Dear Mom: A Photo Essay

Abruptly alone in Spain, I started to summon your strength.

(AKA other moments of courage—big and small)

• Finishing the roadtrip by myself: Across Spain, I faced some of the most terrifyingly tight streets of my life. I got lost. I attempted reading highway signs in Basque hieroglyphics. I ate alone in rest stops and restaurants. I arrived to cities where I knew not a soul. I drove my first rental car. And I completed our culinary roadtrip 100% solo—something I never would have had the guts to do a year before. Every time I wanted to give up, I kept going.

• Being open about my family and our trip: This is the story of why I felt so sad when COVID struck. Why I turned to writing the essay about travel testing me. Why I really struggled when my mother, the person most deserving of a vacation, ended up in bed—not on the beach. Sharing these photos feels like exposing the highs and lows on an even more radically vulnerable level. But I wanted to pay homage to the person that inspires me to be strong every single day—and to always savor every bite.

  ---

  Tatiana Gallardo is a writer, illustrator, and photographer. She’s currently working on a cookbook featuring her mother’s Cuban recipes and beyond. You can read her award-winning photo essay about her mother’s caregiving commitment here.