Proud to be Mexicana
Indigenous Women from Mexico Compete in a 340-mile Race,
And We Can Watch It on our Phones!
Lorenza Cruz
BEFORE YOU READ:
1. Relay is a verb that means to share or to pass on. What is a relay race?
2. The Rarámuri (also known as the Tarahumara) are indigenous people living in Chihuaha, Mexico. Look them up online to learn more about them.
There is a very long running race. It goes from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It is a 340-mile relay race. It takes more than two days. I was interested in this race because there were six Rarámuri
participants, all women. They each ran about 50 miles.
They dressed in their traditional Rarámuri clothes. They wore dresses and huaraches (traditional sandals).
The team won third place!
The reason these women are successful is because they are
in excellent physical condition. They live in the mountains of Chihuahua, and they do a lot of running and walking on steep trails. As runners, they are low- tech. They use their strong bodies, their regular clothes, and their simple sandals.
But they needed some high-tech tools to compete in the race. For example, they had to raise money to be able to compete in the race. They used an online tool called Donadora.
Also thanks to advancement of technology, we can see these kinds of events at the moment they are happening. We can see it on the screen of our own cell phones. Wow! Without a doubt, it is one of the good things we have access to at this time.
I would love to congratulate Angela, Argelia, Isadora, Lucy, Vero, and Yulisa, and thank them for representing Mexico. I feel so proud to be “Mexicana.”
Sources: https://noro.mx/en/raramuri-runners-take-the-podium- at-the-las-vegas-marathon/; map: https://www.everand.com/ article/485002021/The-Speed-Project-Le-Prix-De-La-Liberte; other images: https://www.instagram.com/ra_ra_raaaaaa/.
AFTER YOU READ:
1. What does the author appreciate about the Rarámuri runners? Be specific.
2. How did the Rarámuri runners use technology?
Lorenza Cruz is from Ciudad Juarez in Chihuahua. She loves her family and her life and staying home and spending time with her children. She is a student at the Ysleta Community Learning Center in El Paso, Texas, and she says, “This is one of the better decisions I have made.”