imc sf.indymedia.orgindymedia
About Us Contact Us Subscribe Calendar Publish RSS
white themeblack themered themetheme help
Features
latest news
best of news
syndication
commentary


KILLRADIO

CopWatch LA

ABCF LA





IMC Network: www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan manila qc europe: alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary imc patras ireland istanbul italy la plana liege lille lombardia madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice norway oost-vlaanderen paris/Île-de-france piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia brasil chiapas chile chile sur colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hampton roads, va hawaii houston hudson mohawk idaho ithaca kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma omaha philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tallahassee-red hills tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech
printable version - email this article - view hidden posts
link:

On an Altar of Dust: Lessons from the Farm
by Juan Santos Friday, May. 26, 2006 at 4:51 AM

She thinks, “This is all we need: Land and community. It doesn’t matter what we believe, or what our differences are; if we can listen, the land itself will teach us what we need to know.”

On an Altar of Dust:...
farm_altar_by_marcus.jpg, image/jpeg, 600x450

At the base of the tree, on an altar of dust, blaze some 100 veladoras, glass encased devotional candles with images of La Guadalupe, La Reina de Las Americas, of the santos and of Jesus; of a Mexica woman, half flesh / half skeleton, giving birth to life and death.

A basket of dried kernels of maiz is placed near a set of handprints in the dust. The scent of sage swirls in the air, a man sings softly in Nahuatl, his drum throbbing quietly, a child beside him. In the dust, Black man kneels his forehead to the Earth; a Chicano man smudges him; he cups the smoke to his heart. The brown man presses a kernel of corn into his palm; the black man encloses it in prayer. In the dust, a half melted candle has tipped and fallen, its wax spilling over and capturing a leaf at its tip like a new flame, a green flame of life, of chlorophyll and fire, a new synthesis of earth, hope and living things.

A woman, also Black, comes and re-lights all the candles that have gone out. Every veladora that can burn is ablaze.

A young Chicana says she doesn’t know if there are warrants out for her or not, but her circle of danzantes has prayed, encircling her, and she knows in her heart what she must do, and that no matter what happens, she is safe.

A white woman calls her friend on her cell: she has an obligation tomorrow to lead a circle of lesbian artists. Should she stay? Can she abandon them; they have only so much time to prepare for what they will be doing; can she go to jail today - on this day - when so many are counting on her? Before the night is over she will slip into her tent for a few hours of sleep: the morning brings what it will.

A man stands agitated on the sidewalk; he is needed here, he says, he cannot let people down; he is a refugee, seeking political asylum. If they arrest him he will be deported – rendered – tortured, probably killed. He cannot decide.

In the darkness, tables, chairs, garbage cans and sawhorses have been strewn to block the pathways between the garden plots of the South Central Farm. A woman and a man sit in a tree, vowing not to return to the Earth until this place is free. At night they are all but invisible through the leaves.

Outside the fence they keep vigil, the patrols with their two way radios and la bisabuela – a great-grandmother in an old kitchen chair on the sidewalk. She sings, while a young woman strums her small guitar. La abuelita, hair all white and grey, tells the young woman next to her, “With God we can do this: with God we are strong.”

All night there are rumors. Something is about to change.

“Go out and do what you can tonight, we need people to come at night and celebrate. We’ll talk, we’ll have food. Sunday we’ll have music. Now we are here, inside the fence, we have done all we can do” says a Farm leader. “We are here,” he says, meaning here, under siege.

And so I have written this:

We are here, and alive.

We belong to this land, all of us who come here to touch it are touched by it, and we are claimed by it, together.




Report this post as:

add your comments


LATEST COMMENTS ABOUT THIS ARTICLE
Listed below are the 10 latest comments of 5 posted about this article.
These comments are anonymously submitted by the website visitors.
TITLE AUTHOR DATE
neocon Kool-Aid con Friday, May. 26, 2006 at 3:06 PM
Free Enterprise, you must jest... Marconi Friday, May. 26, 2006 at 11:59 AM
Law? Juan Santos Friday, May. 26, 2006 at 11:12 AM
Fee Enterpirse? LOL! Fantasy Friday, May. 26, 2006 at 11:01 AM
Law Law Friday, May. 26, 2006 at 10:59 AM

Local News

This Friday: Protest at ICE detention Centers A20 9:19AM

AJLPP Calls for The Resumption of Peace Talks, Warns of US Intervention A19 2:20PM

OUT OF THE SHADOWS- UNDERGROUND UNDERGRADS SPEAKS OUT A19 1:39PM

OC Civil Forum Induces Protests A19 1:31AM

SEIU Pres Stern's Hand Picked CA Operative Investigated For Rigging Elections-Cover-up A18 8:29AM

South Central Farmers Demand Ethics Investigation of Local Officials A18 1:50AM

FAL Children’s Reading Program --- Aug. 30 in Montebello & Sep. 6 in San Pedro A17 12:26PM

New Long beach Coalition, Formed A17 11:41AM

Full Spectrum Protests in Lake Forest at Election Debate. A16 6:46PM

Journey to My Home: China, Hong Kong, Beijing Olympics 2008 (Part Two) A15 6:45PM

California Becomes First State to Condemn Use of Torture in 'War on Terror' A15 11:23AM

END UC-IRVINE CAT VIVISECTION A15 10:34AM

Pro-Cuba celebration triumphs over right-wing terrorist threats A14 5:19PM

The August 10 Tribute to Don White A13 4:31PM

East Los Angeles Charter School Students Arrive from China Marking the First Cultural Exch A13 10:09AM

Historic Filipinotown Day- Two Celebrations, Two Cultures A12 8:18PM

STOP THE MILITARY OFFENSIVES, RESUME PEACE TALKS NOW! A12 6:46PM

California Water War Enters New Front with the 'Battle of the Reports' A12 2:56PM

Targeting Immigrants - The Largest Ever US ICE Raid A12 7:59AM

San Fernando Valley (A)narchist Federation Meeting A11 9:50PM

FIRST THE AMERICAN BLACKS, AND NOW ALSO OUR LATINO AMERICANS !!! A11 4:18PM

Cmdr. Cres Abad, 88 A11 12:34PM

RAC = Fascistas A10 1:26PM

SEIU Pres Stern's Key CA Operative Tyrone Freeman Linked To Corruption A09 5:44PM

EPCC SUPPORTS CALIFORNIA STATE WORKERS PROTESTS A08 12:37PM

Lee Siu Hin Journey to My Home: China and Hong Kong 2008 (Part One) A08 3:51AM

Long Beach Mayor Vows to Close Main Library A07 4:57PM

Sunday 8/10: Evening to Celebrate the Life of Don White A06 1:07PM

More Local News...

Other/Breaking News

Peace Mom v. Guardian of Power A21 12:40PM

Brentwood Autumn Art Show A21 10:23AM

Russia Never Wanted a War A21 4:42AM

When Will Media Recognize McCain's Serious Dementia Problem A21 4:38AM

French troops bombed A21 2:03AM

Youngest ever British person visits longest serving men in solitary at Angola Prison. A20 4:55PM

Architects & Engineers Respond to NIST Final Report on WTC Building 7 - Thurs A20 4:47PM

Architects & Engineers Respond to NIST Final Report on WTC Building 7 - Thurs A20 4:29PM

Save the life of Reginald Blanton A20 2:47PM

Obama advances agenda of global militarism A20 12:52PM

The Taliban Rule Man A20 8:07AM

Bush admin. disconnected from reality A20 6:02AM

La CIA y la espada de Simón Bolívar A20 2:52AM

Gremach Infrastructure's Google India Attack, Mozambique Coal Baron's Squalor A19 10:08PM

Were you Injured on a Bike made in China??? A19 7:23PM

The Tribute to Don White and Racism in LA A19 6:54PM

A cataclysmic financial storm is about to bring down U.S. economy A19 1:57PM

Democrat's Reality Check: Obama Provides No Hope of Change of the Permanent War Economy A19 2:57AM

ITALY. WHY DON'T WE USE THE GYPSY BOYS AS SLAVES? A18 5:07PM

Uphold the Militant Tradition of International Women's Movement A18 4:44PM

AFP orders Military Offensive Vs MILF, Fighting Escalates in Mindanao A18 3:14PM

Blockades: Acts of War A18 1:07PM

Mindanao Bishops, MILF: pursue peace process, call for ceasefire A18 9:23AM

The Destruction of America - series four-Politics A18 7:55AM

55 years since CIA coup in Iran: take action A17 10:34AM

DNC Protest, Split, and the Principled Stand of Cynthia McKinney A16 2:54PM

PRINCE CHARLES,PLEASE HELP US RESCUE OUR FORGOTTEN AND TRAPPED AMERICANS ? A16 1:40PM

Corporate Media Bash New Chavez New Enabling Law Decrees A16 12:21PM

More Breaking News...


© 2000-2003 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy