Gracias a Dios estoy aqui en este pueblo.
~ words from Alejandro that keep us thinking and wondering ~
Not theirs. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
Notice what you notice. Wonder what you wonder. There is no quiz, no right way. Read until something stays.
this film has no words. notice what you notice. notice what you wonder. wonder out loud. and don't forget to notice what you feel, too.
From The Mountain
We leave early. First stop is Acatitlan, where we collect from the campesinos what they have ready for the week. Mondays I have been doing this almost a year now. Wednesdays, five months. Thursdays we deliver to small shops in Valle. The other days I work as a landscaper.
Today we made the rounds: six ranchos, all in the mountains above Valle de Bravo. Tomatoes, cherry mix, kale, chayote, algafita. Each campesino has their own scale. Most of them have everything already weighed and waiting when we arrive. We load it and move to the next one.
When we get back, there is still work to do. Separating what stays at the pick-up point from what goes to the milpa. Getting everything organized. I usually finish around five or six in the afternoon. That is a Monday.
My name is Alejandro. I was born in Mexico City. I spent about fifteen years there working in public transport. Then I went to the United States, two years in Arizona. Then I came back and settled here in Valle de Bravo, where I have been for eight years now.
I visit 6 ranchos every Monday, starting at 9 in the morning and finishing around 5 or 6 in the afternoon. If I spend roughly equal time at each rancho, about how many minutes do I spend at each stop? On one Monday I collected 25 kilos of tomatoes, 8 kilos of cherry mix, and 8 asadero cheeses. If each cheese weighs about half a kilo, what was the total weight of that day's collection from that one stop?
My wife is from Valle. She works with me on Mondays and Thursdays, normally. Today she wasn't there. You notice that.
I have three children. The oldest is eleven. Then five. Then two. The two younger ones are girls, the oldest is a boy. The two-year-old doesn't go to school yet. The other two go during the week.
I also have two dogs and many chickens. We eat the chickens.
What does your Monday look like from start to finish?
A lesson woven around Alejandro. Begin with the opening question, then walk the story together.
Before students read, ask: Have you ever bought food from a farmer's market or a small local shop? Who grew or made that food? How far do you think it traveled before it got to you? Let a few students share.
Tell them they are about to follow a man who drives up into the mountains above his town every Monday to collect vegetables directly from the families who grew them.
Mapping the Route Watch / Read: Re-read the section describing the six ranchos Alejandro visits every Monday. Try: Alejandro visits 6 ranchos in the mountains and then returns to Valle de Bravo to organize and distribute. Draw a simple map showing what that journey might look like: mountains, ranchos, the town, the pick-up point.
Label each stop. What do you think the roads are like? What might make this route hard? Activity 2: A Real Team Watch / Read: Re-read the moment where Alejandro mentions his wife. Try: He says they are a real team and that today she wasn't there and you notice that. He says this in two short sentences. Write a paragraph about a time you worked closely with someone and then had to do something without them. What did you notice?
Alejandro visited one rancho and collected 25 kilos of tomatoes, 8 kilos of cherry mix, and 8 asadero cheeses each weighing half a kilo. What is the total weight of the collection from that stop? He visits 6 ranchos every Monday and starts at 9am and finishes around 5 or 6pm.
If the total working time is 8 hours, how many minutes on average does he spend at each rancho? Literacy beat: Alejandro describes his day in plain, direct sentences. He rarely explains his feelings but they are present in the details. Find two moments in the story where you can infer how he feels about something without him saying it directly. What clues does he give you? Write one sentence for each moment explaining what you think he feels and why.
Alejandro works three days a week in the mountains collecting vegetables and the other days as a landscaper. He is always outside and always with plants. He says it suits him. Think about what kind of work or environment suits you.
What do you know about yourself from noticing what feels right? Materials: Paper for map drawing activity. Pencils.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →The Tin With Change
Every Sunday a message goes out to a WhatsApp group. It lists what the campesinos have available that week. The people on the list read it, decide what they want, and place their order. About thirty to forty people, roughly the same each week, maybe one or two different.
Then Monday we collect everything from the ranchos. The next morning the customers come to pick up what they ordered.
Nobody is there when they arrive.
There is a list with every name and what they ordered. There is a scale so they can weigh their own produce. There is a small tin with change. They find their name, weigh their vegetables, leave their money, take their change if they need it, and go. That is it.
About 35 customers pick up vegetables each week. If one order costs 170 pesos and another costs 340 pesos, what is the difference? If the total collected on a typical Monday is around 2,170 pesos split among the campesinos who supplied that week's produce, and there were 6 ranchos, what would each rancho receive on average if split equally? Does equal splitting seem fair to you? Why or why not?
When people hear about this system they are surprised. I understand. It is unusual. But here it works. They leave their money, they take their change, and nothing goes wrong.
People think a lot of places in Mexico are dangerous. Some are. But Valle de Bravo is tranquil. We drove through the monte today, through all six ranchos. Tranquil. You can see it.
I lived in Mexico City for fifteen years. Then Arizona for two. This is different. Gracias a Dios estoy aqui en este pueblo.
Is there something in your neighborhood that works because people simply agree that it does?
A lesson woven around Alejandro. Begin with the opening question, then walk the story together.
Before students read, ask: Has anyone ever trusted you with something important and not checked up on you? How did that feel? Did it make you want to be more careful or less? Let students share. Tell them they are about to hear about a vegetable pick-up system in Mexico where there is no one watching and no one checking and it works.
How Trust Works Watch / Read: Re-read the section describing the honor system at the pick-up point. Try: Alejandro describes every step: the list, the scale, the tin, the change. Draw or write out the full process in order. Then think: at which step could the system break down if someone decided not to follow it?
What would happen next? Activity 2: Places and What They Ask of You Watch / Read: Re-read the final section where Alejandro compares Mexico City, Arizona, and Valle de Bravo. Try: He describes Valle de Bravo as tranquil and says you can see it. What details from the story show you that tranquility rather than just telling you? List three. Then write two sentences about a place you know well and what you can see about it.
Alejandro collects orders from about 35 customers each week. If the total collected on a typical week is 2,170 pesos and it is split equally among 6 ranchos, how much does each rancho receive? If one rancho supplied half the produce that week, do you think an equal split is still fair?
What would a fair split based on contribution look like? Literacy beat: Alejandro says nobody is there when the customers arrive. He then describes the system in short plain sentences. Re-read that section. What does his tone tell you about how he feels about this system? Write a paragraph explaining what you can infer about his values from the way he describes it.
Alejandro says Valle de Bravo is tranquil and that some places in Mexico are dangerous but not this one. He doesn't argue about it or prove it. He just says you can see it. Think about a belief you hold about a place or a community.
How do you know it is true? What have you actually seen? Materials: Paper for process diagram. Pencils.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Three Places
Mexico City is where I am from. I was there for about fifteen years, working in public transport. A big city. Constant movement.
Then I went to Arizona. Two years. I worked. I was far from my family. We talked by phone. It is not the same. Anyone who has been far from their family knows what that means. It is just not the same.
Then I came back to Mexico and came here, to Valle de Bravo. My wife is from here. My mother's family is here too. I have been here eight years now.
I spent about 15 years in Mexico City, 2 years in Arizona, and 8 years in Valle de Bravo. Draw a bar graph showing these three chapters. Which bar is tallest? If these three periods add up to 25 years, what fraction of that time did I spend in each place? Which fraction is largest? Which is smallest?
I work three days a week collecting and delivering vegetables from small family ranchos in the mountains. The other days I do landscaping. Always outside, always with plants. It suits me.
What I like about Valle de Bravo is the tranquility. Mexico City was not tranquil. Arizona was quieter, but I was far from everyone. Here it is quiet and my family is here. That is what I wanted.
My three children are here. My two dogs are here. My many chickens are here.
We eat the chickens.
Gracias a Dios estoy aqui en este pueblo.
Think about the places you have lived or spent real time in. What did each one ask of you that the others didn't?
A lesson woven around Alejandro. Begin with the opening question, then walk the story together.
Before students read, ask: Has anyone here lived in more than one place? Or visited somewhere that felt very different from home? What did you notice that was different? What felt the same? Let students share. Tell them they are about to read about a man who has lived in three very different places and chose the smallest and quietest one to call home.
Three Bar Graphs Watch / Read: Find every number in the story that refers to time. Try: Alejandro spent 15 years in Mexico City, 2 years in Arizona, and 8 years in Valle de Bravo. Draw a bar graph with these three places on the x-axis and years on the y-axis.
Which bar is tallest? Now write each period as a fraction of 25 total years. Which fraction is largest? Activity 2: What Home Means Watch / Read: Re-read the last half of the story starting from what I like about Valle de Bravo. Try: Alejandro lists what is here: his family, his dogs, his chickens. He doesn't say he loves it in those words. He shows it through what he names. Write your own version: list what is where you feel most at home without using the word love or home. Just name what is there.
Alejandro spent 15 years in Mexico City, 2 in Arizona, and 8 in Valle de Bravo, totaling 25 years. What fraction of his time was spent in each place? Simplify each fraction if possible. Which fraction is greater: the time in Mexico City or the combined time in Arizona and Valle de Bravo?
Literacy beat: Alejandro says it is not the same three times in two sentences about being far from family. Re-read that moment. Why do you think he repeats it? What effect does the repetition have? Write a short paragraph about a time repetition helped you say something better than you could have said it once.
Alejandro chose to settle in the smallest, quietest place of the three. He says that is what he wanted. Think about what you want from the place you live. Not what is practical or expected. What would actually suit you?
Materials: Graph paper or printed bar graph template for the charting activity. Pencils.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Not theirs. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
If a moment stayed, follow it. If a question rose up, hold it. The quiet teaching is still teaching.
Three or four real stories woven into one lesson, your topic, your time. Alejandro is one. The weaver finds the others, threads the math, the literacy, the values, the reflection.
Open the weaver →