February 17, 2009
- Bus Station
- 6:00 am Leave Quepos
- 9:00 am arrive San Jose
- Bank
- Post Office
- Lunch
- 12:00 TICA Bus Station
- 12:40 Leave SJO
- 5:20 Nicaraguan Border
- 6:30 PM leave border
- 8:00 pm arrive Granada.
Poesia es la consciencia de la Tierra.
--theme for Festival de la Poesia
|
|
Buses |
Food |
Catch words |
Soliciting |
Nicknames |
Toilets |
|
Mexico |
Personalized with religious imagery |
Variety and ubiquity |
Piche buey “guey” |
Hawkers everywhere |
Chilangos: Mexico City. |
Public toilets, usually pay |
|
Panama |
Personalized with cartoons and graffiti |
Comedores: cafeteria style. Little fresh fruit. |
Carribean accent |
Not solicitious |
|
|
|
Costa Rica |
Clean & simple. Little or no religious imagery |
“Sodas”. Tasty not spicy. Fresh fruit. Great coffee. |
“amor” |
Not solicitious |
Ticos |
Public toilets are usually free |
|
Nicaragua |
Old school buses. Small dedications to God. |
Chile criollo. Gallo pinto with platano maduro & queso fresco. |
Vos, Vaya pue’ |
Solicitous along market street. Rather quiet |
Nicas |
Water shortage issues. Usually free of charge |
|
Honduras |
Unadorned |
Carne asada. Baleadas. K-trachas. Chicken galore! |
amor |
Solicitous, pagers |
catrachas |
Usually pay. Poor conditions |
|
Guatemala |
Very colorful exterior |
Pipian (mole) Hilachas de carne |
Vaya, Buenas pilas, vos |
Good negotiators, solicitous in market. |
Chapines |
Pay public toilets. |
I arrived last night to Granada, a beautiful colonial city along Lake Nicaragua. It is not the undulating city spread of Guanajuato with its center along a gorge and its streets and alleys that wind up the slopes. Granada is laid out as a grid that gradually comes down along the lake, which provides cool breezes. The lake spills out into the Carribean which provided commerce routes to Europe (and access to pirates and invaders, like William Walker, a Unitedstatan, who wanted to proclaim himself president of Central America in the 1880s).
February 18, 2009
- Mercado
- Cathedral
- Plaaza de la independencia
- Convento de San Francisco
- Torre de cathedral
- Calzada & Lago
- Centro Turistico
- Carnaval
- Groceries
- Internet
- Dinner
- Poesia & Musica
- Hostel
Haga Patria. Mate al orteguismo.
El trabajo es tu digno laurel.
La razon es mas fuerte que el fanatismo.
La lucha contra el poder es la lucha de la memoria contra el olvidio.
NO PACTO.
Uno cuenta la historia y el pequeno poeta dispierta.
--graffiti en Granada
Bienaventurado el hombre
Que no sigue las consignas
Del partido…
Ni asiste a los mitines,
Ni se sienta en al mesa
Con los gangsters….
--Erntesto Cardenal.
It is cooler than Panama and less expensive than Costa Rice. Nicaragua is a poor country but its people are rich in sincerity, friendliness and culture. They are genuine in their offers to help.
I have arrived in the middle of a poetry festival which provides many venues of entertainment. The two events I have been to have been packed. But then again this is Nicaragua, the land of Ruben Dario, where poets are heroes. Even the graffitti extolls the genre: Viva la poesia. I learned of Alfonso Cortes (1893-1965)a Nicaraguan poet who eventually suffered from mental illness. He is nonetheless is lauded for his poetry.
February 19, 2009
- Breakfast with Greg, his wife, & Conrad
- Leave to Rivas
- Return to station
- Granada & internet
- Hostel
- Downtown
- La Colina for Dinner
- Don Alfredo
February 20, 2009
- Leave for Managua
- Managua
- Hotel
- Loma Tiscaya
- Nueva Catedral
- Area Monumental
- Catedral Vieja
- Palacio Nacional
- Malecon
Mombacho Volcano is only about 10 km from Granada, but it is a world away. The high altitude of the volcano at 1350 meters creates a cloud forest where it is almost always covered in fog and mist. Bromelaids, ferns and orchids grow wild. There are also fumaroles in certain places that cause different plants with succulent leaves to grow. The fumaroles are holes in the earth where the heat from the volcano escapes. There is also wildlife there: monkeys, tigercats, frogs, salamanders, humming birds, but the only large animal I was was a sloth. Still it is a remarkable place in a beautiful country.
I stopped in Managua because I have to catch a bus to Honduras at 5:00 am and TICA buses don´t go out of Granada. Apparently it was established as a capital between the rival cities of Leon (former capital) and Granada along Lake Managua. It is a large expansive city, not like the walkable areas of Casco Viejo in Panama City, or San Jose, Costa Rica, or Granada. It has large thoroughfares which makes it imperative to take taxis or public transportation to get around. And the streets seem unpopulated which gives it an eerie feeling. The Sandanista slogans with Daniel Ortega´s image are evident throughout the city.
They strike terror in you. I arrived in Managua and a friend of a firend warned me that elections were rigged and the security level is at the same level as in Mexico City. I left my money and passport in the hotel on the advice of the owner. It is a bit unnerving. Is it safe?
But what is interesting is how a fear can spread through one´s perception.
Frances, John´s friend warned me of the political goings on and the security issues of Managua. And when I got to the hostel today, the property owner told me to leave my passport, extra cash and credit cards there--yo respondo por ellas--because of threats of being assaulted. He told me where to visit, but to always take main roads. How is that for a confidence builder just as I am about to go out.
The evidence of poverty is real in Nicaragua. I am told there is 35% unemployment rate so people will do what is necessary to live. I took a taxi to the Area Monumental near to the old Cathedral and along the side of this main thoroughfare, was a encampment of people living in makeshift shelters of cardboard and plastic bags. It was very sad to see.
When I arrived at the Cathedral square, the church was a shell a remnant of the 1972 earthquake indicative of the area which was uninhabited. A thin woman simulated going for my pocket and her son copied her. ¨Asi pongo la mano y saco lo que tenga.¨ I smiled at the gesture but it was unnerving.
I was then approached by two boys who were offering me palm figurines. I said no thank you. But they kept insisting. At one time, one actually put the item in my hand and it fell on the ground.
¨Tome es una flor¨¨Tome es un grillo¨
No. No, gracias.
¨Tome como un recuerdo de Nicaragua.¨
¨No, muy amables.¨ I decided to be on the offense. ¨¿Como se llaman?¨
¨Martin. Moises.¨
¨¿Son hermanos?¨
¨No, somos amigos. Ande tome un recuerdo.¨
¨Que tal si les tomo una foto como recuerdo. Me gustaria.¨And they posed for a rather somber photograph.
Then they asked for money. ¨De nos una moneda para compartir. Ande pue´.¨
¨Lo siento no tengo.¨
¨Por favor de nos algo para compartir.¨
I remembered I had gorp (peanuts and raisins) in my backpack. I gave it them to share. They looked at it rather strangely.
¨Es mi comida. Yo tambien tengo que comer, pero se las doy.¨
They half smiled and began to open it as they walked away. I don´t think it is what they expected but it was better than nothing. Poverty will make you do strange things.
Reflections on Faith and Reason
It was an interesting discussion I had at la Posada. Don Alfredo said, “the Catholic Church is he worst of religions.” Because of what it has wrought. The Church provides hope for the poor, but he himself has no need for it. He is his own “god.” All religion is rubbish.
How do I respond? I readily admit that the Church is responsible for some reprehensible acts (and after visiting the Museum of the Purgatory, I see some of what the Church allowed and sanctioned in the name of moral and orthodoxy rectitude). But the Church does not make any sense without a relationship to Jesus. Along with the bad, one must recognize the good the Church as done: hospitals, education, addressing the poor. Don Alfredo maintains one does not need faith to do good works. I would maintain that its true but to maintain focus and dedication especially when the obstacles become insurmountable or the work becomes unrewarding, one needs supernatural strength and that is where prayer comes in. It is love that will get you through the rough patches. The questions and anxieties that arrive because one puts them in the hands of God. But I admit that Don Alfredo’s concerns are valid/ legitimate.
You cannot serve both God and Mammon
I am realizing that I am trying to be both a Christian (a person of faith, a believer, a follower of Jesus) and a secular person (a person who contemporary who is adept with current state of affairs). There exists a language for faith and there is a language for reason. And I cannot bridge some elements to the other. How do I use a secular language to articulate elements of faith to someone who is irreligious or skeptical of all religion?
On the other hand, how do I live out a faith that is authentic and genuine and not based on superstition. (Superstition is what other religions call he rituals of other religions) Don Alfredo put some challenges to me. What is it that I believe? I have come to be skeptical of some of the things the Church teaches and have come to choose those things that seem genuine to me, eg. The perpetual virginity of Mary. I am also skeptical of the teachings of sexuality. I have come to use sitsen lieben as a principal.
The church’s teachings on sexuality are suspect to me, especially as the Magisterium is made up of celibates. The fact that as a gay man, I’ve had to overcome my self-aversion to my own sexuality was not helped by the Church’s teaching on homosexuality. I have come to believe that sexuality is a gift from God. It lies at the heart of us to remind us to love and be loved. There are those who simply view sexuality as a biological urge, but as humans we have reason and hopefully use that reason not to hurt others. The total gift of self from one person to another.
In regard to Mary’s perpetual virginity, It just seems unhealthy that Joseph and Mary would live a healthy relationship as a married couple without having any sexual relationship. If Joseph and Mary engaged in sexual relations, had children, it would not take away from their holiness or the special place Mary has in the Church. It seems that emphasis on Mary’s virginity has placed a preference to not being sexual, when sexuality can be healthy, spiritual, and holy. Joseph can be a chaste spouse, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he did not have sexual relations. Mary’s virginity can be of a spiritual nature, then is she remained true to God’ word in her body and soul as if she were a virgin. It is as if once you lose your virginity you lose your innocence. She retained her innocence even as she gave birth to Jesus. I am not sure of this but it is my speculation. But I am trying to bridge my life as a rational being and my life as a person of faith.
So I find myself on the secular side. Do I give lip service to the Church by going to Mass, praying, assenting to church officials? My being catholic has no meaning without belief in Jesus. It is based on my relationship to Jesus, to following him, to listening to him, to pouring out my heart to him that any of the rest makes sense. It is this relation hip to the other that has stared great movementsin our time: MLJ Jr., Albert Scwhiezter, Mohatma Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, etc.
In the movie Dumbo, the protagonist, the big-eared elephant believes he can fly because he has a “magic” feather which he believes gives him the ability to fly. In the culminating scene as he falls from a circus scene, he loses his feather. His sidekick, Jeremy tells him he can fly as he falls, that he doesn’t need the feather and he flies without the feather. Is religion in the role of humanity, this feather? Is the faith we hold simply a talisman to which we ascribe great power so ca believe that we can fly? Perhaps we need to let the feather go and fly without it.
But then maybe believing makes it so. Maybe having the feather helps us to curb our appetites, to live authentically, to be compassionate and care for our fellow neighbor.
Te mataron y no nos dijeron donde enterraron tu cuerpo, pero desde entonces todo el territorio nacional es tu sepulcro o mas bein cada palmo de territorio nacional en que no esta tu cuerpo, tu resucitaste.
Creyeron que te mataban con una orden de FUEGO!
Creyeron que te enterraban y lo que hacian era enterer una semilla.
--Ernesto Cardenal
Madre, que dar pudiste de tu vientre pequeño
Tantas rubia bellezas y tropical Tesoro,
Tanto lago de azures, tanta rosa de oro,
Tanta paloma dulce, tanto tigre zahareño.
Yo te ofrezco el acero en que forje mi empeño,
La caja de armonÃa que guarda mis tesoros,
La peaña de diamantes del idolo que adoro
Y te ofrezco mi esfuerzo, y mi nombre y mi sueño.
--Ruben Dario
Yo soy aquel que ayer no mas decia
El verso azul y la cancion profana.
En cuya noche un ruiseñor habia
Que era alondra de luz por la mañana.
El dueño fui de mi jardin de sueño.
Lleno de rosas y de cisnes vajos.
El dueño de las tortolas, el dueño
De Gondolas y liras en los lagos.
--Ruben Dario