Dos Canziones

Dos Canziones

Dos Mas

In spite of my pagan tendencies, I engaged in my own unwitting observance of Lent and now, of Easter.  I cleansed, sacrificed, abstained, fasted and prayed – and now I am on the road to renewal and resurrection.  My ‘moveable feast’ travels its own circuitous path toward wherever it is I’m going.  I hope it’s somewhere good.

Hugo has been a teacher and friend for many years and continues to inspire me with his work and his way of being in the world.  I remember recognizing his unique art of living even in my teen brain; it probably says more about him than it says about me -- but I will accept a small amount of credit for having good taste, even as a high school student.

We spent some hours in his studio on the weekend – I practiced my new song and also made playlists that we sang to while we contemplated textures and colors and Hugo trained me in his print-making techniques.  These are the fruits of our most recent collaboration – and a simple representation of my weeks and months and years of exploration of the seasons of the heart.

Hugo and I watched from a restaurant window as local volunteers wearing robes of burlap walked barefoot and silent through the streets on Friday night.  They carried large platforms with maquettes of Christ and Mary upon their evenly-matched shoulders to commemorate the day that Christ was supposedly crucified.

I suppose we all wade through our own swill on the long and treacherous road to redemption, renewal, and ultimately release from this world – but to crucify a man for claiming to be the son of god seems a little extreme.  I don’t know much about the Bible, but I do know that we have a lot of conflicting testimony in this world – each of us living in our own version of reality within the parts of our minds we dare to engage.  Not to get too Cat Stevens or anything -- I am not converting nor abandoning my musical life -- but escaping this prison, this illusion of limitation and separateness, is, I think, the ultimate deliverance.

Hugo in his studio at La Casa de Espiritus Alegres

A holy meal by Hugo -- breaded tuna, fideo, salad of pineapple, cucumbers, fresh mint and avocado