Mi name is Bernardino Cruces Pedraza

My name is Bernardino Cruces Pedraza, I am 85 years old, and I am a producer of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis; editor’s note) in the ejido of Acuescomac, municipality of Atenco, State of Mexico. Many important things have happened in the country throughout my life, but nothing like the pandemic we are going through. At first, I thought it was fake news, I thought it was only meant to scare the people. I remembered the news about the ‘chupacabra’ in 1994. Or maybe it was something similar to the flu, which in my opinion was just a fleeting, harmless cold.

To tell you the truth, I have never believed everything the news says, but as the months went by, I realized that this disease was really dangerous. I began to understand its importance when they closed the Iztapalapa supply center since that is where I sell my asparagus. The buyer told me that the government had made the decision to close the center due to a damn virus and that, as a consequence, the price of my product would go down, which would obviously affect me economically, me and my workers. In talks with friends, we made fun of and joked about the disease. It was rumored that it was just a government ploy to weed out the senior population as it couldn’t keep paying so much support. That made me angry, made me want to curse because people from the countryside do not live off the government. We work hard and our work is the most honest and the most worthy… We are not a burden to the government.

By then it was the Spring-Summer season, and I was sowing asparagus, corn, and cabbage, in order to take advantage of the good rain and temperature of May, the month of my birthday. I felt safe in the field since I knew that the air there was good and that is why I would not be infected with anything; indeed, my lungs would be cleaned. That is why I did not wear a face mask, especially when I was working on my crops. Being in the field reassures me. When I’m weeding the field, my mind fills with memories of my childhood...memories from my entire life...memories of when we were not aware of anything else in the world, not like today...memories of my father, Mr. Narciso Cruces. He dedicated his life to working in the fields and raising cattle. Ever since I had use of reason, I helped him with that work, until I was 14 years old. It was then that American household appliance companies arrived, and I started working in the General Electric factory as a welder. Through hard work, I became a floor supervisor. I worked for that company for 40 years. Despite the hard work I did in the factory, I never left my father alone with the farm and livestock activities. It was only when I retired that I returned to work full-time to crop production. I changed from corn to vegetables due to a desire to relive my childhood. I know that working in the fields does not reward sentimentality. Working in the field requires hard work, commitment, and effort. It is true that the government provides some to agricultural producers in the form of livestock feed, fertilizer, tools, and agrochemicals, but I don’t like to depend on anyone. That is why I strive not to depend on external help but to be self-sufficient, with my own work.

The spread of contagions in the town

My grandchildren tried to explain to me how is it that a virus caused the disease, but to tell the truth, I did not understand how something that could not be seen or felt could be so damaging to our health. I started wearing face masks to reassure my family. At first, it didn’t let me breathe well but as the days went by I got used to it. Although I know about diseases that affect cattle from my experience taking care of my father’s cows, I never imagined that an animal disease could infect people. I have never stopped working. But I have to get through the whole town to get to my field and there is my compadre and no shortage of friends, and I stop to greet them on my way there. Just to have a little talk and find out what is happening in town.

I told my grandchildren that the disease spread in crowded places, where there are many people. Many of the town’s residents go to the city to work and that is what caused the spread of contagions in the town. It was in September (2020) that the number of deaths in the town started to rise. At first, out of habit, we went to offer condolences and pray the rosary with the deceased’s family, but later we were forbidden to do it, the funerals were held in the evening and the coffins were wrapped in plastic. It was around this time that I found out that Mr. Luis was sick. He was my friend and plot neighbor for 10 years. He surprised me because I saw him working on his plot just two days before. I thought he would get well because of the strength he had, which is something that working in the fields gives to you, but no! He died that same week. That served as a warning to me and since then I have avoided direct contact with my acquaintances. However, I have not stopped going to the meetings with the other “ejidatarios” (shareholders of common land) and to the society of irrigation wells. The mega project of the Mexico City airport caused us more harm than good, even though it was canceled. My production plots are just 60 meters from the road used by the cargo trucks that carried construction material there. When the trucks passed, they raised a lot of dust, which affected the crops. To speed up the passage of trucks, they made a temporary stone bridge covering the Papalotla riverbed, and this caused it to overflow and flood the surrounding fields. Due to poor planning, the construction of that bridge caused a flood that covered 14 hectares of agricultural land, where several producers grow vegetables. It is worth mentioning that the waters of this river are dirty, and this affected the cleanliness and sanitary quality of the vegetables, including my asparagus.

Praying to God this will end soon

It has been almost a year now and we have not stopped working in the fields. For us, little has changed in our daily habits. But we are always praying to God that this will end soon and we can continue to be a normal community. Something that affected us a lot is that the temples and chapels were closed. Because of this, we did not celebrate as we owe San Isidro Labrador, patron saint of farmers. He helps us have a good harvest. There was no procession, no mass in the ejido, no banquet, no ornaments, no animals; that saddened me. But everything is to take care of our lives. We have not stopped lighting candles or praying to him and making offerings. You can see that we did not even made offerings to our dead in the cemetery, as we used to. Fortunately, work keeps us busy and hopeful, even when I hear about relatives and friends that got sick and were even killed by this virus. We have to go to our crops, and then the mind clears, even if the heart hurts. I hope the vaccines will help us. They say they will come, especially to us old people. I hope we leave this world when God calls us to account, but not because of a virus.

I have had time to think, and to talk about the way one dies after being infected. It’s really scary not being able to breathe, but even so, the decision comes from above. For now, I take care of myself and do what they tell us, but to be honest I sometimes forget and get over-confident. I don’t want to be scared going to my plot. I don’t want fear to stop me, so I live day by day, and I try to have new projects in mind to plant and continue working, which is what gets me up every day.

I am thankful for what I have lived. My wish is to be able to share bread with all my family, celebrate with my friends, go on pilgrimage, go to deliver my asparagus to the supply center in Mexico City, attend ejidal meetings, and our patronal feast. And I hope to be healthy and alive one day at a time.

Don Bernardino Cruces Pedraza in his asparagus plot