{"id":22773,"date":"2025-08-28T07:55:41","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T12:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dangermond.org\/?p=22773"},"modified":"2025-09-10T07:45:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T12:45:44","slug":"las-mujeres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dangermond.org\/?p=22773","title":{"rendered":"Las Mujeres"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is a song Linda Ronstadt sings, from her Mexican heritage, about women<\/strong><\/em>, the lyrics are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oh the women ‘cross the river carry water from the well at break of day 
And they talk to one another; God only knows what they might say 
You might get an education after years of dedication
You might finally get a glimpse of what is right and what is wrong 
But the women ‘cross the river; well they knew that all along
Oh the women ‘cross the river work with tools that are ancient and hand-made 
And they plow their fields in perfect rows and then they rest beneath the shade 
Now we have learned to build, out of concrete, out of steel
And our buildings stand a thousand years but then even they are bound to fall 
But the women ‘cross the river never learned to build a wall
Oh the women ‘cross the river are as gentle as the dew upon the ground 
How I love to hear them laughing in the rain when it makes that perfect sound 
Now a soldier with a gun and a battle to be won
Might kill you with a bullet and you never even know the reason why 
But the women ‘cross the river; they can kill you with their eyes 
Oh the women ‘cross the river; they can kill you with their eyes<\/mark><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I thought about these types of women while in Mexico. The United States has been unable to elect or even fathom a woman for president, and the current president of Mexico is Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, a Mexican Jewish climate specialist. She is considered the 4th most powerful woman in the world! She is also both Sephardic and Ashkenazic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of strong women, spending time again at Frida Kahlo’s house in Coyoac\u00e1n, any idea of Frida as an invalid, as a cuckquean by Diego, vanishes in the power of the woman’s artistry, both in her life and in her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But nothing compares to my favorite virgin – la Virgen de Guadalupe – who appears to a peasant, Juan Diego in 1531, and in the first image transfer we know of, becomes part of Juan’s sarape. We went to the Basilica – not one but five churches with a sprawling plaza built to honor her. There in the church resides the fabric from Juan Diego. Well it is suspected this was a ploy by the Catholic Church to get the indigenous folks on board with catholicism but I love her story. I watched ancient women get on their knees and walk across the plaza to the Basilica – the modern one, designed by Pedro Ram\u00edrez V\u00e1zquez – which holds 8,000 people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n