Ahead of the Ghost Festival: A History of the Measure of Memory (Pablo Neruda: La palabra)

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Indian people hold cremations along a roadside following heavy flooding at Daraganj ghat near Sangam in Allahabad: photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP, 18 August 2016

Indian people hold cremations along a roadside following heavy flooding at Daraganj ghat near Sangam in Allahabad: photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP, 18 August 2016

Pablo Neruda: La palabra

Nació                                        
la palabra en la sangre,                     
creció en el cuerpo oscuro, palpitando,     
y voló eon los labios y la boca.             
                                                        
Más lejos y más cerca                       
aún, aún venía                               
de padres muertos y de errantes razas,       
de territorios que se hicieron piedra,      
que se cansaron de sus pobres tribus,        
porque cuando el dolor salió al camino       
los pueblos anduvieron y llegaron            
y nueva tierra y agua reunieron              
para sembrar de nuevo su palabra.            
Y así la herencía es ésta:                   
éste es el aire que nos comunica             
con el hombre enterrado y con la aurora      
de nuevos seres que aún no amanecieron.      

Aún la atmósfera tiembla                     
eon la primera palabra                       
elaborada                                   
con pánico y gemido.                         
Salió                                       
de las tinieblas                             
y hasta ahora no hay trueno                  
que truene aún con su ferretería             
como aquella palabra,                        
la primera                                   
palabra pronunciada:                         
tal vez sólo un susurro fue, una gota,       
y cae y cae aún su catarata.                                

Luego el sentido llena la palabra.        
Quedó preñada y se llenó de vidas,                                                 
Todo fue nacimientos y sonidos:              
la afirmación, la claridad, la fuerza,       
la negación, la destrucción, la muerte:      
el verbo asumió todos los poderes            
y se fundió existencia con esencia           
en la electricidad de su hermosura.         

Palabra humana, sílaba, cadera               
de larga luz y dura platería,                
hereditaria copa que recibe                  
las comunicaciones de la sangre:             
he aquí que el silencio fue integrado        
por el total de la palabra humana            
y no hablar es morir entre los seres:        
se hace lenguaje hasta la cabellera,         
habla la boca sin mover los labios:                 
los ojos de repente son palabras.            
            
Yo tomo la palabra y la recorro              
como si fuera sólo forma humana,                
me embelesan sus líneas y navego             
en cada resonancia del idioma:                  
pronuncio y soy y sin hablar me acerca       
el fin de las palabras al silencio.            
                                       
Bebo por la palabra levantando               
una palabra o copa cristalina,               
en ella bebo                                 
el vino del idioma                           
o el agua interminable,                      
manantial maternal de las palabras,          
y copa y agua y vino                        
originan mi canto                            
porque el verbo es origen                 
y vierte vida: es sangre,                 
es la sangre que expresa su substancia   
y está dispuesto así su desarrollo:          
dan cristal al cristal, sangre a la sangre,   
y dan vida a la vida las palabras.

A house burns on a hill during the Blue Cut wildfire near Cajon Junction, California. According to reports, the fast-moving blaze, out of control and consuming some 15,000 acres, forced the evacuations of some 82,000 people.: photo by Eugene Garcia / EPA, 17 August 2016

The Word

The word
was born in the blood,
grew in the dark body, beating,
and took flight through the lips
and the mouth.

Farther away and nearer
still, still it came
from dead fathers and from wandering races,
from lands which had turned to stone,
lands weary of their poor tribes,
for when grief took to the roads
the people set out and arrived
and married new land and water
to grow their words again.
And so this is the inheritance;
this is the wavelength which connects us
with dead men and the dawning
of new beings not yet come to light.

Still the atmosphere quivers
with the first word uttered
dressed up
in terror and sighing.
It emerged
from the darkness
and until now there is no thunder
that ever rumbles with the iron voice
of that word,
the first
word uttered --
perhaps it was only a ripple,
a single drop,
and yet its great cataract
falls and falls.

Later on, the word fills with meaning.
Always with child, it filled up
with lives.
Everything was births and sounds --
affirmation, clarity, strength,
negation, destruction, death --
the verb took over all the power
and blended existence with essence
in the electricity of its grace.

Human word, syllable, flank
of extending light and
solid silverwork,
hereditary goblet which receives
the communications of the blood --
here is where silence came together with
the wholeness of the human word,
and, for human beings,
not to speak is to die --
language extends even to the hair,
the mouth speaks without the lips moving,
all of a sudden, the eyes are words.

I take the word and pass it
through any senses
as though it were no more than a
human shape;
its arrangements awe me and I
find my way
through each resonance of the
spoken word --
I utter and I am and,
speechless, I approach
across the edge of words
silence itself.

I drink to the word, raising
a word or a shining cup;
in it I drink
the pure wine of language
or inexhaustible water,
maternal source of words,
and cup and water and wine
give rise to my song
because the verb is the source
and vivid life -- it is blood,
blood which expresses its substance
and so ordains its own unwinding.
Words give glass quality to
glass, blood to blood,
and life to life itself. 

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973): La palabra (The Word), from Plenos Poderes (Fully Empowered), 1962, translated by Alasteir Reid 

A child holds an umbrella as a woman burns paper money ahead of the Ghost Festival, in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China: photo by Stringer / Reuters, 17 August 2016

People sort through water-damaged products outside Jasmine’s Beauty Supply following the floods in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP, 17 August 2016

Cattle huddle together in the high water caused by flooding after the heavy rains in Ascension Parish, in St Amant, south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana: photo by Bill Feig / The Advocate via AP, 17 August 2016

INDIA - Children prepare to jump into the flooded Ganga river in Allahabad. By @sanjaykanojia07 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

INDIA - Pedestrians walk during sunset after a heavy rainfall in the northern hill town of Shimla. By @AFPhoto: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

IRAQ - A boy dives into the Euphrates river from the back of a water buffalo in Um Khashm. By @HaidarAfp: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

IRAQ - A girl walks in front of water buffalos in Um Khashm, located on the banks of Euphrates river. By @HaidarAfp: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

An Indian priest dances as he carries a sacrificial goat during the Deodhani Festival at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati: photo by Biju Boro/AFP, 18 August 2016

 Indian priest dances as he carries a sacrificial goat during the Deodhani Festival at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati: photo by Biju

An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard while he talks on a wireless set during a curfew in Srinagar: photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP, 18 August 2016

An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard while he talks on a wireless set during a curfew in Srinagar: photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP, 18 August 2016
  

A Turkish soldier stands guard in front of the blast scene following a car bomb attack on a police station in the eastern Turkish city of Elazig: photo by Ilyas Akengin, 18 August 2016

TURKEY - Soldier stands guard following a car bomb attack on a police station in Elazig. By @pironic2121 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

A Turkish soldier stands guard in front of the blast scene following a car bomb attack on a police station in the eastern Turkish city of Elazig: photo by Ilyas Akengin, 18 August 2016

A still image taken from a video posted on social media said to be shot in Aleppo on Wednesday shows a boy with bloodied face sitting in an ambulance, after an airstrike, Syria: image from social media via Reuters, 18 August 2016

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A still image taken from a video posted on social media said to be shot in Aleppo on Wednesday shows a boy with bloodied face sitting in an ambulance, after an airstrike, Syria: image from social media via Reuters, 18 August 2016

SYRIA - A boy cries as he awaits treatment at the makeshift clinic following an air strike on Douma. By @AbdDoumany: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

SYRIA - Smoke billows following air strikes by regime forces on rebel positions in Aleppo. By George Ourfalian #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016 

SYRIA - Syrian Kurdish civilians flee reported shelling toward the city of Qameshli. By @Delilsouleman #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi reviews honour guards during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China: photo by Jason Lee/Reuters, 18 August 2016

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi reviews honour guards during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China: photo by Jason Lee/Reuters, 18 August 2016

An artisan makes an idol of Hindu god Ganesh at a workshop ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations, in Chandigarh, India: photo by Ajay Verma/Reuters 16 August 2016

An artisan makes an idol of Hindu god Ganesh at a workshop ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrations, in Chandigarh, India: photo by Ajay Verma/Reuters 16 August 2016

A dog with Indonesian national flags on his head walks during a parade a day before Indonesia Independence Day at Kuta on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali: photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP, 16 August 2016

A dog with Indonesian national flags on his head walks during a parade a day before Indonesia Independence Day at Kuta on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali: photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP, 16 August 2016

An Indonesian student wears a colourful costume during a parade to mark the 71st Indonesian Independence day in Banda Aceh. Indonesia on August 17 marked the 71th anniversary of its independence from Dutch rule.: photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin / AFP, 17 August 2016

A Thai dancer performer uses her mobile phone at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand: photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA, 16 August 2016

A Thai dancer performer uses her mobile phone at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand: photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA, 16 August 2016

A woman releases birds from a cage on the anniversary of a deadly bomb blast at the Erawan shrine in Bangkok, Thailand: photo by Narong Sangnak / EPA, 17 August 2016

Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) dance and sing around Wonderkop Hill during the 4th anniversary of the Marikana shooting in Rustenburg, South Africa. Police forces shot dead 34 miners from the Lonmin mine four years ago after a protracted strike in the mining sector. Relatives and fellow miners gather at Wonderkop hill each year to remember those who died and were wounded.: photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA, 16 August 2016

Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) dance and sing around Wonderkop Hill during the 4th anniversary of the Marikana shooting in Rustenburg, South Africa. Police forces shot dead 34 miners from the Lonmin mine four years ago after a protracted strike in the mining sector. Relatives and fellow miners gather at Wonderkop hill each year to remember those who died and were wounded.: photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA, 16 August 2016

Miners gather during a rally on the fourth anniversary of the Marikana Massacre, where 34 striking miners were killed by police, in Rustenburg, South Africa. The Marikana mine workers were gunned down in 2012 after police were deployed to break up a wildcat strike that had turned violent at the Lonmin-owned platinum mine northwest of Johannesburg. Four years later, nobody has been prosecuted for the shootings, while miners continue to live in dire poverty.: photo by Mujahid Safodien / AFP, 17 August 2016

 

Miners in #SouthAfrica dance during the 4th anniversary of the #Marikana Massacre @AFPphoto @SafodienMujahid: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 19 August 2016

#USA - Firenadoes rage in California as blaze menaces 82,000. By Jonathan Alcorn #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFP, 19 August 2016

#haveaniceday #Venezuela #sunset in Caracas on May 5 Photo by Federico Parra: image via Aurelia  BAILLY @AureliaBAILLY, 19 August 2016

#USA - Firenadoes rage in California. By @Robyn_Beck #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFP, 19 August 2016

PHILIPPINES - Coast Guard personnel looks from a porthole as the vessel arrives at the port in Manila. By @herime23: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

Firenadoes rage in California as blaze menaces 82,000. By Jonathan Alcorn #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFP, 19 August 2016

US - Flames rise behind burnt trees at the Blue Cut Fire near Wrightwood, California. By @Robyn_Beck #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

INDIA - A visitor poses for a photograph in front of a picture of a tiger in New Delhi. By @sajjadkmr #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016 

Afghan security officials attend a ceremony to mark Independence Day, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Afghanistan is celebrating the 97th anniversary of its independence from British rule.: photo by Muhhamad Sadiq / EPA, 19 August 2016

A South Korean army’s K-9 self-propelled howitzer fires during a military exercise in Yeoncheon near the border with North Korea. South Korea’s army says it has conducted its largest-ever artillery drills near the tense border with North Korea.: photo by  Lim Byung-shick / Yonhap via AP, 19 August 2016

A Hindu priest’s forehead is covered with “tika”, coloured powder and rice used as a blessing, during the Janai Purnima festival (Sacred Thread Festival) at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hindus take holy baths and change their sacred thread, also known as Janai, for protection and purification, during the festival.: photo by Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters, 19 August 2016

Young Hindu priests take a holy bath together as part of a ritual during the Janai Purnima festival (Sacred Thread Festival) at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hindus take holy baths and change their sacred thread, also known as Janai, for protection and purification, during the festival.: photo by Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters, 19 August 2016

Fans of Germany watch the women’s Beach Volleyball Final match of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games between Ludwig/Walkenhorst of Germany and Agatha/Barbara of Brazil at the Beach Volleyball Arena on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: photo by Orlando Barria / EPA, 19 August 2016

WEST BANK - A Palestinian protester hurls stones towards Israeli security forces during clashes in the West Bank. By @Abbasmomani: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

GAZA STRIP - A volunteer at the Sulala Society for Training & Caring for Animals trains a stray dog. By @mohmdabed: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos: The history of the measure of memory

no han muerto los guardianes de la tierra y la memoria. Este el día fue la última vez que el Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos dijo sus últimas palabras en publico, el personaje Marcos murió para poder con esto desenterrar y que renaciera el Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano: photo by skarlos Ogaz, 24 May 2014

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos: The history of the measure of memory

To the national press:

Ladies and gentlemen:

A few reflections on Fobaproa and a taking of a position.

From here nothing new, an abundance of planes and helicopters promising war, rains promising sowing, and dignitaries promising futures. The children continue being children, and little Pedrito has re-baptized me as "Up" (an easy abbreviation for "Sup" as I understand), while he tries to find out if my pipe is made of chocolate as were some cigarettes he had been given.

While the sea dreams with me in the womb, I remember that in the next few days (August 28?), the Ladies will be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of an act which, like everything that comes from below, began small and then grew. 

Twenty years ago a group of determined and inconvenient (for the Power) women and men began a hunger strike demanding the liberation of political prisoners and the presentation of the disappeared.

We, and others without memory, owe these women of foolish tenderness many things. The Ladies know that memory does not rest nor yield, nor does it have age, nor does dignity have size. And then Old Antonio comes with one of the gifts for the sea, and he tells, just to tell...

The history of the measure of memory

The oldest of our old tell, that the first gods, those who created the world, shared out memory among the men and women who walked in the world.

"Memory is good," the greatest gods said and told, "because it is the mirror which helps to understand the present and promises the future."

The first gods measured out memory with a jicara in order to share it out and all the men and women came by to receive their measure of memory. But some of the men and women were larger than the others and then the measure of memory was not seen equally in all. It shone clearly in the smallest and in the largest it was made opaque. Because of that they say that they say memory is greatest and strongest in the smallest and it is harder to find in the powerful. 

That is why they also say that men and women become smaller and smaller when they grow old. They say it is so memory will shine more brightly. They say that it is the work of the oldest of the old: to make memory great.

They also say that dignity is no more than memory which lives. They say.

Vale.
 

Salud and may memory carry out its mission, to make justice.

From the mountains of Southeastern Mexico.
Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos.
Mexico, August of 1998.

Subcommander Marcos: The history of the measure of memory, August 1998, from Writings of Subcommander Marcos of the EZLN

el sup. subcomandante insurgente marcos: photo by methodical.in.procedure, 10 April 2006

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos: photo by Biofilo Panclasta, 9 May 2008

El Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos: photo by miotei, 21 December 2005

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos *EZLN*: image by Quadraro, 10 May 2016



el calor. Caracol Zapatista Oventico, Chiapas: photo by Mauricio Romero Mendoza, 21 December 2016

Love and beauty at the Red Bird

Screen head (Los Angeles): photo by Andrew Murr, 23 June 2016

Love and beauty at the Red Bird (East Hollywood, Los Angeles): photo by Andrew Murr, 23 June 2016

 
Tent City (Downtown Los Angeles): photo by Andrew Murr, 4 July 2016

Man with cart (Figueroa, South Los Angeles): photo by Andrew Murr, 7 November 2015

Repair (Downtown Los Angeles): photo by Andrew Murr, 19 July 2016

In Chinatown (Los Angeles): photo by Andrew Murr, 29 June 2016

A passerby looks at a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude in San Francisco: photo by Justin Sullivan, 19 August 2016

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A passerby looks at a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude in San Francisco: photo by Justin Sullivan, 19 August 2016

Morning ground fog floats above the village of Stara Basta, some 280 kilometres east of Bratislava, Slovakia: photo by Peter Komka / EPA, 19 August 2016