There is a group of people who spend their lives in a constant back-and-forth, fighting for themselves so that the logic of established power relations does not expel them even further from the outside, because the flow of social movements rejects them. The place that should welcome them does not want them inside. These people, suffering and attached to the very element that repels them, to those who do not recognize them as equals, much less as equal or with the same rights, use all their energies in the conquest of permanence. You will never find them at the center of decisions or occupying valued spaces in the market, but in marginal, intangible and unnoticed areas.

They are the cargadores, rodeadoras, desgranadoras, marginalized and forgotten indigenous people. They were left out of the social struggles and demands in the city, lost in the oblivion of their own battles. For them, the only thing that counts is to survive: to jump over the puddle, to cross the street, to settle on the sidewalk, to establish themselves in little recognized spaces in the city. Even the places they occupy in the markets have no use value, much less commercial value. They are invisible, but they resist, adapting to a world that turns its back on them.

Celinda is a sheller who lives in the San Roque market. More than 18 years ago she migrated from the countryside to the city, arriving with only Kichwa as her language. In this market, she has raised her children, learning to speak Spanish to survive racism and daily exclusion. Her life ceased to be that of the countryside to adapt to the urban rhythm, where she commutes every day to work as a sheller. On her back, she has carried not only the fruits she shells, but also the burden of raising her children, who have seen her suffer in the aisles of the market.

Today, Celinda lives a more comfortable life, achieving social advancement. Although she continues to work as a sheller, she has also taken over the care of the market toilets, a job that has allowed her to support her family with greater stability. Her children, who accompany her and watch her work tirelessly every day, are witnesses to her resilience and strength. Celinda is an example of struggle and adaptation, a woman who, from the margins of the city, has built a space of dignity for herself and her family, resisting adversity with determination and love.