Tiempos Mejores?
By:Mary Khon
Copyright © 2020
Bienvenidos al año nuevo, queeridos!
It’s January 2021, my lovelies. 2020 has finally ended and we hope that the year stays exactly where it needs to stay. I’m sure hardly anyone wants to remember the year, with its many tragedies and horrible attitudes, and a pandemic that has devastated the world.
Deep inside of our beings, we are hoping that his new year, this 2021, it’s going to be a much better year. Even though many of us are not shouting it, deep within our own being, we are hoping 2021 will turn into a better deal for all of us.
There are signs that this new year may be a better one. For one, we will get a new president of the country, someone, who regardless of what a lot of people may say about him, at least can communicate with complete, understandable, and coherent sentences. That in itself is a win! And this person isn’t a narcissistic, egocentric, ignorant, and a completely immature individual. So, yes, I am happy and hopeful for positive change and recovery.
This new year we are also getting a COVID-19 vaccine. And whether you believe that the pandemic is a hoax or not, the vaccine will give us the hope we are all been waiting for. Once we are all vaccinated, or at least the majority of people who believe should be vaccinated, we can go back to our new normal. And yes, I mean, “new normal” because we are never going back to normal. That normal is never going to come back to us, mainly because that normal was destroyed by the pandemic, by the shelter-in-place, by the say-at-home-orders, by businesses closing their doors and many of them never opening again, by the arts suffering losses and many art outlets never coming back again, by the passing of acquaintances, friends, and love ones. The vaccine will give us the opportunity to move forward but never to go back to how things were before. We will be living in a new normal, adjusting our lives accordingly and dealing with life fitting to the damage the COVID-19 caused on us. So yes, we will have a vaccine in this 2021 and it will help us move forward into the new normal but never back to what it once was.
Because of publication deadlines, I’m writing this article weeks before the New Year and weeks before the vaccine arrives. And as I write, I’m hearing the reports about how, as of right now, California COVID-19 cases reached 20,000 in one day and how the hospitals are now at 90% capacity. And while I’m not an expert, I fear this rise on cases will continue because there are three or four very important “holidays” coming up for the Latinx community.
Deciembre 12, the Virgen of Guadalupe Day, where people will gather to have a religious celebration no matter what… because, well, “la madre de dios.”
Las Posadas, a series of religious encounters between households, happening from December 14 to 23. This will happen because it is tradition and well, it’s about Baby Jesus and we must honor him.
Deciembre 24 y 25, La Noche Buena y la Navidad. Do I need to say more about this?
El Año Nuevo, New Year’s, time to celebrate because, well, 2020 is finally gone!
Of course, here I’m only concentrating in the Latinx community and I’m also generalizing but let me tell you that for Halloween and Thanksgiving, my raza did not disappoint in having parties, meals, and gathering against all advice. So, yes, I can almost bet will happen within our communities and also in other communities and other racist,.
And these gatherings are going to complicate things in terms of pandemic recovery. Yes, a vaccine is coming but it isn’t here yet and to have it, we need to curve the infections and keep the spread under control. And until we all have the vaccine, we need to be vigilant, careful, safe, and overall, considerate of others, which is not the greatest virtue for the people of this country.
You may think I sound pessimistic. I am not, I’m a realist and I do say things how I see them, feel them, and experience them every day of my life. Some people say I have no filter; others say I have no regards for others. The thing is that I do. I do care for others, but I don’t sugar-coat reality in order to make sure people digest and understand its meaning. I tell it like it is. And while we are looking at better times ahead, our attitudes right now really make me question if we are really going to have tiempos mejores in a new future.