Maria is from the Q’ero nation, indigenous to the high Andes in Perú. Her portrait was taken at about 4,400 meters, close to Ausangate, a most sacred Apu (mountain) to the Q’ero people and among Perú’s highest mountains (6,384m). Trees are a rarity at these high altitudes and treated with great reverence.

Maria is standing by a Queña tree (also called Queñua), which is a Quechua name, the main language spoken by the Q’ero people. The Queña is one of the most representative trees of the high Andean regions. It is part of the Polylepis genus and Rosaceae family. These are among the highest growing trees on the planet. Queña forests are often locally referred to as “enchanted forests”. These trees are extremely resilient and can withstand extreme weather conditions. They provide the main structure of the highest forests above sea level on our planet. Queña trees have the ability to provide oxygen in high places exceeding 4,000 meters in altitude. They have been felled in excess for centuries. These trees only use 5% of the water a eucalyptus uses, a tree that is originally from Australia and that has been planted in large quantities in the Peruvian highlands because its trunk is straight and it grows fast.

The Q’ero people kept their ancestral ways alive and the wisdom on how to live in harmony and in reciprocal relationship with the wider community of life. A central principle in their culture is the concept of ‘Ayni’, of giving and receiving, and living in sacred reciprocity with the circle of life.