Many times in the past, I tried to reconnect with my origins but I kind of failed. It’s a difficult feeling to express, as it seems impossible to fail at being oneself, but that’s the feeling that resonated within me for a while.

I am of native andean descents, yet I grew up in France and don’t know much about my birth country. I tried twice to join and participate in cultural events and associations, but each times I felt slightly ostracized. Not speaking the language didn’t help, but it wasn’t just words that I couldn’t understand.

Surprisingly, this is here in the UK that I felt the call to reconnect again. In my pursuit of understanding my cultural heritage, I reached out to a Peruvian medicine man, with whom I talked about my feelings of being uprooted. I wasn’t surprised when he told me that this feeling of disconnection was actually a illusion. By being “myself” I was already honoring my heritage, throughout all my being. The link with my roots can only be broken if I am.

Hence it was my responsibility to keep the feeling alive. While talking about my mental health, we derived naturally to physical health and nutrition. We ended up talking about the virtues of native fruits and vegetables. The shaman told me that colours are very important when consuming food, meaning that each hue offers a different energy or emotion to the person who eats it. This perspective on food, seeing it as a remedy for both mind and body, transcending nutritional value, is something that I would like to infuse in my daily life.

Surprisingly, that same week, I received my weekly vegetable box with a little pack of tomatillos. This green little round fruit is native to South America, and is cousin to physalis (ground cherry) which comes specifically from Peru (but is yellow). It seemed like a good opportunity to keep the link alive by making salsa verde.

These fruits are so pretty, they look like little lanterns when they are still covered by their husk. In fact, the husk is named the calyx in botanical terms and its aim is to protect and “conceal” the fruit. While many fruits are simply left in the open for birds and animals to feed on, or protected by a strong shell, this plant choose to cover them with an elegant veil.

I had some dried peonies hanging there, and I thought that they would make a good combination with the tomatillos. Feeling lighter after the shamanic session, I wanted to convey this feeling with this shot which, to me, speaks of youth and abundance.