Story Behind the Video
Several years ago, Noemi and her cousins were the first children in the monarch sanctuary area to welcome Symbolic Monarchs to their homes. We always try to visit the family’s ranch whenever we return. It’s a beautiful setting, high up in the mountains near the Sierra Chincua sanctuary. Catching up with the family around the kitchen table, while eating hand-made tortillas warm from the wood stove, is always a highlight of the trip.
One year, Noemi showed me her family’s photo album. She pronounced her words slowly and carefully, the way we speak to small children who are just learning how to talk. It was so sweet--and exactly what I needed! Now, I’ll often hear Noemi’s coaching voice when I try to pronounce Spanish words correctly.
When we visited in the fall 2002, we asked if she’d teach a Spanish lesson online for us all, using vocabulary words of the monarch overwintering region. She agreed. The day we filmed, Noemi was sick with the flu, so her father jumped in to help.