My name is Pista Ruth Esther Sandoval. I carry the joy, the loyalty, and the courage of the women who came before me. I am not three people. I am one person who has finally stopped running from her own reflection.
Ruth – that was her mother’s choice, after the biblical widow who said, "Where you go, I will go." Her mother had left everything behind in Guatemala – family, language, home – to clean hotel rooms in Los Angeles. She named her daughter Ruth so she would never forget what loyalty cost, and what it was worth. Pista ruth esther sandoval
By combining these two names, implies a balance of character: the gentle loyalty of Ruth and the fierce courage of Esther. My name is Pista Ruth Esther Sandoval
If you are in Guatemala City, visit the Memorial para la Concordia in Zone 1. Ask the guide specifically for the "Pista de las Maestras" (The Teachers’ Trail). There, among the cobblestones, you will find a small brass plaque. It is the only official marker of the track Ruth Esther Sandoval ran—and the one we must continue to run. I am one person who has finally stopped