The Notebook 1/?

Mankind has always dreamed for the stars, mankind is known for its kindness but also for its brutality, we as humans have been blessed with numerous talents... but once again, mankind has its flaws.

I do not mean to preach with this piece, this is merely a reflection of the last month... and the last month has been intense; that is why I intend to just lay my thoughts the same way they are written in my notebook, no editing, no sparkles, no sensitive bullshit... and yes, they are in order.

                                        Charleston, SC

“...I recently visited parts of the north and south of the continent (America) with a short stint in Honduras, the purpose of the trip was to do things differently and see things as they are, not as people (or my eyes) wanted them to be. The easiest thing to say is “This is cool, that's ok... that one is pretty fucked up”; but I really saw that it does not matter where we live, at the end of the day we all want what is beyond our reach”.

“Someone once told me that as a tourist, we will always have the choice to leave the place and go back home; but to really know the place, one needs to embrace every aspect of the new country... yes, even the positive and the negative, just for a few days”. 

                          
Pupusas de Queso in Honduras

“People in “poor countries” aim to live like rich people in the movies; poor people in “rich countries” aim to live like those “filthy-rich celebrities” they see on TV; rich people from all over the globe, cannot get their fill; billionaires just want to buy their way into heaven... oh yeah! Behind every fortune, there's a crime”.

“...Nothing is original, everything has been written down and tropicalized. Far from uniting the world through something in common, globalization has made most the world 'common'... and mediocre”.

5- Zach de La Rocha in 'Darkness of Greed' said: “Ya cram ya culture down my throat, Say I'm inferior when I find that I choke, Ya fill my mind with a false sense of history, And then you wonder why I have no identity?”. Coca Cola, Pepsi, Apple, Nike, Adidas (just to name a few) are brands that are embedded in our minds, and somehow represent a certain degree of status to those who are ashamed of their heritage. I am in no way saying, “go back and endure those Aztec or Inca rituals”, but things would be different if we knew and embraced our roots, short or deep, but nevertheless OURS.

                           Mercado de las Brujas, La Paz

“As a vegetarian and a fan of the Bad Brains, I have embraced several aspects of Rasta culture, specially the Ital diet, that could be related to the Jewish Kosher and the Islamic Halal. The resources given by Jah, must be in a nearly natural state, that is how we are able to receive good nourishment to the body without unneeded and poisonous additives...”. 

“Western culture (even though we were born it) is oppressive and destructive. The concept of “preservatives” is an amazing metaphor; because preservatives are needed to allow transportation to distant grocery stores and pesticides are used for greater harvests... and greater profits. Being 'limited' to fresh foods grown locally makes us humble, allows us to live and enjoy the moment, and ultimately, allows us to be free”.

                                                     Miradores de La Paz, Bolivia

 

“Many Rastas are vegetarian, and some are vegans. For those who eat flesh, fish is the option, but it has to be fish less than 12 inches long. Fish larger than a foot commonly eat other fish and are therefore less suitable than vegetarian fish... the memories of Babylon are still fresh”.

-DM

@CoandCoCG 

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