I met Deysi in September. I was on route for a commission and had to portray 50 women from indigenous origins in just over a month. This search excited me, perhaps because most of the time I feel like I'm looking for something and I don't know what it is. This project was going to be a break from myself.
That day I drove in my small rental car for hours lost in the highlands. I felt deep happiness, then anxiety, fear, optimism and resignation. I went through all the mental states until it began to get dark and I was overcome with terror: I had been lost for so long in a maze of paths that it was impossible to even think of going back. Finding Deysi became my only option. Tired and trying not to despair, I retraced my steps once more, towards the last detour I had taken. In the distance, almost imperceptible on a hill, I saw a white dot that seemed to me to be a jeep. The white dot was getting closer as I got closer to it. We found ourselves in a dry riverbed. "Deysi!" We hugged each other for long minutes, on the verge of tears, and I told her "I'm Fernanda, I've been looking for you for a long time."
//
Las cumbias que escuchamos allá arriba
A Deysi la conocí en septiembre. Estaba en ruta por un encargo y debía retratar a 50 mujeres de pueblos originarios en poco más de un mes. Me emocionaba esa búsqueda, tal vez porque la mayor parte del tiempo siento que busco algo y no sé que es. Este proyecto iba a ser un descanso de mi misma.
Ese día anduve en mi pequeño auto de arriendo durante horas perdida en el altiplano. Sentía una felicidad profunda, luego ansiedad, miedo, optimismo y resignación. Pasé por todos los estados mentales hasta que comenzó a oscurecer y me invadió el terror: llevaba tanto rato perdida en un laberinto de caminos que era imposible pensar en volver. Encontrar a Deysi se transformó en mi única opción. Cansada e intentando no desesperar, volví una vez más sobre mis pasos, hacia el último desvío que había tomado. A lo lejos, casi imperceptible sobre una loma, vi un punto blanco que me pareció un jeep. El punto blanco se acercaba mientras yo me dirigía a él. Nos encontramos en el lecho seco de un río. "¡Deysi!". Nos abrazamos por largos minutos, al borde de las lágrimas, y le dije "Soy Fernanda, llevo mucho rato buscándote”.
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