The sole purpose of the chair I was using was to sit. I could see no aesthetic appeal or feel any aspect of comfort. But as I stared at the tanned and wrinkled face of Domitila Chungara, the stiffness in my neck no longer mattered. The woman who had ignited a hunger strike thirty-five years ago in Bolivia denouncing the dictatorial power of Hugo Banzer was sharing with me the challenges of being a miners wife, the physical torture of living under a dictatorship, and the struggles of keeping her family together as a mother WHI.

The wounds of that era were still unhealed as I saw tears rolling down the deep crevices of her face and I saw her daughter’s trembling hand reach out for her mother. Instinctively I clasped my own hands together, hoping that the physical contact that was holding Domitila together would also serve me.

Her openness in sharing with me the challenges of the past and her necessary activism throughout her entire life was something that surprised me. According to her it was essential that she fight for her rights, her children’s rights, and her community’s rights and that she would continue to share her story no matter how much time had past or how painful.

I could not let the interview end without her knowing that the issues she has faced are not unique in Bolivia - that the marginalization of women, of the poor, of the minority happens all over the world. Meeting someone, whom I considered a living legend at the time, continues my own aspiration to understanding what it takes to start a movement.