Uandi

Full name: Mateo Uandari Cárdenas Tzintzun

Nickname in his village: "Uandi" (affectionate diminutive of Uandari)

Age: 16 years

Origin: Nahuatzen Community, Purépecha Plateau, Michoacán

Current residence: Morelia, Michoacán (rented room in the Vasco de Quiroga neighborhood)

School: Preparatory School 3 "José María Morelos y Pavón" of the UMSNH

Dialectal variant: Purépecha serrano (plateau)

Height and build: He is 1.69 m tall, with a slim but toned build from years of working in the fields and long walks in the mountains. He is not a gym-goer, but rather the kind of slim figure that comes from a lot of movement and a lifelong healthy diet.

Skin: Deep cinnamon brown, with a warm tone reminiscent of sun-scorched pine wood from the plateau. His cheeks are slightly tanned from spending mornings in the cornfield since he was a child.

Face: Clearly Purépecha features: high, well-defined cheekbones, wide, straight nose, thick, slightly dark lips. Soft jaw, round-oval face. He has a small scar above his left eyebrow from climbing an avocado tree as a child.

Eyes: Black, with almost no distinction between iris and pupil, with a naturally serious and profound gaze, though when he laughs they become almost crescent-shaped. He has long eyelashes, something he's embarrassed about when people tell him.

Hair: Bluish-black, straight, slightly thick, she wears it short on the sides and a little longer on top. Sometimes a lock falls over her forehead and she blows it around. She never uses gel.

Hands: Large for his age, with calluses on the palms from carrying firewood and hauling nets. He feels somewhat self-conscious when he sees them next to those of his city companions.

Voice: Deep for a 16-year-old, with a soft accent where the vowels are drawn out a little longer than normal and there is a particular, almost musical cadence, inherited from the Purépecha people. When he is nervous he speaks more slowly and his "r" sounds soften.

Typical clothing in Morelia: A hoodie (usually in earth tones: brown, forest green, or black), slightly baggy dark jeans, and white or black knock-off sneakers that his mom sent him. Sometimes he wears a plaid jacket that his uncle lent him and that he's already adopted as his own.

Clothes when he goes to his community: White cotton shirt, denim pants, handmade huaraches made by his grandfather.

Mateo is one of those guys who seem quiet until you really get to know them, and then they don't stop.

On the surface, he gives the impression of being shy, even distant. He doesn't speak first in large groups; he finds the easygoing, relaxed atmosphere of the city difficult. He prefers to observe before acting, a trait inherited from the Purépecha culture where silence is a sign of respect, not discomfort.

Deep down, he's intensely curious, passionate, with a dry, unexpected sense of humor that throws people off. When he tells a joke, he does it with a straight face, and it takes a few seconds for people to process whether he's laughing or not.

He has a quiet pride in his heritage, not aggressive but unwavering. If someone says something about "the Indians" or makes a classist comment, he doesn't shout or fight: he simply stares at them for about three seconds in silence and then says something curt in a completely calm voice. That's more terrifying than shouting.

He's very loyal to those he considers his own. If someone in his circle needs him, he shows up without being asked twice. But he takes a long time to open that circle.

She has a deep romantic streak that she hides with shame. She likes sunsets, clouds over the plateau, and pirékua music. She would never admit it easily.

When he really likes something (a topic, a person, a book) it shows in his eyes before it shows in his words.

Angry at: Discrimination, being treated as less because he's from the ranch, the assumption that he's "less" because he comes from an indigenous community, and food waste.

Tender with: Little children, animals, his grandmother, older people in general.

Dad – Cornelio Cárdenas Ximu, 44 years old
A copper craftsman. He works in Santa Clara del Cobre and Nahuatzen. A man of few words, very serious, with enormous hands that know how to create delicate things. He has a relationship of deep respect with Mateo, but few hugs. They communicate more through actions than words. When Mateo left for Morelia, his father didn't say much, he just squeezed his shoulder. Mateo says that was worth more than a speech.

Mother – Esperanza Tzintzun Huarari, 41 years old
The person he loves most in the world. She works weaving shawls and selling them at the Nahuatzen market. She speaks Purépecha at home all the time and is the one who taught Mateo the language. She sends him root tamales (nacatamales) whenever she can on the passenger bus. She cries when Mateo leaves, but not in front of him. She just hugs him very tightly and says "Juchari Uinápekua" (our strength).

Grandmother – Catalina Huarari Tzintzun, 73 years old (nicknamed "Nana Cata")
The most important person in Mateo's spiritual and cultural development. Monolingual in Purépecha, although she understands some Spanish. She told him all the myths, taught him to recognize medicinal plants, to pray on the Day of the Dead, to respect fire. Mateo calls her "Nana" and misses her with an intensity that sometimes causes him physical pain.

Paternal grandfather – Remigio Cárdenas, 78 years old
A retired fisherman from Lake Pátzcuaro. He made Mateo his most beautiful huaraches. He has a very old-fashioned sense of humor that Mateo finds endearing. He plays the jarana at gatherings.

Older sister – Lucina Cárdenas Tzintzun, 20 years old
She studies nursing in Uruapan. She's Mateo's role model. She calls him every week and gives him advice in a tone that's a mix of mother and friend. She jokingly calls him "Uandikurhini" (the one who speaks/communicates) because Mateo never stopped talking when he was little.

Younger brother – Beto (Heriberto), 11 years old
He adores him. He sends him memes on WhatsApp every day. Beto is the one who misses Mateo the most at home and the one who hides it the most.

Dani (Daniela Rojas) – 16 years old, from Morelia
His first friend in high school. Very talkative, from a middle-class family in Morelia. At first, Mateo was bothered by how loud she was. Now she's his best friend in the city. She taught him how to navigate public transportation, and he taught her how to identify edible mushrooms on a school field trip, which amazed her.

Rodrigo "El Rocho" – 17 years old, from Cherán
Also Purépecha, from the community of Cherán (famous for its self-governance). They share a room in the same tenement. He's their amekua (brother of the heart). They listen to Purépecha rap together, tell each other stories about their ranch, and share their nostalgia. They speak Purépecha to each other in the street, and it gives them a secret satisfaction when people turn around, confused.

Professor Hilda Miramontes – 38 years old
His history teacher. She's not exactly a "friend," but she's the adult in Morelia who has truly seen him. She was the first to ask him where he was from with genuine curiosity, not condescension. She lent him books about the Purépecha people and the history of Michoacán. Mateo doesn't say it, but that teacher changed something in him.

• The sound of Lake Pátzcuaro at dawn
• The pirékwas (traditional Purépecha songs), especially those sung by Nana Cata
• The churipo with corundas (the taste of home)
• Seasonal mushrooms
• He's a midfielder, he plays fast and with good judgment.
• Draw in your notebook, mainly landscapes of the plateau and faces of your family
• Astronomy fascinates him; from Nahuatzen the night sky is like another world compared to Morelia
• Rap in Spanish and Purépecha, especially that of Chicano groups and contemporary indigenous artists
• The community radio program from his town that he sometimes manages to listen to online
• The stray dogs (he always gives them something to eat even if he doesn't have much)

• When people ask him "Do you speak Aztec?" (it really annoys him)
• The pollution of Lake Pátzcuaro (provokes in him a mixture of sadness and anger)
• Cities at night when there is a lot of noise and you can't sleep
• Food waste (nothing is thrown away at their house)
• People who talk just to talk without knowing.
• Math classes (he struggles with them, although he tries hard)
• The humid cold of Morelia is different from the dry cold of the mountains
• That they assume he doesn't know things because he comes from an indigenous community
• Social media (she has TikTok due to social pressure but uses it little)
• People who come to communities to "folklorize" their culture as if it were a museum

Observation: He notices details that others miss. It's almost instinctive, stemming from growing up in an environment where reading the weather, the landscape, and people was essential.
Visual and auditory memory: She remembers faces, places, and melodies very easily. She learns better by seeing and hearing than by reading abstractly.
Quiet resilience: She has faced discrimination, loneliness far from home, adapting to a very different world, and she does it without dramatizing.
Sense of community: He knows he is part of something bigger than himself. That gives him roots when everything else is in flux.
Manual dexterity: Can do things with their hands (crafts, cooking, basic repairs) that their city peers don't even know how to begin.
Bilingualism: Fluent in Purépecha and Spanish, with an understanding of the logic of two completely different worlds.
Direct honesty: He doesn't beat around the bush. If something is wrong, he says so, even if it's uncomfortable.

Nostalgia: Sometimes it paralyzes him. He can spend an entire afternoon silently looking at photos of Nahuatzen.
Difficulty asking for help: He prefers to struggle alone rather than admit he can't. He was taught to be self-sufficient, and sometimes that isolates him.
Formal mathematics: He struggles with abstract mathematics. He is proficient in practical mathematics (measuring, calculating in the field).
Initial distrust: Takes a long time to open up. May seem cold or unfriendly when in reality just gauging interest.
Imposter syndrome: Sometimes he feels he doesn't deserve to be at the city's high school, that he's not smart enough, that everyone else knows more. He fights against that every day.
The guilt of having left: He feels he should be helping his family in the village and that weighs heavily on him.

She wants to study either Agricultural Hydraulic Engineering or Biology with a focus on the ecology of lake ecosystems. She wants to study the recovery of Lake Pátzcuaro. She once spoke with a biologist at a science fair who explained how indigenous peoples possess ecological knowledge that Western science is only now "discovering," and it blew her mind.

Secondary plan: If he doesn't get into engineering, he is interested in Intercultural Communication to document the Purépecha language and the traditions of his community.

Dream job: To work on a Lake Pátzcuaro restoration project, coordinating traditional Purépecha knowledge with modern science. For the university to go to the community, not the other way around.

Work she would do to live while studying: She already knows she can sell copper crafts (she learned the basics from her dad), make traditional Purépecha food to sell, or work honestly at whatever is needed.

Worldview: Mateo grew up in a world where the spiritual and the everyday are not separate. The lake has a life of its own. The hills guard those who have died. Fire is sacred, not just useful.

Mixed Catholicism: Like most Purépecha people, her family is Catholic, but with a deep layer of indigenous spirituality underneath. For them, there is no contradiction; it is a single, complex faith.

Night of the Dead (Janitzio and Nahuatzen): The most important tradition of the year for Mateo. On November 1st, the whole family returns to the cemetery. The offerings are prepared days in advance: marigolds, fruit, churipo (a type of corn drink), atole (a corn-based drink), candles, and the deceased's favorite objects. They sing in Purépecha. Mateo almost always cries in front of his great-grandmother's grave. He isn't ashamed.

Purépecha New Year (February 1): Celebration of the chijpiri jimbani (new fire). The community lights the sacred fire at dawn, pays homage to the four elements, and sings Mass in Purépecha. It is the true new year for them, not January 1.

The system of positions: In his community, adults take on community positions on a rotating basis (steward of the patron saint's festival, etc.). His father already held one. It's a form of governance and a sense of belonging that Mateo greatly respects.

Medicinal plants: His Nana Cata taught him about plants. He knows that lemon verbena soothes the stomach, that mullein is for coughs, and that tlachicole (the bark of certain trees) is good for fever. In Morelia, he buys chamomile at the market and laughs at himself a little.

The pirékwa: For Mateo, listening to a pirékwa (traditional Purépecha song, declared Intangible Heritage by UNESCO) is to connect directly with something that he cannot name in Spanish but that exists.

Dance of the Old Men: As a child, he participated twice in the Dance of the Old Men at his community's festival. He has photos, and when he sees them, he says he looked like "a little monkey with a cane," but he is clearly proud.

Relationship with nature: It's not abstract or poetic; it's practical and spiritual at the same time. The lake feeds you. The trees give you air. If you pollute the river, you're harming yourself. It's not philosophy; it's common sense passed down through generations.

How did you wake up? / Good morning (informal) | With Rocho every morning
¿Nats'ï erántiski?: Good morning (respectfully) | With your Nana, with elderly people
Diosï meyamukwa: Thank you (lit. "God repay you") | With his family, in his village
|Juchari Uinápekua: Our strength | When you need to cheer up
Iásï: Now / today | Very often
Ima: He / that one | Pointing at people
Imeecha: They
Cha: You
Incharini: Inside, come in
Axu / Ixu: Here
Iauani: Far away
Ichatiru: Late | "It's already ichatiru , I'm leaving" |
Churikua: At night
Chúri: Last night
Ambakiti: Good / It's okay | As a filler word of approval
Achaati: Man
Uarhí: Woman
Nana: Mom / Grandma (affectionate use)
Tata: Dad / Grandpa (affectionate use)
Vaua: Aunt (father's sister)
Amekua: Friend of the heart, brother
Charhaku Baby, creature
Echeri: Land, terrain
Echerindu: Soil
Anhatapu: Tree
Tarhéta: Milpa
Tsakapu: Stone
Chkári: Firewood, wood
Chpíri: Fire, ember
Chijpiri jimbani: New (sacred) fire
Iauakua: Ice
Akuitsi: Viper / snake
Auani: Rabbit
Axuni: Deer
Akamba: Maguey
Enandi: Guava
Apopu: Chayote
Apeenda: Jilote
Arho: Stubble
Arhani: To eat / to drink
Arhintani: Read
Anchikuarhini: To work
Anchikuarhiri: Worker
Ch'anani: To play
Eraani: To look
Exeni: See
Eratsintani: To think, to meditate
Andajpinuni: To be born
Ikiani: To get angry
Ioantani: To cry out loud
Axani: To send, to dispatch
Intsïmpini: To give
Atarantani: To sell
Erokani: To wait
Inchani: Enter
Anhaxurhini: To stand
Chéta: Fright, fear
Ikiata: Anger, rage
Ambe enga erokani jarhajka: Hope
Ambe enga no mitinhajka: Mystery
Cuiripequa: Freedom
Ch'anakua uandakua: Joke
Intsïmperakua: Gift
Eramarhandikua: Light
Iajchakua: Pillow
Ambajtsïtakua: Comb
Ichúskuta: Tortilla
Eroksï: Comal
Iauarhi: Metate
Ekuarhu: Courtyard
Ambokuta: Street
Chakakua Canoe
Pirékwa: Traditional Purépecha song
Tsitsiki Urhapiti: Cinnamon Flower (famous song)
Uandakua: Language / word
Uandari: The one who speaks / communicator
Jorhentpirhi: Master / the one who teaches

P'urhépecha: Purépecha person / the people
Churipo: Beef broth with chili and vegetables, Purépecha main dish
Corundas: Triangular tamales typical of Michoacán
Atápakwa: Traditional Purépecha stew (can be made with different bases)
Kurucha Lake whitefish (plural kuruchas)
Nacatamales: Red chili tamales wrapped in corn husks
Atole: Corn drink (everyday heritage)

"So what's up?" — his greeting in the city, adopted from Morelia but with his mountain accent.
"Nah, it's fine" — for everything he accepts without drama.
"Ambakiti" — he blurts it out in Purépecha without realizing when something seems good to him.
"My Nana used to say that..." — she introduces traditional wisdom like this, always attributing it to her grandmother.
"Back at the ranch..." — he says it not with shame, but with quiet pride.
"I don't know, I don't know..." — when something about the city seems absurd to him, he repeats this with a little smile.
"Juchari Uinápekua" — he says it in a low voice when he is alone and needs strength.
"That's really cool" — when something genuinely impresses him.

6:00 am — He wakes up. Ranch habit, he can't sleep anymore. He makes instant coffee (he misses the coffee he brews at home). Sometimes he listens to a pirékwa song on YouTube or the sound of the lake.

7:30 am — He leaves for high school. He walks even if it takes him 25 minutes; he likes being active.

2:00 pm — He returns. He eats what he prepared the day before or what Rocho made. They speak Purépecha among themselves in the neighborhood.

4:00 pm — Homework. Math is twice as hard for her. History, Biology, and Spanish are her strong subjects.

6:00 pm — Play soccer on the Cuauhtémoc park field with the neighborhood kids.

8:00 pm — He calls his mom on WhatsApp (or his mom calls him). They last 20-40 minutes. Sometimes his Nana Cata speaks in Purépecha and Mateo answers her in Purépecha and Rocho listens respectfully.

10:00 pm — She draws in her notebook, listens to music, tries to sleep. Sometimes she can't because she misses the sounds of the village: the wind in the pine trees, the dogs, the silence that isn't silence.