![]() ![]() As a result, the glaciers began to melt and now, they’re almost extinct in the Ayacucho region. These recurring events are called “El Niño.” Since the 70's, El Niño has become more intense and frequent, because of climate change. Every few years, the waters on the Pacific Ocean heat up, the temperatures rise, and they bring about long droughts. Martina: But something was impacting the water supply in Marcela's community. Y, al igual que las personas, el agua va a donde hay cariño. Aunque sea solo una gota, el agua debe recibir todo nuestro respeto y cariño. Cuando aprendí eso, entendí que hay que ser amable con ella. Y, para los Quechuas, el agua es una persona que tiene su propia cultura y forma de ser. Marcela: Nuestros padres y abuelos nos enseñaron a ser amables con las personas y la naturaleza. They think about it as showing the water their affection, their cariño. Her community thinks of water as a living being that needs to be nurtured and protected. In Marcela’s culture, water sources are sacred. Martina: Marcela and her family are part of the Quechua indigenous people, native to the mountains of the Andes mountain range. ![]() Marcela: La caminata era dura, ¡pero muy linda! Mamá y papá nos contaban muchas historias interesantes sobre las montañas y las estrellas, comenzamos a conocer nuestra cultura Quechua. Every morning at 2 am the sky was still full of stars…but Marcela knew it was time to leave for school or they wouldn’t make it on time. In order to attend high school, her parents walked her every week to a neighboring town about five hours away…it was a long hike, or caminata. Martina: Marcela’s town was so small that there were no secondary schools. ¡Cuando yo era niña, había mucha agua! Los nevados eran nuestra reserva y eran esenciales para nosotros. Y cuando la nieve se derretía, nosotros la recogíamos en los humedales. Marcela: Los picos nevados de la montaña acumulaban mucha agua. The snow would melt, or se derretía, and the water accumulated in wetlands, or humedales, near the town. But during the dry season, Marcela’s family got most of their water from the glaciers in the mountains. Martina: During the rainy season, the rivers ran full in the Ayacucho region. Mi familia vive de la agricultura, tenemos cultivos de papa, maíz y animales domésticos. Además de mis padres, llamados Modesto e Hilaria, somos once hermanos. Marcela: Tuve la suerte de tener una familia muy grande. They lived at the very top of the Andes, the largest mountain range in the continent. Her parents were farmers, like most people who lived there. Martina: Marcela grew up in the 1960s in a small indigenous community located in Ayacucho. If you miss something, you can always skip back and listen again. The storyteller will be using intermediate Spanish and I’ll be chiming in for context in English. This season we’re bringing you the stories of true climate heroes… Everyday people in the Spanish speaking world, who bring their communities together to take on climate change. Martina: Welcome, les damos la bienvenida to a special season of the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. ![]() Ahora todos saben que las lagunas son importantes para recuperar el agua en nuestra comunidad, pero no siempre ha sido así. Marcela: Los pájaros vuelan sobre la laguna, ¡es un espectáculo hermoso! En las aguas también hay peces. It’s part of a network of reservoirs, or reservas, that work as massive water storage for a community of more than 200,000 people. In front of her was a lagoon built using ancient indigenous methods. Martina: As they reached the mountaintop, Marcela marveled at the clear water. Sin ellas, no tendríamos agua para beber, ni para nuestros cultivos y animales. Por esta razón, las lagunas de lluvia artificiales son esenciales para nuestra comunidad, la región y el país. Pero hace veinticinco años, los nevados empezaron a secarse como consecuencia de las altas temperaturas causadas por el cambio climático. Es decir, las partes más altas de las montañas donde está la nieve. Marcela: Nuestras fuentes naturales de agua siempre fueron los nevados. And so, the lagoons had become very precious. Because of climate change and urban development, Marcela's community had lost its main source, or fuente, of water. There she would perform an indigenous ceremony to honor the water. Martina: Marcela was headed to a sacred man-made lagoon. Este es un lugar especial para mí y para toda la comunidad. En nuestra cultura, este es… un sitio sagrado porque aquí damos gracias por nuestras aguas. A veces la gente que no es de la región tiene dificultades para respirar, pero para mí era normal. She was leading a group of about 30 people from her village up a windy mountaintop, scorched by the sun. ![]() Marcela, at age 59, was an indigenous leader and agricultural engineer. Martina: It was a hot afternoon in June 2020 and Marcela Machaca was in the mountains of Ayacucho, Perú - some 4,000 meters above sea level. ![]()
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