I wrote the names of the humble on the walls but I don’t remember them.
I only know that many died raising their arms to catch up with heaven, but they fell without name, and fell without legs, and fell without race or hope. (Freddy Gatton RC)
Cañada de Miguel. The woman frying pancakes with her best smile. As if the world around him showed him not his worst faults, but the desire to continue to sell his empanadas in the good spirit that characterizes the inhabitants of inner cities, in any country. The south is there and smiling.
The three ladies who are pounding peas from under the staircase of a house, and deathconsists moving people and property from place to place on poor roads, and children playing whatever. A sample life must produce for everyone in San Miguel, despite the dark clouds. Life waits for no one and the struggle is for the living. More than nothing, that simple.
Veteran photojournalist Carlos Mejia offered us a great opportunity to illustrate this collaboration for the digital newspaper Acento, without falling into pornographic misery or the usual clichés of pessimistic pathos.
The idea is to document life making its way without letting hope fade. Claws of the heart remove the weeds of forgetfulness and social injustice.
La Cañada de Miguel is a valley located in the municipality of Hondo Valley, in the border province of Elias Peña. It is located in the north between the hills of La Bestia and Fabrillé.
It is 1493 meters above sea level and temperatures range between twenty and ten degrees Celsius. So the heat, now in December, appears shyly around noon
Its economy depends on coffee, avocado, and food crops. We were able to verify that living with their Haitian neighbors appears harmonious at work and in everyday life. Necessity does not know colors.
We already know that the border with Haiti contains large porous areas. It is impossible for people to cross completely forbidden. In addition, our neighbor is the business partner par excellence. In good times, trade exceeds $1 billion. The number is minor but here we are not talking about numbers.
The truth of this dating is that Cañada de San Miguel needs everything and everyone in order to develop it.
The current government administration encourages raising the quality of life in high-risk areas such as Cañada de Miguel. May a breath of fresh fresh air come true, like the fresh breath that is inhaled in this intramontane community.
May of this year 2022, the smile of its people spread more before the announcement of the Annunciation. To have the same rights and opportunities as residents of other areas of the Dominican Republic.
