Las Amazonas are low-income women, most of them carve wood, make masks, bracelets, necklaces, embroidery, and make other arts and crafts, they and their families subsist on sales.
They are strong, they are warriors, they live in the Yucatecan jungle, they are the Amazons of Yaxunah !, 16 women who make up a softball team and have set an example of an improvement in their lives.
It all started, three years ago, when this group of women entered a federal social program, but they had to carry out some cultural or sports activity to access resources for the benefit of their community located about 30 kilometers from the pre-Hispanic city of Chichén Itzá.
The team is made up of Mayan women whose second language is Spanish as they prefer to communicate in their native language; there are girls from the age of 14, to Dominga Mex Chan, 63, “La Abuela”, she does not speak Spanish, but participates in the game of “hot ball”.
This team does not have a uniform. (Alejandro Ruvalcaba)
For adult women, their day begins at five in the morning, they go out to cut firewood, return to do housework, then prepare food and in the afternoon, they go to a field to do practices between laughter and some bring their children. While others attend middle or high school.
The Yaxunah community has its own archaeological zone, somewhat abandoned and has a population of approximately 700 people. “In the morning we are there in the park, doing the house, and in the afternoons we come here, although there is rain, we cut the woods, we go to the mountains,” said Fermina Antonia Dzib Dzul, who is the team’s receiver and leader of the team.
Dzib Dzul explained that initially when he formed the team with his acquaintances, he did not know how to play or the rules, so they began to practice in the local park with children. Dominga Mex Chan, 63, “La Abuela”. (Alejandro Ruvalcaba) “We remove the fear that we have, although there are blows, they bruise us, but we like it, we have fun here, like this, we start practicing there in the park, there in the center, we will come here later, here because there is no right-hander You fall, you don’t scratch much, ”said the Mayan woman.
After moving to another field, on the outskirts of Yaxunah , to practice and play with each other, they explained that they began to have a coordination and went out to play in other municipalities. However, given this, they do not have uniforms, special shoes, gloves, protectors, or a receiver’s helmet, but it was not an obstacle, that’s how they left.
Some team members taking a break. (Alejandro Ruvalcaba)
That is, with some bats, handcuffs and a bib, her outfit: her hipil, a traditional dress that Mayan women wear every day; they play barefoot.
“And the shoes and we began to say, if we have the hipiles so that we are going to invest in another (uniform), yes, we go, each one of us does not have (…) it is like Mrs. Doña Nace, she has two daughters where does she go? to look for 1,600 so that she can buy two suits for her daughters, and I and my daughter are also an expense ”, said Dzul Dzib .
They all play barefoot. (Alejandro Ruvalcaba) The Amazons are women of low economic resources, most of them are dedicated to carving wood, they make: masks, deer, bracelets, necklaces, embroidery and they and their families subsist from sales; some work in a local, selling food, but their income is very limited.
“Before coming here to the field I train at home, because I mostly carve wood, make wooden figurines, which are little turtles, guayaberitos, armadillos, everything like that, if I can’t come I train at home, as I was drawing right now and came to the field, ”said Adela Pereza, who is the mother of two minors, Alex and Saúl.
The Amazonas are women of low economic resources. (Alejandro Ruvalcaba)
Before their first official games, they decided to call themselves “The Amazonas” as a team, although they are currently known in the state for being wars and playing with their hipiles and barefoot. “And then we thought of a good name, we decided to name the team Las Amazonas, because we are warrior women, and we are quickly identified by the archaeological zone, Yaxunah, and then we decided to use the hipil as uniform,” she said.
Dzul Dzib They have become famous, at the end of their matches, rivals, neighbors, curious people want to take a picture with them. They are admired and respected for their struggle to improve.
They have traveled to the four cardinal points of Yucatán, El Cuyo, Dzununcán, Tizimín, Mérida, San Crisanto. Members of the Amazons during a game. (Alejandro Ruvalcaba) But these trips are paid by them, which represents a real effort because every time they go must invest in transport 280 pesos, about that money and sometimes do not, or if they do, they prefer to keep it to buy food.
In their last game, they traveled about 170 kilometers from Yaxunah to the coastal town of San Crisanto, where under 40 degrees of temperature and seven innings, the game was exciting, between screams, errors, vibrant plays, support and encouragement. 25 runs were marked between both teams. That, his passion.
Source: milenio.com
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1 comment
A lovely article on women’s baseball. Thank-you.
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