
Photo
by: Greg Wolf
While
Ángela talks to a customer from inside her stand in the market,
her grandson, Marvin Abanleiva (9), plays with the basketball
that Ángela keeps tucked away there.
Ángela
speaks how basketball unites the women of San Pedro.
Audio:
Ángelaaudio.swf
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Ángela
Rodríguez
Ever
since Ángela Rodríguez was a child growing up
in San Pedro, she has loved to play basketball.
"It´s
marvelous, it´s a beautiful sport," she says.
Along
with a group of women she works with in San Pedro´s
downtown market, Rodríguez eagerly joined the women´s
basketball league when it was formed a year ago. Ángela´s
team is aptly named La Feria, meaning market in Spanish.
Yet
it´s a wonder how Ángela Rodrigez finds time
to play basketball. She is a mother of four and a full-time
worker. One of her sons, Santiago, has muscular dystrophy
and is restricted to a wheel-chair at age 24. Rodríguez´s
husband, Eduardo, suffers from bone deterioration in his hands,
which prevents him from working.
Therefore,
the traditional male-female roles have been reversed in her
family: Rodrigez works while her husband takes care of Santiago
at home.
She
works from 11am till 9pm six days a week at a small stand
in the market, selling everything from wool sweaters to ceramic
trinkets.
Still,
every morning before work, Rodrigez washes Santiago, feeds
him, and even takes him outside in his wheel-chair for some
fresh air. Her work ethic is fierce; her ability to care is
tireless.
Basketball,
for Rodríguez, is an opportunity to escape a little
bit from all these responsibilites, to feel as though she
were a young girl playing in the dusty streets of San Pedro
again.
She
admits that it´s challenging at times to balance her
roles as a mother, a bread-winner, and a basketball player.
"It´s
difficult, but I leave everything behind when I play basketball,"
she says.
That´s
why she tries to get her work done ahead of time and looks
forward to every Sunday, when the women´s league meets
for its matches. She doesn´t care about winning, just
participating.
Basketball
is even more special to Rodrigez because her son, Santiago,
loves to watch her play. Sunday is the only day of the week
when Santiago leaves the confines of the family´s home
and front-yard.
He
is her biggest fan.
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