one can’t scream.”
“We’re not hysteric, we’re historic.”
“Mom, if you don’t find me, look up for me in the stars.”
Yesterday we screamed. We flourished.
“Mom, don’t worry, today I’m not alone in the streets.”
Our monuments bled to represent us.
We screamed.
But not today, today march 9th 2020. We silenced ourselves.
Today, we disappeared. No social networks, not a single woman in the streets, not a single woman working, not a single woman studying, not a single woman at any store.
What would Mexico be without us? If you don’t want us in the streets, fine we’ll disappear.
Without us, you’ll collapse.
Mexico woke up with no women ticket-sellers in the subway stations, no women tellers at the bank.
No women’s column on the newspapers.
No women at their jobs.
No women at school.
No women on the streets.
Mexico woke up with no women.
We can’t accept what we can’t change, but we will change what we can’t accept.
We are angry, and we will rise. Because without us, you’re nothing.
amsterdam, the netherlands:vibrant buildings against blue skies, peaceful canal cruises, warm cups of caramel coffee, cycling alongside cobbled sidewalks, sun shining on white windowpanes, light through bright clouds
vienna, austria:vanilla extract, sunshine on carved rooftops, lively ballrooms, climbing worn steps, hot drinks on a cool day, exploring small art galleries, sepia videos from the past
copenhagen, denmark:carousels by the river, the glow of sunshine yellow buildings, stories told at dusk, lazy boat rides, water falling from a fountain, the crumble of flaky pastries, painted wooden horses
madrid, spain: stone arenas rising to meet the sky, the cheer of rallying crowds, dark red flower petals, gilded domes on historic buildings, sunlight on a busy street, the hiss of a pan over fire
prague, the czech republic: gears turning in an old clock, the arch of a stone bridge, candlelit dinners, the intricate details of a cathedral, rainfall on a the tents of a bustling market, mugs of mulled cider
athens, greece:empty museums, wreaths of wild flowers, paths through the woods, golden lighting on evergreen trees, chipped stone steps, sprawling hills, pools warmed by gentle sunlight
stockholm, sweden:waterside fairs, breathing in cold morning air, the smell of freshly baked bread in the morning, wooden picnic tables, warm winter days, sitting by a window in a cafe
marseille, france:warm pies, waves lapping against a dock, weathered limestone cliffs, watching a ship on the horizon, bright laughter, racing friends to a cafe, lounging on a warm patio
i am terrified that twenty years from now i will still look back and feel an ache when i remember the boy who broke my heart all those years ago. and i’ll somehow still miss you. but for you, i’ll probably be just one of the many girls you dated when you were young. you’ll look back and only remember a foggy memory of me; my face, a blurry vision in your mind.
You were never my first love, but you were my deepest love.
I will never forget what you told me. It was this year, January.
It was a cool night, we were on the phone.
I remember it word for word.
You said “I wish we could meet again and have a second chance to do everything differently”.
And that maybe “we could try again years later if we were both still single”..
We didn’t stay in contact much after that conversation.
But,
I wish I could have told you while you were still there to hear it that if there ever came a day where silence became louder than the words we use to exchange,
I would have wanted you to know that it was a humbling experience to have loved you.
& that I’m thankful that you were in my life at one point in time.
Even though the journey was short, your spot in my heart remains uncontested.
You will always be my rarest of finds.
- If you’re reading this today, please know that I miss you….a lot.. especially today.
