TPC- Q&A Interview by Oasis Writing Link

I was contacted by Oasis Writing Link to be interviewed as a blogger. Faced with these very interesting questions I decided to borrow my brother’s car and head to the placid whereabouts of the newly opened Valley Ranch library in Irving. There I stood in front of a big picture window facing a canal lined up with little houses screaming “this is a Kodak moment.” I ignored the visual intrusion and proceeded to answer the questions.

1. If you could be a historical character from actual life or from a book, who would you be and why? What would you do as this person?

This one was a difficult one to answer. My mind began spinning like a Ghandian charka weaving an endless homespun garment. I thought of giants like Martin Luther King, Harvey Milk, Abraham Lincoln,the Buddha, Christ, Dame Judi Dench (OK, OK, I had to mention her, she is so good!!!). I admire many different people in history for their sacrifice and heroism but one rather little character came running back to me every time I pursued and answer: Frodo, the hobbit from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He was not fearless; he did not possess the physical prowess to endure such gargantuan travail as to destroy evil in the form of monsters, sorcerers and deceitful creatures (Not that different from our normal mortal lives.) Yet his love, tenacity and sense of duty made him a transcendental figure in his world. If I had his committed faith and determination I would champion the fight against injustice and inequality.

2. What is the most important decision you've made in your life and why?

I did not know it at the time but the most significant decision I have ever made was to go to college in upstate New York. It literally opened my eyes. I not only developed intellectually but also was exposed to different people from all over the world. My insatiable quest for knowledge and understanding began right there in the inclement winter weather of Syracuse. I remember one very cold December evening in Neo-Romanesque Crouse College Auditorium. I went to see I Musici perform The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). I had a mystical experience then. I saw the banquet of life unfold itself before my eyes. I found my sun far away from the tropics where I was born. I found my sun in the winter of a northern latitude and it has been a wondrous journey ever since...


3. Select two photographs that have made a significant impact on you and explain what their importance is in your life.

Martha Graham: Letter to the World (Kick), 1940

Barbara Morgan, photographer

Dance is the transformation of the human form into the plausible. In this photo Martha Graham exemplify such notion. She becomes a half-moon, an unfolding white rosebud, an avatar of human motion, a determined love arrow thrown by a forceful and intrepid cupid.

Bathing Suits for Izod,

George Hoyningen-Huene, photographer

An understated elegance in a heroic pose. Looking beyond the context of their own time and place into the vast unknown. Adam and Eve full of expectation and desire, happy to be out of that drab and boring Eden.

4. You have lived in at least two different cultures; explain how this experience influences how you see the world, both personally and politically?

I am a Blue-eyed Caribbean Latin American of European ancestry who is a citizen of the United States of America. At home in Puerto Rico I was considered a blanquito or americanito (white or American- like boy) a totally different species from the rest. Back in college I was regarded as a foreigner. So I suppose I always felt like an outsider; more romantically put, an émigré. A person that does not belongs fully anywhere. I had the rare opportunity to go inside both cultures because at the end of the day I could pass for either nationality. That made me notice and contrast both cultures. We are not that different at all. Right now I feel very comfortable with my background, in fact I think is an asset to be multicultural.

5. A hundred (plus) years from now, someone finds something of significance that you left behind. What is it and why is it significant?

I hope that anything I did, said, or depicted in music and photography moved anyone to embrace the reality that Love is our true nature.

Photography: HDR

These are HDR photos. HDR stand for High Dynamic Range Imagery. I have read the technical definition of the term and is a little bit complicated for me to understand it. This type of photography allows for a more luminous intensity using both photographic and software programs techniques. One thing I know is that these type of images are so dreamy and beautiful when done correctly that I instantly go in a trip. I have become an eager enthusiast and wishing to learn more and more. The old abandoned house seems to me to be out of a Harry Potter movie, the lime green lighthouse reminds me of a mini golf course, and the profusion of roses the very field where Dorothy (of Oz fame) was sent a spell from the Bad Witch of the West and fell asleep.

My extremely modest photographic ambitions have been put into a halt. All my life lies inside twelve boxes, including my camera, Photoshop discs and photo collection, and since I am living with my brother at the time I should not abuse of his hospitality by setting up my "photo lab" in the middle of the living room...sigh.... But soon enough I'll be riding the photographic Pegasus into lands and places unknown...of course I will share with you all bloggies.

PS- These photos come from the site stock.xchng.com. The one with the roses was taken by Nevile Ditmen and uploaded on a GNU licence for public use. The other two phots have no restrictions and have been put into the public domain for use.

I Sing The Body Photographic

I have a reverence for old brownish vintage photographs. I've always marvelled at portrait daguerreotypes of the 19th century. They are the closest thing we have to time travel. I can stare at a collection of historical photos for hours on end. I enjoy trying to guess the exact year they were taken. I work like a detective. First thing I do is recognize fashion styles that might narrow down any proper chronological identification. I also identify architectural features, vegetation, geography and the sort. Then I go to my reference books and encyclopedias to classify what I see. The photo then becomes a living petridish that captures the essence of an era. I do own some vintage photos of my family that have been my first and only encounter with my heritage. One of such photographs is that of my French great grandmother. I am mesmerized by her portrait (isn't it interesting I use the historical present tense when referring about her as if she was still living!) because it is proof that my ancestors really existed! There is a famous philosophical question made by various thinkers along the centuries: Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt? , meaning where are they who came before us? A pervasive mood all throughout my life. It is a puzzling statement. All the people of this world that built and created our civilizations where have they gone?, they are both dead (physically) and alive (intangibly). Vintage photos answer that philosophical enigma.