I'm leaving for Mexico on March 2nd. On a trip that i feel will have a great impact on me. I've been leaving for about 6 weeks and have been feeling the subtle changes ever since. What had started as a month long trip, has evolved into a trip of indefinite amount of time. What had started as a trip to temporarily free myself from Chicago winter, has become an opportunity to build a bridge between that which is rhetoric and that which exists, between all that I have read, and that which is. Only through my eyes and experiences, can I fully understand stories about mass immigration, American policies, social movements and the rising left in Mexico and Latin America. The uprising against a system that has failed it; Economic Imperialism. Europe has bought in to it; The European Union. Latin America has not. I've sold a good majority of what I own, given away that which I couldn't sell, and kept that which I consider practical. I've never considered myself a materialistic person, I've always regarded it as trivial, and will hopefully always continue to do so. Have I bought into it? Of course. Have i kept it to a minimum? I've tried, but like a stone in a river, one is slowly eroded away. This is an attempt to see how a country lives w/ less, in order to hopefully learn myself. Not participating is no longer enough. There's nothing wrong w/ possessions or comfort, everyone should have them and everyone should be. But there is something wrong w/ a certain comfort that begs stupidity, indifference and blind discipline. Have I been the most moral person in my life? Of course not. But if I can figure it out, anyone surely can. There's something terribly wrong. This will reinforce everything I've ever suspected, or it will question everything that I believe. This is an attempt to find out, lest I resign myself to a life of mindless consumption, drunken stupors, self-important art, empty words or seeing and remaining silent out of not knowing how to react. Maybe I'm full of shit and will return to "grow up," finish art school and make a bunch of "toys" for vapid kids to buy at Rotofugi at a price of $200. To those who know me, i hope this doesn't come as a surprise, knowing what you now know. To those who don't know me well, I hope you think I've lost my mind. I'd find it amusing. Idealism isn't something you only posses when you're young. I'm off to find out if there's truth in that, wish me luck. -Miguel
Geraldo Vandre-Pra não dizer que não falei das flores
