¿Quién...no ama el lugar,
la tierra natal, y donde ha nacido?
Terruño de amor, El Salvador,
¡donde yo vivo!
¿Quién? ¿Quién? ¿Quién?
¿Quién? ¿Quién?
¿Quién...vivirá en su pueblo nato
palmará su mano ahí
como buen salvadoreño
con orgullo vive aquí?
¿Quién? ¿Quién? ¿Quién?
¿Quién? ¿Quién?
¿Quién...vivirá en su pueblo nato
palmará su mano ahí
y dirá con todo orgullo
"Madre tierra, ¡soy de ti!"?
(Leonardo Heredia - Jingle para "Kolashampan - El Sabor de El Salvador")
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
El Legado Español en América Latina...517 Años Después
El tres de Agosto de 1492, el navegante italiano Cristoforo Colombo (Cristóbal Colón) zarpó del Puerto de Palos, en España, para explorar una nueva ruta oeste hacia la India. Las tres caravelas, la Pinta, la Niña y la Santa María navegarón el Atlántico bajo los auspicios de los Monarcas Españoles. Poco se imaginaron que la isla que habrían de alzcanzar al amanecer del 12 de Octubre estaba localizada en el Mar Caribe, a las costas de un continente aún desconocido, a miles de millas náuticas de las costas de la India.
El descubrimiento de América por Cristóbal Colón inauguró la usurpación y la conquista del Nuevo Continente dirigido por la Corona Española, pero luego por otros imperios europeos también. Lentamente, pero con paso firme y mucha determinación, los Conquistadores se hicieron su paso tierra adentro, sacando a imperios Amerindios de sus tierras y proclamándolas propiedad de la Corona Española. Con crueldad masacraron a muchos, pero les perdonaron la vida a algunos, a quienes esclavizaron como sus peones y "burros" de carga, forzándoles el Catolicismo Romano y la lengua de Castilla bajo la garganta. Fueron muchas las ciudades y clanes Amerindios que con gallardía se opusieron ante el avanze español, pero aún la capital azteca de Tenochtitlán, la ciudad pipil de Cuscatlán y la imperial ciudad Inca de Cuzco fueron capturadas y forzadas a rendirse.
En la mayoría de la experiencia latinoamericana, durante los tiempos de la Colonia y aún después de las Guerras de Independencia (en el amanecer del Siglo XIX) iban naciendo nuevas sociedades y naciones de la mezcla de tres Mundos, tres Razas y tres Culturas. La primera de ellas fue la Amerindia, la cual consiste de los sobrevivientes Mayas, Incas, Aztecas, Chibchas, Boricuas, Pipiles, Taínos y de otro sin-número de tribus a lo largo y ancho de la América Precolombina. El segundo componente fue el Español/Europeo, los victoriosos sobre las tierras americanas, quienes vinieron a éstas costas para hacerse ricos terratenientes y administradores del Poder Imperial en Madrid, trayendo consigo lengua, costumbres, religión, arquitectura y estructuras civiles y sociales. El tercer componente es el de Africa, aquellos esclavos que fueron importados para trabajar en la costa Atlántica, quienes también trajeron sus religiones, costumbres y música.
A través de la América Latina de hoy en día todavía existe el desdén hacia España, debido a la imposición de la vida europea sobre los pueblos indígenas de la América precolombina. Muchas injusticias fueron hechas en contra de los indígenas despojados, a quienes se les quitó su tierra y su cultura conocida, para vivir una vida distinta. Es de notar, empero, que la imposición de la vida europea en América no fue tan absoluta como las colonias inglesas, por ejemplo. Las ciudades de Lima, México, Caracas, San Salvador, Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, Santo Domingo y Guadalajara no florecieron simplemente como satélites de Madrid, sino que al final terminaron por desarrollar su propio estilo de vida, cultura, costumbres y hasta su versión del español vernacular. Mucho de lo que ahora es América Latina es un producto de la mezcla cultural de esos tres Mundos, y no solo el Europeo.
En países como El Salvador, el 90% de la gente tiene ascendencia mestiza, es decir, mezclada entre Indígena y Europea. La influencia Africana no fue tan fuerte como en la costa del Atlántico, dada su situación geográfica en la costa pacífica de la región norte de Centro América. De todos modos, El Salvador actual como lo conocemos ahora es tanto cultural como racialmente mestiza, con expresiones culturales que asi lo reflejan, como las pupusas o el atol de elote, danzas típicas como el Torito Pinto o Las Cortadoras, la incorporación de palabras pipiles al castellano moderno, hasta la mezcla de superstición indígena con el Catolicismo Romano, una mezcla que aún es evidente en los pueblos del país. Tanto en la cocina, como en la música, en la sangre, en el hablado vernacular, en las costumbres y la identidad: no somos ni completamente indígenas ni completamente europeos, sino Mestizos.
No puedo negar el dolor y el sufrimiento que la mitad de mis ancestros pusieron injustamente sobre los hombros de la otra mitad de mis ancestros, pero negar la mitad de mi ascendencia es negar mi identidad como puro Salvadoreño, moreno y hablante del vernacular Caliche. Hasta que no reconciliemos ambas caras de la historia y cerremos la vieja herida no podremos abrazar nuestra verdadera identidad mixta, una identidad que es ahora nuestra y que nos identifica no solamente como salvadoreños, sino como latino-americanos.
Somos hijos e hijas de aquél día trágico y sorpresivo, el 12 de Octubre de 1492.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
El descubrimiento de América por Cristóbal Colón inauguró la usurpación y la conquista del Nuevo Continente dirigido por la Corona Española, pero luego por otros imperios europeos también. Lentamente, pero con paso firme y mucha determinación, los Conquistadores se hicieron su paso tierra adentro, sacando a imperios Amerindios de sus tierras y proclamándolas propiedad de la Corona Española. Con crueldad masacraron a muchos, pero les perdonaron la vida a algunos, a quienes esclavizaron como sus peones y "burros" de carga, forzándoles el Catolicismo Romano y la lengua de Castilla bajo la garganta. Fueron muchas las ciudades y clanes Amerindios que con gallardía se opusieron ante el avanze español, pero aún la capital azteca de Tenochtitlán, la ciudad pipil de Cuscatlán y la imperial ciudad Inca de Cuzco fueron capturadas y forzadas a rendirse.
En la mayoría de la experiencia latinoamericana, durante los tiempos de la Colonia y aún después de las Guerras de Independencia (en el amanecer del Siglo XIX) iban naciendo nuevas sociedades y naciones de la mezcla de tres Mundos, tres Razas y tres Culturas. La primera de ellas fue la Amerindia, la cual consiste de los sobrevivientes Mayas, Incas, Aztecas, Chibchas, Boricuas, Pipiles, Taínos y de otro sin-número de tribus a lo largo y ancho de la América Precolombina. El segundo componente fue el Español/Europeo, los victoriosos sobre las tierras americanas, quienes vinieron a éstas costas para hacerse ricos terratenientes y administradores del Poder Imperial en Madrid, trayendo consigo lengua, costumbres, religión, arquitectura y estructuras civiles y sociales. El tercer componente es el de Africa, aquellos esclavos que fueron importados para trabajar en la costa Atlántica, quienes también trajeron sus religiones, costumbres y música.
A través de la América Latina de hoy en día todavía existe el desdén hacia España, debido a la imposición de la vida europea sobre los pueblos indígenas de la América precolombina. Muchas injusticias fueron hechas en contra de los indígenas despojados, a quienes se les quitó su tierra y su cultura conocida, para vivir una vida distinta. Es de notar, empero, que la imposición de la vida europea en América no fue tan absoluta como las colonias inglesas, por ejemplo. Las ciudades de Lima, México, Caracas, San Salvador, Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, Santo Domingo y Guadalajara no florecieron simplemente como satélites de Madrid, sino que al final terminaron por desarrollar su propio estilo de vida, cultura, costumbres y hasta su versión del español vernacular. Mucho de lo que ahora es América Latina es un producto de la mezcla cultural de esos tres Mundos, y no solo el Europeo.
En países como El Salvador, el 90% de la gente tiene ascendencia mestiza, es decir, mezclada entre Indígena y Europea. La influencia Africana no fue tan fuerte como en la costa del Atlántico, dada su situación geográfica en la costa pacífica de la región norte de Centro América. De todos modos, El Salvador actual como lo conocemos ahora es tanto cultural como racialmente mestiza, con expresiones culturales que asi lo reflejan, como las pupusas o el atol de elote, danzas típicas como el Torito Pinto o Las Cortadoras, la incorporación de palabras pipiles al castellano moderno, hasta la mezcla de superstición indígena con el Catolicismo Romano, una mezcla que aún es evidente en los pueblos del país. Tanto en la cocina, como en la música, en la sangre, en el hablado vernacular, en las costumbres y la identidad: no somos ni completamente indígenas ni completamente europeos, sino Mestizos.
No puedo negar el dolor y el sufrimiento que la mitad de mis ancestros pusieron injustamente sobre los hombros de la otra mitad de mis ancestros, pero negar la mitad de mi ascendencia es negar mi identidad como puro Salvadoreño, moreno y hablante del vernacular Caliche. Hasta que no reconciliemos ambas caras de la historia y cerremos la vieja herida no podremos abrazar nuestra verdadera identidad mixta, una identidad que es ahora nuestra y que nos identifica no solamente como salvadoreños, sino como latino-americanos.
Somos hijos e hijas de aquél día trágico y sorpresivo, el 12 de Octubre de 1492.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yo soy del viejo continente y tú
y tú floreces siempre cada mañana
tu tierra estalla cuando ve la luz
¡Madre semilla americana!
En un pasado amargo como hiel
llegaron hombres con gritos de guerra
pobres de espíritu sangriento y cruel
que exterminaron gentes y tierras.
Me duele, tan dentro, igual que a tí
dos mentes dos mares
dos gotas iguales
tan cerca tan lejos
¡Hermanos de Sangre!
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para recuperar cada momento
todo el peso de la historia
me ha colgado la cruz de la memoria
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para saborear este momento
dame tiempo que estoy loco
abre tu corazón poquito a poco
Mi tierra llora siempre al recordar
barbaridades, terribles conquistas
crónica negra de un pasado gris
que ahora está oculto bajo tu risa
Me duele, tan dentro, igual que a tí
dos mentes dos mares
dos gotas iguales
tan cerca tan lejos
¡Hermanos de Sangre!
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para recuperar cada momento
ya no hay guerras no hay fronteras
¡esa tiene que ser nuestra bandera!
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para saborear cada momento
frutas con distinto aroma
¡pero hablamos tu y yo el mismo idioma..!
(Amistades Peligrosas - Hermanos de Sangre)
y tú floreces siempre cada mañana
tu tierra estalla cuando ve la luz
¡Madre semilla americana!
En un pasado amargo como hiel
llegaron hombres con gritos de guerra
pobres de espíritu sangriento y cruel
que exterminaron gentes y tierras.
Me duele, tan dentro, igual que a tí
dos mentes dos mares
dos gotas iguales
tan cerca tan lejos
¡Hermanos de Sangre!
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para recuperar cada momento
todo el peso de la historia
me ha colgado la cruz de la memoria
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para saborear este momento
dame tiempo que estoy loco
abre tu corazón poquito a poco
Mi tierra llora siempre al recordar
barbaridades, terribles conquistas
crónica negra de un pasado gris
que ahora está oculto bajo tu risa
Me duele, tan dentro, igual que a tí
dos mentes dos mares
dos gotas iguales
tan cerca tan lejos
¡Hermanos de Sangre!
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para recuperar cada momento
ya no hay guerras no hay fronteras
¡esa tiene que ser nuestra bandera!
Dame tiempo dame tiempo
para saborear cada momento
frutas con distinto aroma
¡pero hablamos tu y yo el mismo idioma..!
(Amistades Peligrosas - Hermanos de Sangre)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Spanish Legacy on Latin America... 517 years later
On the third of August, 1492, the Italian navigator Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus) departed from the port of Palos, in Spain, to explore a new westward route to India. The three ships, the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María sailed under the auspices of the Spanish Monarchs. Little did they imagine that the island they would reach on the dawn of the 12th of October was located in the Caribbean Sea, just off the mainland of another unknown continent thousands of nautical miles away from the shores of India.
The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus inaugurated the usurpation and conquest of the New Continent by the Spanish Crown, later followed by other European empires. Slowly but with a steady pace and determination, the Conquistadores made their way inland, forcing entire Amerindian Empires out their lands and proclaiming those territories property of the Spanish Empire. With cruelty they massacred many, but subdued the survivors to work for them, forcing them to swallow Roman-Catholicism and the Castillian language. Many brave Amerindian cities and clans fiercely opposed the Spanish invasion, but even the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, the Pipil city of Cuscatlán and the imperial Inca city of Cuzco were soon captured and forced to surrender.
In most of the Latin-American experience, during the colonial times and even after the Wars of Independence (by the turn of the 19th Century), new societies and nations were emerging from the clash of three Worlds, three Races and three Cultures. The first of them is the Amerindian component, consisting of the survivors from the Maya, Inca, Aztec, Chibcha, Boricua, Pipil, Taíno and many other tribes across the pre-Columbian America. The second component from the mixture is the Spanish/European, the victors over the American lands who came to these shores to become rich land-owners, administrators of the Imperial Power in Madrid, bringing language, customs, religion, architecture, civil and social structures. The third one is from Africa, the slaves that were imported to work as slaves in the Atlantic coast, who also brought their religions, customs and music.
Across modern Latin-America there still exists a hatred against Spain, because of the imposition of European life in the life of Indigenous peoples in the pre-Columbian America. Many injustices were done against the defeated Amerindians, who were stripped from their lands and known culture to embrace a new life. Interestingly, the imposition of European life in America was not as absolute as in English colonies, for example. The cities of Lima, México, Caracas, San Salvador, Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala , Santo Domingo and Guadalajara did not flourish to become just satellites from Madrid, but in the end developed their own style of life, culture, customs and even vernacular Spanish. Much of what Latin America is now is the product of the cultural blending of these three Worlds, not just the European one.
In countries like El Salvador, as much as 90% of the people have mixed Amerindian/European ("Mestizo") ancestry. The African influence was not as strong as in the Atlantic coast, given its geographical situation in the Pacific shores of northern Central America. However, El Salvador as we know it today is both racially and culturally Mestizo, from cultural expressions like the Pupusa or Atol de Elote, to typical dances like Torito Pinto and Las Cortadoras, to the incorporation of Pipil words into the modern-day Spanish, to the mixture of Amerindian superstition and Roman-Catholicism that can still be seen in small pueblos across the nation. Cuisine, music, blood, vernacular speech, customs, identity: we are not either full Amerindian not full European, but Mestizos.
I cannot deny the pain and the suffering that half of my ancestors unjustly put on the other half of my ancestors, but denying a half of my ancestry is denying my identity as a full-blooded, moreno and Caliche-speaking Salvadoran. Until we don't reconcile both sides of the story and let the wound heal we would never be able to embrace our true mixed identity, an identity that is now ours and that identifies us not only as Salvadorans, but as Latin-Americans.
We are all sons and daughters of that tragic and surprising day, 12 of October 1492.
The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus inaugurated the usurpation and conquest of the New Continent by the Spanish Crown, later followed by other European empires. Slowly but with a steady pace and determination, the Conquistadores made their way inland, forcing entire Amerindian Empires out their lands and proclaiming those territories property of the Spanish Empire. With cruelty they massacred many, but subdued the survivors to work for them, forcing them to swallow Roman-Catholicism and the Castillian language. Many brave Amerindian cities and clans fiercely opposed the Spanish invasion, but even the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, the Pipil city of Cuscatlán and the imperial Inca city of Cuzco were soon captured and forced to surrender.
In most of the Latin-American experience, during the colonial times and even after the Wars of Independence (by the turn of the 19th Century), new societies and nations were emerging from the clash of three Worlds, three Races and three Cultures. The first of them is the Amerindian component, consisting of the survivors from the Maya, Inca, Aztec, Chibcha, Boricua, Pipil, Taíno and many other tribes across the pre-Columbian America. The second component from the mixture is the Spanish/European, the victors over the American lands who came to these shores to become rich land-owners, administrators of the Imperial Power in Madrid, bringing language, customs, religion, architecture, civil and social structures. The third one is from Africa, the slaves that were imported to work as slaves in the Atlantic coast, who also brought their religions, customs and music.
Across modern Latin-America there still exists a hatred against Spain, because of the imposition of European life in the life of Indigenous peoples in the pre-Columbian America. Many injustices were done against the defeated Amerindians, who were stripped from their lands and known culture to embrace a new life. Interestingly, the imposition of European life in America was not as absolute as in English colonies, for example. The cities of Lima, México, Caracas, San Salvador, Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala , Santo Domingo and Guadalajara did not flourish to become just satellites from Madrid, but in the end developed their own style of life, culture, customs and even vernacular Spanish. Much of what Latin America is now is the product of the cultural blending of these three Worlds, not just the European one.
In countries like El Salvador, as much as 90% of the people have mixed Amerindian/European ("Mestizo") ancestry. The African influence was not as strong as in the Atlantic coast, given its geographical situation in the Pacific shores of northern Central America. However, El Salvador as we know it today is both racially and culturally Mestizo, from cultural expressions like the Pupusa or Atol de Elote, to typical dances like Torito Pinto and Las Cortadoras, to the incorporation of Pipil words into the modern-day Spanish, to the mixture of Amerindian superstition and Roman-Catholicism that can still be seen in small pueblos across the nation. Cuisine, music, blood, vernacular speech, customs, identity: we are not either full Amerindian not full European, but Mestizos.
I cannot deny the pain and the suffering that half of my ancestors unjustly put on the other half of my ancestors, but denying a half of my ancestry is denying my identity as a full-blooded, moreno and Caliche-speaking Salvadoran. Until we don't reconcile both sides of the story and let the wound heal we would never be able to embrace our true mixed identity, an identity that is now ours and that identifies us not only as Salvadorans, but as Latin-Americans.
We are all sons and daughters of that tragic and surprising day, 12 of October 1492.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Alfonsina and the Sea
The famous Argentinian writer and poet Alfonsina Storni left her room on Tuesday, the 25th of October 1938, and went for a stroll on the beach at Mar de Plata, Argentina. Her body was discovered in the sea the next morning. A legend arose that Alfonsina, troubled by her terminal illness, slowly walked into the ocean. The song "Alfonsina y el Mar" ("Alfonsina and the Sea") was later composed by two fellow Argentinians, Ariel Ramirez and Félix Luna, inspired by the suicide of Alfonsina Storni. This song has been performed by many Latin American artists, but one of the most important ones was by Mercedes Sosa, a world-famous Argentinian folk-singer who recently passed away.
The song is extremely sad, but extremely beautiful at the same time and that's why I want to share it with you. It captures the melancholy of Alfonsina, who slowly makes her way into the water, leaving her life and works behind, ready to embrace her destiny...
The English translation:
You can hear this song here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN9z585ziww
The song is extremely sad, but extremely beautiful at the same time and that's why I want to share it with you. It captures the melancholy of Alfonsina, who slowly makes her way into the water, leaving her life and works behind, ready to embrace her destiny...
The English translation:
Over the soft sand licking the sand
Her small footprint never comes again
And a single path of grief and silence
Reached the deep water
A single path of mute griefs
Reached the foam
God know what anguish filled you
What ancient sorrow deadened your voice
To lay you down lulled
By the singing of the sea shells
The song on the dark bottom of the sea
Sung by the shell
You are going away, Alfonsina,
Along with your solitude
What new poems did you go to search for?
An ancient voice of wind and salt
Breaks your soul and it's taking it away
And you go, over there, as in a dream
Asleep Alfonsina, clothed with the sea
Five little mermaids will take you
Through ways of seaweeds and corals
And phosphorescent sea horses
Will make a round at your side
And the inhabitants of the water
Are soon going to play at your side
Soften the lamp a bit more
Let me sleep in peace, nurse
And if he calls, don't tell him I'm here
Tell him Alfonsina is not coming back
And if he calls, you never tell him I'm here
Just say that I am gone
You are going away, Alfonsina,
Along with your solitude
What new poems did you go to search for?
An ancient voice of wind and salt
Breaks your soul and it's taking it away
And you go, over there, as in a dream
Asleep Alfonsina, clothed with the sea
Her small footprint never comes again
And a single path of grief and silence
Reached the deep water
A single path of mute griefs
Reached the foam
God know what anguish filled you
What ancient sorrow deadened your voice
To lay you down lulled
By the singing of the sea shells
The song on the dark bottom of the sea
Sung by the shell
You are going away, Alfonsina,
Along with your solitude
What new poems did you go to search for?
An ancient voice of wind and salt
Breaks your soul and it's taking it away
And you go, over there, as in a dream
Asleep Alfonsina, clothed with the sea
Five little mermaids will take you
Through ways of seaweeds and corals
And phosphorescent sea horses
Will make a round at your side
And the inhabitants of the water
Are soon going to play at your side
Soften the lamp a bit more
Let me sleep in peace, nurse
And if he calls, don't tell him I'm here
Tell him Alfonsina is not coming back
And if he calls, you never tell him I'm here
Just say that I am gone
You are going away, Alfonsina,
Along with your solitude
What new poems did you go to search for?
An ancient voice of wind and salt
Breaks your soul and it's taking it away
And you go, over there, as in a dream
Asleep Alfonsina, clothed with the sea
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Por la blanca arena que lame el mar
Su pequeña huella no vuelve más
Y un sendero solo de pena y silencio
Llegó hasta el agua profunda
Un sendero solo de penas mudas
Llegó hasta la espuma
¡Sabe Dios que angustia te acompañó!
¡Que dolores viejos calló tu voz!
Para recostarte, arrullada en el canto
De las caracolas marinas
La canción que canta en el fondo oscuro del mar
La caracola
¡Te vas, Alfonsina, con tu soledad!
¿Qué poemas nuevos fuiste a buscar?
Una voz antigua de viento y de sal
Te requiebra el alma y la está llevando
Y te vas, hasta allá, como en sueños
Dormida, Alfonsina, vestida de mar...
Cinco sirenitas te llevarán
Por caminos de algas y de coral
Y fosforescentes caballos marinas harán
Una ronda a tu lado
Y los habitantes del agua van a jugar
Pronto a tu lado
¡Bájame la lámpara un poco más!
Déjame que duerma, nodriza, en paz
Y si llama él, no le digas que estoy
Dile que Alfonsina no vuelve
Y si llama él, no le digas nunca que estoy
Dile que me he ido
Su pequeña huella no vuelve más
Y un sendero solo de pena y silencio
Llegó hasta el agua profunda
Un sendero solo de penas mudas
Llegó hasta la espuma
¡Sabe Dios que angustia te acompañó!
¡Que dolores viejos calló tu voz!
Para recostarte, arrullada en el canto
De las caracolas marinas
La canción que canta en el fondo oscuro del mar
La caracola
¡Te vas, Alfonsina, con tu soledad!
¿Qué poemas nuevos fuiste a buscar?
Una voz antigua de viento y de sal
Te requiebra el alma y la está llevando
Y te vas, hasta allá, como en sueños
Dormida, Alfonsina, vestida de mar...
Cinco sirenitas te llevarán
Por caminos de algas y de coral
Y fosforescentes caballos marinas harán
Una ronda a tu lado
Y los habitantes del agua van a jugar
Pronto a tu lado
¡Bájame la lámpara un poco más!
Déjame que duerma, nodriza, en paz
Y si llama él, no le digas que estoy
Dile que Alfonsina no vuelve
Y si llama él, no le digas nunca que estoy
Dile que me he ido
¡Te vas, Alfonsina, con tu soledad!
¿Qué poemas nuevos fuiste a buscar?
Una voz antigua de viento y de sal
Te requiebra el alma y la está llevando
Y te vas, hasta allá, como en sueños
Dormida, Alfonsina, vestida de mar...
¿Qué poemas nuevos fuiste a buscar?
Una voz antigua de viento y de sal
Te requiebra el alma y la está llevando
Y te vas, hasta allá, como en sueños
Dormida, Alfonsina, vestida de mar...
You can hear this song here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN9z585ziww
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Moonlit Path
For lunch he ate a bit of desperation and stress, for afternoon tea he had a warm cup of anger and for dinner a plate of weariness and exhaustion. He was convinced that working in the office from nine to five was tedious, and yet he had to work extra hours because the finances were crumbling. As the sun was setting in some random location towards the western suburbs, he slowly watched everyone else leave the office, returning to their houses where warm food, wives, children and dogs were eagerly waiting for them. He watched them leave, with a bit of secret resentment, being himself deprived from such pleasures.
Half way through the night he suddenly felt trapped in that little office, a strange sense of claustrophobia that made his anger and fear increase by the minute. The amount of work to do was staggering, and for some reason the piles of paperwork just seemed to replicate and grow, as if driven by some devilish and obscure power. The sounds of the cars passing by tormented him, reminding him of the pleasure of life outside the prison he was trapped in. Even the clock hanging at the wall, with its stupid oval face. Even that pacemaker laughed at him, mocking the time he couldn't afford to spare. Deadlines, deadlines.
Tic, toc, tic, toc.
But it only took him one split second to do it. He grabbed his coat, left the piles behind, opened the door with regained energies, and smelled the fresh October air. He grabbed his bike and started pedaling away. Ahh, the feeling of freedom at last! His bicycle took him to places he had never been before, through sinusoidal paths surrounded by deciduous trees that had started to lose their green coverings. There were no lamps along the way - it was the full moon that guided him. The wind against his face was just enough to dry the tears of joy, those tears of freedom, of peace, of regained liberty, of sustained energy, of a supernatural driving force that could not make him stop. The pedaling felt like music to his body, a song that captured everything, every scent, every sound, every essence of life. He could almost fly - he could feel it now, like an airplane taking off from the beautiful moonlit path he was riding on.
The lonely trees, the moonlit path and the full moon were the only witnesses. He vanished into the air, like a beautiful musical note flying across fields, across valleys and across mountains.
Nobody even noticed the following Monday that he didn't showed up to work. He was free, at last.
Half way through the night he suddenly felt trapped in that little office, a strange sense of claustrophobia that made his anger and fear increase by the minute. The amount of work to do was staggering, and for some reason the piles of paperwork just seemed to replicate and grow, as if driven by some devilish and obscure power. The sounds of the cars passing by tormented him, reminding him of the pleasure of life outside the prison he was trapped in. Even the clock hanging at the wall, with its stupid oval face. Even that pacemaker laughed at him, mocking the time he couldn't afford to spare. Deadlines, deadlines.
Tic, toc, tic, toc.
But it only took him one split second to do it. He grabbed his coat, left the piles behind, opened the door with regained energies, and smelled the fresh October air. He grabbed his bike and started pedaling away. Ahh, the feeling of freedom at last! His bicycle took him to places he had never been before, through sinusoidal paths surrounded by deciduous trees that had started to lose their green coverings. There were no lamps along the way - it was the full moon that guided him. The wind against his face was just enough to dry the tears of joy, those tears of freedom, of peace, of regained liberty, of sustained energy, of a supernatural driving force that could not make him stop. The pedaling felt like music to his body, a song that captured everything, every scent, every sound, every essence of life. He could almost fly - he could feel it now, like an airplane taking off from the beautiful moonlit path he was riding on.
The lonely trees, the moonlit path and the full moon were the only witnesses. He vanished into the air, like a beautiful musical note flying across fields, across valleys and across mountains.
Nobody even noticed the following Monday that he didn't showed up to work. He was free, at last.
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