María Reiche

Hello. My name is María Reiche. I was born a long, long time ago, on May 15th, 1903. When I was a little girl, I loved looking at the world in special ways. I liked to climb up high on things like ladders or hills. When I looked down, everything looked like a big, beautiful puzzle from the sky. Seeing things from up high was my favorite game, and it made me feel so happy to see the world like a giant map.

When I grew up, in the year 1932, I moved to a warm, sunny country called Peru. It was a wonderful place with a very big desert. One day, while I was exploring, I discovered something amazing in the desert sand—giant pictures. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a monkey with a long, curly tail. I saw a big spider and a beautiful hummingbird with a long beak. The drawings were so huge you could only see the whole picture from way, way up high, like if you were a bird or in an airplane. It was a giant, wonderful surprise.

These giant drawings are called the Nazca Lines. I knew they were very special and very old when I began studying them in 1941. I wanted to protect them so they would not disappear forever. Every single day, I went into the hot desert with my broom and a ladder. I would gently sweep the sand and little stones away from the lines. This kept the pictures clean and clear for everyone to see. People saw me working so hard every day and started calling me the 'Lady of the Lines,' which was a very kind name.

I lived to be 95 years old, and I passed away in the year 1998. I spent most of my whole life taking care of my wonderful desert drawings. Because I worked so hard to protect them, you can still see the Nazca Lines today. They are a special treasure for the whole world to enjoy, and that makes me very happy.