Growing up
Azucena
One Thursday in February 1991, in the city of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, a baby girl was born. This was declared by the gynaecologist to the baby’s mother, who had a great desire to have her daughter, her first love, in her arms, whom she would protect with all her being against any adversity. At birth, the girl underwent routine paediatric exams to detect any possible problems that might develop throughout her life, in addition to receiving the corresponding vaccines. Days after the birth, both the baby and her mother were discharged from the hospital and travelled in a private car to their hometown, where the mother carried her beloved in her arms.
Everything seemed ‘normal’, and the girl’s mother mentioned that she never noticed anything unusual in her infant’s health. With the support of her father, the child’s grandfather named Emeterio, who initially belittled the child and even made discriminatory comments about her darker skin tone, alluding to the fact that the mother had lighter skin while the baby was brown-skinned. He also made derogatory comments about the father, which made the mother feel bad. At a time when she needed to feel the support of her family, she only received comments that made her sad.
The father never took responsibility for the expenses that come with having a child, so the responsibility fell on the girl’s mother, named Doris, who named her daughter Azucena. In her early years, the maternal grandfather covered the expenses, despite the discriminatory comments he constantly directed at Doris and Azucena. When Azucena was just 3 years old, Doris bravely decided to start working at a company that processed tomatoes into puree and canned them for sale; the company also canned chillies and other vegetables. When Doris decided to work at the company, she spoke to her father, Emeterio, because he was the only person who could help her with raising Azucena and take care of her while she worked. Doris’s mother had died when she was only 19 years old.
Over time, Emeterio began to feel love for his granddaughter Azucena, and he no longer cared about her skin colour or who her father was. Emeterio felt he had to protect his granddaughter and support his daughter Doris in whatever way he could. He even warned his other grandchildren that he would not tolerate them mistreating Azucena.
One day, when Azucena was 8 years old, she was in the bathroom. Her mother opened the door and noticed something unusual about her genitals. After consulting with her trusted brother, they decided to take Azucena to the doctor, and later, she was diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
During her childhood and adolescence, Azucena grew up feeling different from other girls. She often faced discrimination because of her appearance, her voice tone, and her behaviour.
However, today, Azucena is a person who has learned to face the complex situations she has encountered. When she hears negative comments about herself, she confronts them without fear. Once shy and fearful, she is now a brave person who does not lower her gaze and simply ignores the comments of people who try to make her feel bad. She knows they judge her without knowing her and that they are people who only judge based on appearances.
“Be happy because you only live once.”
This piece is a translation of the Spanish text – Crecer.