SotoMotion - Raptures or Illusions

Rakkasah 2010

Classic Trucks

This weekend I was inspired to do some photography when I visited Fairfax and saw some old classic trucks. They reminded me of my father. My father loved his classic trucks. There were three as I recall, a Chevy from the 40's and later one from the early 50's, turquoise green, then came the more modern beige-brown one. My father already appreciated their classic artistic lines, even before they technically qualified as antiques. I try to imagine what the poetry of it was for him. He had grown up in Queens, New York, and moved to Taos, New Mexico, as a young man, along with mother, when I was still a young toddler. Together we set out to add on to our adobe home. Side by side, we learned to mix the mud with straw and sand to get the right consistency to splatter and smooth over the adobe bricks. But it was the trucks I was telling you about, I am imagining the trucks. The old trucks he loved. He did not want to get rid of them even when they were leaked oil and got rusty-- though my mother prodded. I think he loved those round classic lines. I wonder what the trucks must have represented: something to do with his innate artistic aesthetic, he came from a highly educated cultured family so perhaps it was simutaneously an act of rebellion, the country rural life, the West, the poetry of traveling on Route 66 in a Chevy, independence far from the city life he had known, creating a life for himself. There is something rugged, purposeful, practical and artistic all at the same time about these trucks.

Daniel Potter's Work

The following are photographic extracts from three paintings by artist Daniel Potter. He studied and worked closely with Ann O'Hanlan for many years. Currently he lives in Fairfax in Marin County, teaches art to children and practices and teaches Buddhist meditation. I first met Daniel in 1981 when, in addition to his involvement with visual arts, he was actively involved in acting and directing a fusion of experimental and classical theatre.

Los siguientes son extractos fotográficos de tres pinturas por el artista Daniel Potter. El estudió y trabajó estrechamente con Ann O'Hanlan por muchos años. Actualmente vive en Fairfax en el condado de Marin, enseña arte a los niños y practica y enseña meditación buddhista. Yo lo conocí en 1981 cuando, aparte de sus actividades en las artes visuales, también estaba involucrado en la actuación y dirección de una fusión de teatro experimental y clásico.

International Festival of Poetry of Granada

"The sun had broken through the opaque veil of clouds and bathed a bend in the path with a pearled golden light... "-- Ruben Darío (Azul, 1888)

This last february I went to Nicaragua for the first time to attend at the V International Festival of Poetry that takes place in Granada Nicaragua, a colonial city with its full compliment of enchanting arquitecture and colors (see the doorways below). Even before setting out on the trip, the enchantment of Granada was already working inside me-- as it turns out since colonial times it has been linked with another Central American city close to my heart, Antigua, Guatemala, where I once had a very special extended visit, apart from the fact that it also forms part of my childhood memories. Arriving in Nicaragua, is already in and of itself, impressive from from the air, from the little window of the plane you can appreciate countless lakes and volcanoes which make up the most notable elements of its topography. Every volcano is crowned with a mysterious veil of clouds.

And when you talk about spending a week among poets from the four corners of the earth, drinking from the same poetic chalice, this implies nothing less than magic and enchantment, above all if it is in a country with the great cultural and poetic tradition that Nicaragua has. I had the enormous pleasure of meeting poets who I have always admired like Yvegeny Yevtushenko, Gioconda Belli, Anne Waldman, Ernesto Carednal and of meeting many others. Since the time of Ruben Darío (1867-1916), father of Latin American Moderism, this country has been recognized worldwide for its poetic soul. And it is true, I lived it, I felt it, and experienced it in the people, at every turn, obviously in the poets, but perhaps what impressed me even more were the children that from a very young age carry poetry in their veins, they want to be poets, they recited poetry, theirs and that of the great writers of their country, with tenderness, making their own. The children and the youth of Nicaragua have no equal in the world in their love of the word and its emotive and poetic expression.

In many respects, Nicaragua reminded me of the Mexico of my childhood, a country that gave me so much love. And by what I can see, Nicaragua has the force of character and pride to preserve it this way always, resisting certain discouraging pressures of modern times.




Participating in the V International Festival of Poetry in Granada was an unforgettable experience. You enter into a kind of collective ritual trance during this festival or more accurately this rite of poetry, one of the highlights of which was the great parade for Carnaval replete with dancers dressed as demons, folk dancing groups, musicians of all sorts and, of course, poets from all over the world! Walking throught the cobbled streets we all shouted with great emotion "Long live poetry!", "Long live Nicaragua!", "Poetry is the conscience of the Earth!" Here poets have a place of honor, and all of them, one by one, climb to the heights of the festive float and recite their poetry before the gathered crowd and this is repeated at every street corner until they reach the sea, well it is as if it were the sea, as it is an enormous lake, the Cocibolca, where the only fresh water sharks in the world are found. There, every year, at during the time of Carnaval, you will find them, the poets of the world bathed in a golden pearly light...

Festival Internacional de Poesía de Granada, Nicaragua (Febrero 2009)

"El sol había roto el velo opaco de las nubes y bañaba de claridad áurea y perlada un recodo del camino..."-- Ruben Darío (Azul, 1888)


Este pasado febrero fui a Nicaragua por primera vez para asistir al V Festival Internacional de Poesía que tiene lugar en Granada una ciudad colonial con su arquitectura y colores encantadores (vean los portales más abajo). Desde antes de emprender el viaje el encanto de Granada ya trabajaba en mi-- pues resulta que tiene vínculos desde tiempos coloniales con otra ciudad centroamericana muy cerca de mi corazón Antigua, Guatemala donde en un tiempo pasé una temporada muy especial, además de ser esta una ciudad que forma parte de mis recuerdos infantiles. Llegar a Nicaragua, ya es impresionante desde el aire, pues desde la ventanilla del avión se aprecian un sinfín de enormes lagos y volcanes que forman los elementos más sobresalientes de su topografía. Y Cada volcán está coronado de un velo misterioso de neblina.

Y cuando se habla de pasar una semana entre poetas de los cuatro puntos del mundo bebiendo del cáliz poético esto implica nada menos que la magia y el embrujo, sobre todo cuando es en un país con la gran tradición cultural y poética como Nicaragua. Tuve el enorme gusto de conocer poetas que siempre he admirado como Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Gioconda Belli, Anne Waldman, Ernesto Cardenal y de conocer a tantos otros. Desde tiempos de Ruben Darío (1867-1916), padre del Modernismo latinoamericano, este país ha sido reconocido mundialmente por su alma poética. Y es cierto lo viví, lo sentí, lo experimenté en la gente, en todos los recodos del camino, obviamente en los poetas, pero quizá lo que me impactó aún más eran los niños que desde edad temprana llevan la poesía en las venas, quieren ser poetas y declaman la poesía, tanto la suya como de los grandes escritores de su patria, con ternura haciéndola propria. Los niños y la juventud nicaragüense no tienen igual en el mundo por su amor a la palabra y su expresión emotiva y poética.

En muchos aspectos Nicaragua me recordó al México de mi niñez, país que tanto amor me dio. Por lo que veo, Nicaragua tiene mucha fuerza de caracter y mucho orgullo propio para así conservar su encanto siempre, resistiendo ciertas presiones anonadinas de los tiempos modernos.



Participar en el V Festival Internacional de Poesía de Granada fue una experiencia inolvidable. Se entra en una especie de trance ritual común en lo que es el festival o más bien este rito de la poesía, una de las cúspides de las cuales fue el gran desfile de Carnaval con bailarines disfrazados de diablos, grupos de baile folclórico, músicos de todo índole y, claro, de ¡poetas de todo el mundo! Caminando por las calles empedradas todos gritabamos con gran emoción ¡Que viva la poesía! ¡Que viva Nicaragua! ¡La poesía es la consciencia de la tierra! Aquí los poetas llevan un lugar de honor, todos, uno por uno suben a las alturas de una carroza festiva y declaman su poesía ante la multitud y esto en cada esquina hasta llegar al mar, bueno como si fuera el mar, ya que es un lago inmenso, el Cocibolca, que alberga los únicos tiburones de agua dulce en el mundo. Allí, todos los años, en tiempos de carnaval, los encontrarás a los poetas del mundo bañados de una claridad aúrea y perlada...

Reviewing Old Journal Drawings 1982-86

At the Hideaway / En el Hideaway

Last Sunday, March 8, while visiting Ron in Louisville Kentucky, I performed with him and his band Southside at a small bar with a sultry attitude called the Hideaway. I had the immense rare and magical pleasure of performing my poetry with Michael Pollock, a singular musical genius, accompanying me on guitar. Below is a short slide show from that extraordinary evening. Myron Koch (his are identified by the http://www.peaksummit.com notation on bottom right side of photo) and I are the photographers.

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El pasado domingo, 8 de marzo, mientras visitaba a Ron en Louisville Kentucky, hice una actuación junto a él y su banda Southside en un bar pequeño con una actitud hechicera que se llama el Hideaway. Tuve el placer inmenso y mágico de presentar mi poesía con el acompañamiento musical en guitarra de Michael Pollock, un genio singular. Abajo se encuentran unas diapositivas de esta noche extraordinaria. Myron Koch , uno de los miembros de Southside, y yo somos los fotógrafos.

Minoan Frescoes

Slideshow of Drawings

My drawings done in the Tamalpa training I entered in April of this year:

Lineage & Inspiration for the Dance - Oasis 07