I traveled to Juchitán, Oaxaca, with my mother and my daughter to photograph La Vela de las Muxes. Three generations of women in my family, arriving in a place where gender has been understood with more nuance than the rest of the world is still catching up to. In Zapotec culture, Muxes are a recognized third gender, often born male and embracing the embroidered huipiles of Isthmus tradition, historically among the most respected members of their communities — the ones who care for aging parents, embroider the garments worn at celebrations, and keep the rituals alive. The Vela is their annual celebration: a candlelit night of mass, sones istmeños, parade, and the crowning of a Muxe queen. The streets fill with music and flowers and a joy that is also a quiet kind of courage. Muxes have known to be true for centuries: identity is not something we explain. It is something we live, dance, and honor.