Lead With Your Heart

Table of Contents

• Girls Play, Too
• Soccer Dreams
• A Better Life
• Amigas
• Different Opinions
• More Than Prayers
• Goals
• Get Into Formation
• Soccer Showcase!
• Hope
• Changemakers

Girls Play, Too

The smell of grilled corn drifts through the Hispanic Heritage Month fiesta in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington D.C. Maritza’s stomach growls right on cue. She has just crossed the finish line first in the neighborhood’s kids’ 5K. A shiny medal hangs around her neck. Her best friend, Sierra, elbows her toward Mrs. Mendez’s MexiExpress food truck to celebrate with elote, corn on the cob slathered with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, a squeeze of lime, and Tajín, a tangy lime and chile pepper seasoning.

Maritza and Sierra have been inseparable since kindergarten in Capitol Hill. Now they’re both seventh-graders at D.C. Bilingual Middle School. Sierra’s family is Mexican American, and Maritza’s family is half-Mexican American and half-Bolivian American. They love the same things: festivals, food trucks, dancing, and goofy baby goat videos.

They used to play together on their school’s coed soccer team, the D.C. Jaguars, too, until Sierra quit after one too many bruised knees and bloody noses. Back then, whenever the Jaguars faced a coordinator named Mr. Ramos and his all-boy squad, he’d blame his players for losing to a team of girls.

Columbia Heights feels like home to both girls, where Mexican and Central American flavors mix easily with Bolivian ones. Maritza feels like she belongs to it completely.

As Sierra and Maritza walk through the festival, young girls gawk at Maritza. Sierra comments that Maritza is practically a celebrity now. She should start dressing the part. Maritza stops walking and asks what’s wrong with her fashion. She does a twirl to show off her leggings, track jacket, fanny pack, and “I Run D.C.” t-shirt.

Sierra says after the race, Maritza should’ve changed into the blouse Sierra gifted her from Guanajuato. It’s identical to the turquoise blouse Sierra is wearing today, but in coral. Maritza promises that someday she’ll wear the blouse for something super important.

Soon, it’s time for Sierra to get ready for her ballet folklórico performance. Maritza finds her parents and abuelos in the front row of the seating area. The girls take their seats as the mariachi band starts to play their music. When they do, Javier, Maritza’s big brother, struts onstage in a jarocho outfit with a red sash and straw hat and stomps out a fast, thundering zapateado on a wooden platform. Maritza’s parents film every second on their phones. The crowd roars along with the guitars.

Before Sierra’s own group goes on, a girl named Yesenia comes sprinting over in a D.C. Azules jersey. Yesenia plays on the youth soccer team Dad coaches, named for its blue color and stitched with the flags of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the United States, representing the players’ families. Yesenia is close to tears. Mr. Ramos, now organizing today’s children’s match, refuses to let girls play at all. Maritza promises Sierra she’ll be back in time for her performance, hands off her elote, and races off after Yesenia to help.