Letter from Estela

Dear Friends,

Our children in Angangueo and in nearby surrounding areas, together with me, are anxiously wandering around searching for the first Monarchs to be seen in town!

Gema and Bryan Martínez Guzmán, 8 and 13 years old, living by El Rosario Sanctuary, walked around looking for the first signs of Monarchs arriving. They helped me fill in the monitoring map with Zero registration, telling me:

“Oh, no, Estela, not one Monarch to be seen yet. However, it is just the time for them to pop up — any time, anywhere, any day now. Our parents are preparing themselves. We all know that the season is here!”

I talked with Martín and Gerardo, both 16 year olds in high school who also live by El Rosario Sanctuary. They told me:

“Mmm, you are just right with the registration on the monitoring map, Estela — no Monarchs seen yet. They should be here any moment, from now to the end of next week at the latest. Our parents and grandparents of the different communities guarding Sanctuary Sierra Chincua and Sanctuary El Rosario who work at the sanctuaries as guides, guards or sellers are now attending committee meetings getting ready to be assigned their positions during the season.“

With the raining season over, we are now having intense sun during the day with mostly very blue sky, but — as is typical for these days previous to the arrival of Monarchs — very intense and cold winds blowing, especially through the canyon where Angangueo town is situated. These winds are blowing steadily — North-South and West-East.

Along the way I also looked to see how many flowers were blossoming and ready to provide nectar for Monarchs starving upon their arrival. Many flowers are blossoming and many more should come within days. We can be sure Monarchs shall have plenty of nectar and water in ponds and streams to nourish and drink while overwintering with us.

I talked with Lupita and Jenny, 12 and 9 year old middle school and elementary school students respectively, who live by El Cerrito — an obliged and important halting or passing-by point for Monarchs before reaching their overwintering sites in the nearby, east surroundings of Angangueo. They told me:

“Oh, Estela, as soon as the Day of the Dead is here, Monarchs will just come out as if from nowhere, you will see!”

I also talked with Ariana 10, Gaby 8, and Manuel 6, elementary students from Angangueo:

“We are excited about the Monarchs’ arrival, as well as about our Day of the Dead festivities. It just smells like the time is here! We love it, since all is joy and excitement at our homes. Our moms and dads and grandpas are all getting ready for preparing delicious typical varied dishes and drinks our dead relatives used to love. These will be placed at our kitchens as part of the ofrendas on the night of November 1st. We children do participate, collecting and dusting the photos and  any other personal belongings of theirs to be placed by the ofrenda. Every object is a main part of the ofrenda, having a special meaning for the family. The moment the first Monarchs appear will mean that the souls of our dead ones will be arriving to be with us.”

This is the contagious cheerfulness with which we are restlessly waiting for Monarchs  — and the souls of our Dead Ones according to our ancestral legends — to arrive.

Estela Romero

Journey North Reporter

Angangueo, Michoacán, México