Micha. Faces of the Festival 2018. Photo by Steven Meckler
I’m not from Tucson. I grew up all over the place, moving around a lot. I’ve been in many different places from Louisiana to Connecticut to Texas to Ohio. My family is from Peru and the other half is white settlers in the US. That’s always been the hard question for me. I always felt like I was floating around, not sure where I belonged. I came here to Tucson to learn about border issues because that is something that connected with me. Here in Tucson the community that I met. People here immediately took me in didn’t question who I was or where I came from for the first time that was something I hadn’t experienced before, just being accepted. Working with the organization Tierra y Libertad made me feel welcome in fierce, loving ways and made me feel comfortable to put down roots here and make a home for myself and to realize that I belong in myself. And when I found that out, I can belong anywhere. Tucson is a place that has my heart and that I’ll always come back to.
-Micha