Biography of Doctora Irene Quiejú
This Fall Dr. Irene Quiejú is coming to the north-east
Dr. Quiejú is the Director of the Hospitalito Atitlán, which is now open in a temporary facility — a backpacker’s hotel that was converted during the immediate aftermath of the disaster. The Hospitalito performed its first emergency surgery in the facility just 15 days after the mud took the original building. Dr. Quiejú is the first indigenous female physician from the town of 40,000.
She was born in the T’zutujil Mayan capital, Santiago Atitlán, on the southern shore of
When she was a little girl, she was in charge of the “medicina,” which was a mix of lime juice and salt that she concocted to “cure” her unwilling cousins. Her sister is a midwife, and when Irene was small she was awed by the miracles Lucia preformed at the former Santiaguito Clinic.
Dr. Quiejú overcame many obstacles on her way to realizing her dream of becoming a doctor. She was subjected to racial slurs and harassment throughout her college years. “People marginalize you for your clothes, your language and your last name. For some reason people feel superior if they have a non-indigenous last name,” she said.
Despite social pressure, through three years of medical school she wore the traje — the hand embroidered blouse and skirt that are unique to her village. When lectures moved into a hospital environment, however, she had to wear hospital scrubs.
The Hospitalito Remained closed for 15 years. It re-opened in April of last year, only to fall victim to the mud that October. K'aslimaal, the board that runs the Hospitalito, has purchased land to begin the construction of a new permanent medical facility in a location deemed safe from further mudslides. The architectual plans have been drawn, and the process of raising money to fund construction is under way.
Will you be posting Dr. Quiejú´s speaking dates for the northeast? I would love to go hear what she has to say.
Posted by
janna |
9:26 AM
Definetly. We we're waiting until we have solid confirmation on some dates before we publish a solid schedule, but for now in the New york area it looks like she'll most likely be speaking at the Lower Eastside Girl's Club on October 13th. We're still waiting for more information from them before we make a press release, however.
She should be in NYC that weekend and early the next week. If you have any suggestions for venues or groups that would be interested, please email me at joelinwood@puebloapueblo.org
Thanks for your interest!
-Joel
Posted by
Pueblo a Pueblo |
10:18 AM