Fading memories

I can stop painful feelings

putting in chains thoughts

to stop that sad streaming

A summer day

When I was 12 I was in the mountains spending my summer holidays at my cousins´house. We were spending the hot afternoon in a pond near the house. We were paddling in an old boat made from a tree to cross the water from one side to the other, we avoided to get near the intake gate a place that could have sucked us in very quick, it was thrilling to feel the fear about that. As we spent our time there I suddenly saw that the day was brighter than usual, all the leaves were greener and the sky seemed bluer. I felt suddenly the need to stay afar from the others and walked slowly barefoot on the ground. I felt a strange emotion of happiness and sadness, a feeling of belonging to the earth and to that place, a place I have always remembered and that I have never returned to again.

The bark

While staying there
I stand under your shade,
I come closer and watch
your magnificent bark;
I touch your fissures,
it is like going over a map,
full of hidden signals
about your past;
I pick up some little pieces
that have fallen apart,
I can not resist taking them
and put them in my bag

Believe

To believe in full

I have to find the truth

I trust my emotions

and want with devotion

deciphering signs

difficult to understand

love is a matter of touch

and never blooms in the far

like little Prince´s rose needs

daily watering to exist

Virgen del Carmen Procession

Traditions are interesting because they show the soul of a country performing the best or the worst of human nature hopes and dreams…many of them are meant sometimes to control groups and they should be analyzed in schools to open dialog and avoid prejudices and fanatic behaviour. I followed many “traditions” when I was a child

"venid y vamos todos
con flores a María
que madre nuestra es
de nuevo aquí nos tienes
purísima doncella
mas que la luna bella
postrados a tus pies... "

"Come on everybody
with flowers to Mary
she is our mother
here we are again
you the purest virgin
more beautiful than the moon
we kneel down at your feet"


When I was a child I attended to the procession celebrated in honor of the "Virgin del Carmen" the patron of Chile. We spent a month at school preparing this procession since 8th of November to the 8th of December praying each day for half an hour in a ceremony called Month of Mary. A tradition that still is performed in all the cities and towns in Chile, priests and altar boys first followed by the christians and pagans. They begin the procession from the main square crossing several streets to reach the place where a mass is celebrated.

Gracias a la vida - Thanks to life

Violeta Parra is one of the most popular chilean singer and song writer.
She composed in 1966 the most enduring and enchanted song of her time " Thanks to life" for all the wonderful details of love and beauty that she was able to find in her difficult existence.


Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Thanks to life which has given me so much,
Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro,
It gave me two eyes that when I open them,
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco,
I can distinguish perfectly black from white,
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado,
And in the high heaven its starry background,
Y en la multitudes el hombre que yo amo.
And in the multitudes the man I love.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto,
Thanks to life which has given me so much,
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario,
It's given me sound and the alphabet,
Y con el las palabras que pienso y declaro,
And with it the words that I think and declare,
Madre, amigo, hermano y luz alumbrando,
Mother, friend, brother, and burning light,
La ruta del alma de el que estoy amando.
The route of the sould of the one I am loving.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto,
Thanks to life which has given me so much,
Me ha dado el oído que en todo su ancho,
It's given me sound that in all its magnitude,
Graba noche y día grillos y canarios,
Records night and day crickets and canaries,
Martillos, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos,
Hammers, turbines, dogs' barks, storms,
Y la voz tan tierna de mi buen amado.
And the voice so tender of my good beloved.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto,
Thanks to life which has given me so much,
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados,
It's given me the steps of my tired feet,
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos,
With them I walked though cities and puddles,
Playas y desiertos, montañas y llanos,
Beaches and deserts, mountains and plains,
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio.
And your house, your street, and your patio.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto,
Thanks to life which has given me so much,
Me ha dado la risa, me ha dado el llanto,
It's given me laughter, it's given me tears,
Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto,
Thereby I distinguish good fortune from ruin,
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto,
` The two materials that make up my song,
Y el canto de ustedes que es mi propio canto.
And the song of all of you that is my own song.

¡Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto!
Thanks to life which has given me so much!

Strangers

A sudden certainty is born

when two strangers

stand under the blue sky

watching the clouds pass

sense an unknown

feeling of waiting for

someone who will soon arrive

have they already met?

maybe in a dream or a glance,

both sitting in a train, or a bus

or waiting in a queue

yesterday or last month?

they are still strangers

but they know

they can not escape fate

or make destiny happen

for good or bad