The forenoon rain dropped the temperature of this summer day. It was hefty and brief. On the street, most people do not have umbrellas. Some women returned home from the market dragging a shopping cart. There are no children, although it is the summer vacation. Through my window, I see men working, the postman, and three people chatting happily.
I am a Mexican historian. I studied political history in the most conventional sense of the term for a long time. But I got tired of studying the actions of politicians and statesmen. During the last few years, I have been researching the cholera of the 1830s. I came to New York to learn about the history of epidemics. I am still interested in power relations but focus on gender, race, and class roles.
This is my diary. I will try to write some brief notes every afternoon. Sometimes they will be essays, other reviews of my readings, and some more stories about El Barrio, this corner of Harlem where I now live.
I hope you want to read it.