Inglés

Tayari´s tree

Nailea Mier Olivera

Mildred Sheccid Sánchez Alvaradejo

Azul Zyadane Castelán Rojas

Centro Educativo Miguel Salas Anzures 

English 

Lic. Karla Bolaños Rosales

November 7th, 2022

During the beginnings of the XVIII century, there was an indigenous community that used to live peacefully in a town called Xochimilco. Their lives were very peaceful because they had the necessary resources to subsist and they also celebrated in harmony their traditions. The town had a particular characteristic, as part of their fauna there were some creatures who share history with their ancestors: they were the axolotls. That's why they had a great devotion to these animals, so much that they protected them from any threat instead of hunting or eating them. Between the axolotls there was a special one, named Tayari who had special abilities that no other did: he could communicate with the people of his town in a unique way that is unknown till today despite him not being able to speak, also he had the capacity to grow the crops and defend his 

During 1940, there was some news going around other towns that said that the government was visiting every indigenous community with the purpose of modernizing them, taking them out of their homes and only giving them 10 days to pack their things and leave. This got to the ears of the town of Xochimilco, who in commotion for said news, started to get ready to leave their lives, as they knew them, behind because they knew they couldn't do anything against the government. When Tayari noticed his town´s worry, he decided to communicate with them, through his abilities, to motivate them to fight for their place in the town, he also encouraged them to not let anyone take them away from their traditions, a treasure that had to transcend to the next generations.

The people of Xochimilco trusted in Tayari´s wisdom and did as he requested. A few days later, after the news started to go around, agents from the government and did exactly what was said, they were going to be transferred to the Distrito Federal, in promises of them learning spanish, have education and the necessary employment to modernize themselves.

Regardless of all that, the town ignored the instructions the agents gave them and didn't pack anything nor got ready to leave. Tayari was content that his town had the bravery of defending their traditions and not letting themselves give into the fear.

Finally, the ten days went by and the government agents came back to take them out of their homes. Nevertheless, they were surprised to see that the habitants completely ignored the instructions they were given and got mad at them, starting to reprehend them severely, threatening them at gunpoint. This alerted Tayari, so he started to think of ways he could help his town to defend themselves, while the feeling of guilt filled him because it was him who convinced them to stay.

Once the violence broke free, Tayari placed himself in the middle of the fight and used his abilities to make his town's attacks stronger, the agents were amazed at the sudden change in the people's strength and immediately took cover to think of a strategy that could make them win, it was in that moment when one of the agents noticed Tayari’s presence and how he was among the natives as if they were listening to him, the agent let his team know of this, so they decided to go for the little axolotl first and then for the natives.

In the middle of the communication that Tayari had established with his people, to let them know that it was him who made their assaults stronger and that they could trust that with his help they could win, the agents took them by surprise with a rain of bullets that made a lot of the natives fall lifeless to the ground and the ones remaining took cover back at their homes. In the hurry of protecting themselves, no one took Tayari with them and when they looked with their eyes for him, their gaze met with Tayari’s tiny lifeless frame and a bullet wound in his chest close to his left paw. It didn’t take a second for rage to fill the town’s bodies so they went out to fight in defence of their homes and Tayari’s honour. 

The fight ended and the town was defeated, some natives died and the survivors were forced to leave their homes and go to the place they were talked about from the beginning. Once their things were packed, one of them, named Tanok, quickly grabbed Tayari´s body and buried him in a piece of land where there wasn’t any kind of plants or crop.

A few hours later, the natives were transferred to the municipality of Álvaro Obregón, where they were given new houses and the basic items to start their new life. The natives felt scared and out of place because they missed their old home, they were in a completely new environment compared to the one they were used to, there was also a feeling of shock because of  the other natives and the beloved Tayari’s death. They wondered what they were going to do without the axolotl´s advice and how they were going to keep their traditions alive.

Some days later, Tanok secretly went to Xochimilco to find out what the government was doing to the place that once was his home. After a tedious journey, when Tanok finally arrived, he found a sad landscape, he saw how their old homes were already demolished. Nevertheless, he was taken aback by something amazing: the most luscious tree he had ever seen had grown in the piece of land where he buried Tayari. Even the little stream that was next to the tree was full of axolotls, more than there were when the town lived there.

Tanok was in awe, and feeling happy he went back to Obregón to tell the town everything he had seen. When the town heard him, they felt overjoyed and were instantly full of hope, because they knew that the tree Tanok told them about couldn’t have grown in a few days, that there was something behind it: it was Tayari’s remains what made it grow and what drew the other axolotls there.  

The natives had full trust that the tree meant that, regardless of everything, Tayari was still there. It also symbolised the birth of the legend of Tayari’s tree, or as they called it, the tree of our hearts, which was the meaning of Tayari’s name in their dialect. This was what made the people stronger and they promised that nothing was going to keep their traditions from going to the next generations.

Finally, this is why Xochimilco is an internationally recognized place, because apart from being full of culture y indigenous traditions, is a place crowded with the axolotls that Tayari helped conserve through his tree. From this, it is said that one of the thousands of trees in Xochimilco is Tayari’s, who is going to be remembered with great honour.