This is Mariana, she not afraid of anything

When I met Mariana, she was a nine-year-old force of nature. The third of four siblings, she was introduced to me by her younger sister Silvana, six at the time, who, with a serious expression, pointed at her and said “This is Mariana, she is not afraid of anything”. At the time, I had just arrived at the remote rural pehuenche community where they lived. It was the first couple of weeks into the 18 month-long field work for my PhD.

Early on I knew what Silvana meant. Mariana was fearless and defiant. She ran through the hills, climbed trees, galloped on her horse and, though small and thin like a twig, played football with the boys at school without a sign of intimidation. At school Mariana’s fearlessness got her into constant trouble. Once when the school inspector warned her “You know, Mariana if you keep missbehaving, we are not going to be friends anymore” she cheekily replied, “Who told you we were friends” as she ran away. Her attitude was especially troublesome in a community where women are expected to be fearful of men, spirits and witches.

However, Mariana was bound to leave her rural surroundings. Her rural school only offers until year eight and children must move to an urban area to attend high school. Some of Mariana’s friends were happy to leave, as they were curious about living in a town. They longed for the chances to browse in the shops, walk around the square and meet other teenage boys. Mariana wasn’t thrilled but she was curious about a town that she visited very rarely and always under the watchful eye of her parents.

Last time I saw Mariana, she was 16 and no longer lived in the countryside. She and her younger sister Silvana were living in a small-town boarding at the local high school. The dreams of town-life were trumped by the reality of the boarding school restrictions. After a few incidents of runaway students, the school decided to lock the boarders inside Monday through Friday. They only got one hour a week to leave school, so they could stretch their legs and get some little treats from the shops. In confinement, Mariana grew predictably restless and often got into trouble.

When I saw the sisters, I went back to my field site because, I was organizing an arts workshop for the high school girls. As part of the workshop we left the school to go on a photographic expedition. I was warned by the inspectors Mariana was a troublemaker and I should be wary of taking her into town. However, she stepped up, even shepherding the other girls when they ventured too far. The girls especially liked going into the new Municipal building and riding the lift for the first time. Their nervous laughter and screams could be heard as the lift came up and down. As the doors opened, I stood outside, and I asked them: How was it? Where you afraid?