“I am proud to play basketball,” says Andrea García López, a 71-year-old Mixtec grandmother, who has broken age and gender stereotypes by stopping romanticizing that older women only dedicate themselves to raising grandchildren or raising children. prepare food from the Tejavana kitchen of an indigenous community.
Mrs. Andrea became viral through a video on TikTok where he shows his ability for basketball, a sport that he has practiced since he was 18 years old and that he shared with his six children during his upbringing from the courts of his native Atatlahuca, located in the Oaxacan Mixtec.
The video that has thousands of views and was shared by her grandson Juan Carlos Sandoval shows her dressed in a white blouse, skirt and shoes. dominating the ball professionally and accumulating points for his team.
Nostalgia invades her when she says that her parents did not give her a school because of her poverty, but with basketball she managed to overcome it.
At the age of 22, he emigrated to Mexico City, and it was in 2006 when he returned and finished primary and secondary school, but he never forgot his favorite sport.
Photo: Jesus Mendez
“I like to play basketball and be happy with my children, I am not a boring person, I enjoy it and I have taught many girls, that is how they grew up,” she says.
Dressed in her traditional attire and without understanding the sensation she has caused in the social networks her ability for basketball, Andrea emphasizes that she has fun practicing her favorite sport.
She is also an artisan and peasant teacher, she grows corn and beans for self-consumption.
Photo: Jesus Mendez
Mixtec women are “Pluriactive”
Mixtec women are characterized by being “pluriactive” acknowledges her grandson, Juan Carlos Sandoval, who was in charge of making his grandmother’s feat and basketball go viral.
“My grandmother loves basketball, she has taught us all, but she is also a master craftswoman important part of the community and also grows corn and beans, all for self-consumption,” he stressed.
Andrea’s eldest grandson who is 31 years old assures that everyone in his family is proud of his grandmother for being a hard-working woman who does not leave him, that is why she is an example of life and survival.
Grandmother and grandson, together.
“Life in the Mixtec it is adverse, but women and the population have known how to face poverty, based on their work and family organization”, she emphasizes.
Juan Carlos recognizes that Mixtec women are peasants and artisans, and his grandmother has another talent, she is basketball player.
“My grandmother is an example of work and together with my grandfather Tereso, both have taught us the value of life and not giving up, we admire her a lot, and even more so when she plays basketball, she is my idol.”
Photo: Jesus Mendez
Stop romanticizing older adulthood
Local authorities have also expressed their recognition and admiration for the grandmother after seeing her play and how it has gone viral on social networks.
During the Annual Mushroom Fair, accompanied by women over 65gave an exhibition match that they named “Las artesanas”
At first they were losing the game, however, Andrea managed to rebound by scoring and scoring the ball like the star of his team and Atatlahuca. The result was a tie.
The municipal trustee, Maribel Velasco García recognized that it is important to stop romanticizing older adults.
He said that there is no age to be active, and this is Andrea, who at 71 years old practices her favorite sport with rigor and style.
He acknowledged that it is not normal for indigenous women have spaces like hers, which has cost her to occupy her position as trustee, but there is inspiration and teaching like what Grandma Andrea is leaving and thus there is a generational change.
From her home, whose house is made of wood and a dirt floor, Grandma Andrea asked for help to treat her knee, which although it hurts a little and the treatment is expensive, she will continue practicing her favorite sport, basketball, as long as she lives.
