This is my grandma. She lives in Mexico, and before this photo was taken, I had not seen her in over 6 years. The first thing she did when she arrived was ask if we were hungry and then started to make us some Mexican food. When I asked her why she learned to cook and who taught her, she only chuckled and said, “out of necessity”.

As a woman in Oaxaca, Mexico, her only role in society was to take care of her family. She worked tirelessly in the background her whole life; dismissed as disposable unimportant. Her husband was an abusive alcoholic ,and though she was never appreciated by him, her kids, and her community, she never lost her drive to care for people. To this day, whenever she comes over, she always cooks for our family. I wonder if anyone ever took care of her the way she takes care of us.