“Sacred Woman” and “Flawless”

by Nadia López García

September, 2026

Sacred Woman

Woman of grass, woman of sun,
bird woman;
raise your hands and protect the times
of life and death.

Pray for us and ours,
cleanse the land
where we walk, the eyes
that looks upon us, and the blood
that sleeps in our hearts.

Speak to the copal1, the rue and the ocote2,
speak to the sacred that sleeps
in the sky and the mountain.

Wind woman, make an offering for us
and care for the world’s destiny.

Translated by Andrea Cerón

Flawless

To My Mother

I fulfilled it all impeccably.
I carried out the duties expected
of a young lady; I refrained
from raising my voice and scorning
the proper ways of your realm.
I posed for the portrait
of the model provincial daughter.
I obeyed all your commands,
more out of fear than conviction.
You know I was the best of them all.

Children are the crown of their parents,
you would repeat, as both praise and decree,
while judging everything around you.
Do not ask. Do not reproach.
Do not blaspheme.
Do not give your body to anyone before marriage.
Prohibition was the very marrow of your laws.

But I needed to unveil the mystery.
I’d been a caged beast,
and when I felt the warmth of the sun,
I let it wash over me.
I ate the apple,
and in its taste I found my delight.
I know full well that now
I’m everything you’re ashamed of,
a mark of scandal
that offends you by its mere mention.
Nothing remains of the girl you shaped.

And after all, Mother,
what you call rebellion, failure, and debauchery,
I call free will,
the balancing of the scales.

Translated by Kevin Holmes

1 Resin from a tree, used traditionally in indigenous ceremonies in Mesoamerica.

2 A stick from a tree used in a way similar to copal.

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Photo: Luvia Lazo, Unsplash.

Nadia López García

Nadia López García (Oaxaca, Mexico, 1993) earned her degree in Pedagogy from UNAM and has undertaken master’s studies in Comparative Politics of Migration at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. She is a bilingual (Tu’un Savi / Spanish) poet, a cultural promoter, and a workshop leader. She has participated in readings, workshops, and festivals in Mexico, India, Colombia, the United States, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba, and Belize. From 2015 to 2017, she was a poetry grantee of the Foundation for Mexican Letters. In 2017, she received the Cenzontle Prize for Literary Creativity in Indigenous Languages. In 2018, she received the National Youth Prize. In 2019, she received the Mexico City Youth Prize. In 2020, she received the CaSa Prize for Children’s Literature, as well as an honorable mention in the Antonio García Cubas Prize in the Children’s Book category. In 2021, she received the Luis Cardoza y Aragón Mesoamerican Poetry Prize. Forbes named her one of “Mexico’s most creative.” She is the author of the poetry collections Ñu’ú vixo / Tierra mojada (Pluralia Ediciones, Mexico, 2018), Tikuxi kaa / El tren (Almadía, Mexico, 2019), Isu ichi / El camino del venado (UNAM, Mexico, 2020), Las formas de la lluvia / বৃষ্টিধারার নানা রূপ (JOLDHI, Bangladesh, 2021), and Dorsal (FCE, Mexico, 2022). She teaches poetry at the INBAL creative writing program, as well as the workshop on “Creative Writing in Indigenous Languages” with the National Literature Organization. She also directs the course on “Cultivating Reading in Indigenous Languages” with the Fondo de Cultura Económica and coordinates the course “Narrative by Women from Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Communities” with the Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico.

Andrea Valenzuela Cerón & Kevin A. Holmes

Andrea Valenzuela Cerón is a translator from the Universidad de Santiago de Chile with a diploma in Literary Translation from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She has developed her interests and professional experience in the fields of translation, writing, and interpreting, viewing them as a bridge to understanding and respecting diverse cultures. Her interests and areas of work are related to ecology, social justice, movement, and art.

Kevin A. Holmes serves as Vice President of the Chilean Association of Translators and Interpreters (COTICH) and coordinates its Literary and Editorial Translation Committee. He is a professional translator and liaison interpreter, holds a Diploma in Literary Translation, and is a certified expert in English-to-Spanish Editorial Translation and a specialist in subtitling. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Literary Translation. With five years of experience as a freelance translator, interpreter, and subtitler, he has worked primarily in the audiovisual, literary, academic, and arts fields, with English<>Spanish and Portuguese<>Spanish language combinations. He also has training in arts and cultural management, documentary film, and film theory and criticism.

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