Photo Contest - Fall 2006

Second Prize

"Another Kind of Progress: A Farmer Returns to His Roots"
Anna Vaverko
Morelos, Mexico

Essay:

Juan Rosas is a farmer in the state of Morelos, Mexico. He grows several crops, but the most important crop for him, as well as for all Mexicans, is corn. Corn is utterly sacred to the ancient and modern culture of Mexico, which is its birthplace. It is said that corn is their mother who nourishes them, it is their father who takes care of them, and it is their child who needs their help to grow.

Rosas is the president of a local farmers' group called Ejidos Unidos. As traditional farmers in a country that has embraced neoliberalism and entered the competitive global economy, they are fighting to keep their way of life.

Rosas possesses a confident and rebellious spirit. He is rejecting the use of chemicals and genetically modified crops by slowly going back to the old ways of the Aztecs, who originally inhabited the area. Rosas said he is sick of relying on companies taking advantage of him and no longer wants to be dependent on them.

Another battle Ejidos Unidos faces is governmental pressure to sell their land. The government has a big economic interest in building a superhighway called the 21st Century Highway through their lands to connect both coasts of the country to enhance trade. Many have already sold their land under pressure.

When a family loses its land and livelihood, it migrates. The deflated payment they receive dissipates quickly and proud workers of the earth become downtrodden workers in factories or in the United States.

Juan Rosas is a very proud man who takes great pride in who he is: a farmer and a Mexican. It is people like him who are both preserving tradition and advancing local economy as an alternative to migration.

I had the honor to meet Rosas last spring while on a University of Minnesota Spanish Language semester program in Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos. In addition to the language course, I wrote about the effects of NAFTA on Mexico for a Feature Writing course that I arranged through the SCSU Mass Communications Department. Rosas kindly invited me, as well as several fellow journalists, into his home and his fields to share his story with us. He gave me a deep understanding of the pressures that lead to migration and the strength it takes to preserve one's roots in a rapidly changing world.

Return to the Fall 2006 Study Abroad Photo Contest