When a Woman Rises

Two Zapatista women, bound by cultural expectations, struggle to express the truth of their lives in the highlands of Chiapas.

Magdalena summons the soul of her friend, Lucia, who migrated north to find work and disappeared. She tells daughter Veronica how they yearned to be teachers. How poverty and gender roles stole away their dreams. Yet, each woman remained true to herself, Lucia as a Zapatista leader and curandera; Magdalena as a weaver and community organizer. But poverty is cruel.

Christine Eber lived for a year with a family in San Pedro Chenalhó in 1987, doing fieldwork for her PhD in Anthropology. She shared daily life with women and their families, witnessing the difficulties they faced. It changed her life. Now, as a respected anthropologist, she continues to work with the Indigenous women of Chiapas, visiting communities on a regular basis and supporting the woman-organized weaving collectives. Her most recent book is The Journey of a Tzotzil-Maya Woman: Pass Well Over the Earth, which she co-authored with Antonia. She lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico, with her husband, Mike, and dog Sami.