Luisa, the hundred-year-old Ayorea grandmother, died

Luisa Picaneray, a centennial Ayorea woman, departed for eternity last Saturday.

Was evening at the Casa Grande, headquarters of the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (Cidob), and buried yesterday in a cemetery in the El Bateón area, in a ceremony as humble and discreet as her life.

A small group accompanied Luisa’s last trip in the midst of tears and resignation.

Viviana Picaneray, formed by Luisa, her grandmother, who received a wealth of life lessons from the centenarian, said goodbye to her, promising to put her teachings into practice, and carry on the legacy of the matriarch of the Ayorea nation.

“I already have contacts with directors and medical personnel of the 18 de Marzo Health Center, and the Hospital de la Villa Primero de Mayo. I will follow in the footsteps of my grandmother, she gave me a lot of love,” he said about the network of relationships that Luisa cultivated. in his best years.

Domingo Abrego, a journalist and activist who has helped Luisa since the 1980s, when he met her, reaffirmed his commitment to the woman’s memory.

“It was an honor to support Luisa Picaneray. I will continue to help in her community. There is a commitment to hold a health fair at the end of the month. Sad reality to see that few people and authorities came to say goodbye to our mother and grandmother,” said the one who already considered himself a “false grandson” of Luisa.

For his part, Tari Chiqueno, president of the Ayoreo Peoples, was grieved by the loss, since his family gave Luisa a dignified life in her last years.

According to Abrego, connoisseur of the history of the centennial Ayorea, she was born in Zapocóand at the age of seven he witnessed how his parents were killed with firearms, for refusing to be slaves.

“Luisa escaped into the thicket of the mountain, then she was raised by her people. That sadness committed her to protect her descendants. She once expressed that people arrived with vans full of Bibles, and that those who studied the Bible received help, and the rest fled to the city,” she narrated.

For Domingo Abrego, Luisa Picaneray was a very dignified woman, who always rejected the vices of alcohol, prostitution, robbery, laziness and drug use.

“This negative custom was imposed by people outside the cultural identity of the Ayoreodes. Currently, in the Deguid community there is a need for decent housing, health, education, daycaresports and craft projects,” insisted Abrego in his pro-Ayoreo cause.