From Navia To Ajijic

From Navia To Ajijic

By Sra. Luján Martínez Suárez

 

In memory of my mother, who “sleeps” far from her beautiful and beloved Mexico.

No one is disputing that we live in the era of information and technological innovation, but I never would have guessed that, thanks to them, my life was going to do a change of 180 degrees.

My personal circumstances led me to want a change in my life. That is how, a year ago, I received my first email from Ajijic. The Octavio Paz International Institute, through its then Principal, Don Jose Luis de la Ossa, invited me to collaborate with them in their educational project. The challenge was great.

Mexico always awoke in me a mysterious and deep attraction: It’s no coincidence my mother was Mexican. After a few moments of doubt, my decision was taken: My future was in Ajijic. My first step was to put forth the paperwork in order to obtain my Mexican nationality. Now, more than ever, my heart is divided between my beloved Spain and my beautiful Mexico.

I arrived on a 28^th of July, from Navia, with a suitcase full of fears and hopes: the former were unfounded; the latter, plentiful to the brim.

A town that is quaint and with a family atmosphere greeted me and took me in. Something that pleasantly surprised me was that, on my first morning out, people looked at me with a smile and said: “Good morning, have a nice day”. In a world dominated by the need to be somewhere and lack of communication, this was very gratifying and diminished my feelings of loneliness and distance from home.

The charm of the town, with its colors, its plaza, its tianguis, also contributed to facilitate my adaptation period. And why not its lake! Your view gets lost in the horizon, and for me, personally (ignoring the distances), it reminds me of my beloved Cantabrico.

They say that the Goddess Machis, since always, was in charge of protecting the people of this community. I hope that, now that I am a part of it, she keeps on doing so.

(Ed. Note: Luján Martínez Suárez has a B.A. Hispanic Philology and is a Spanish Professor at the Instituto Internacional in Ajijic.)