Cara de Dios
Israel means the Face of God or Facing God. The ladder has been my experience as I have wrestled with my faith for as long as I could remember. I don’t talk much about God as I feel that the more a word is used, the more likely it is to be corrupted or lose its meaning. Kind of like the words I love you.
A couple of years ago I was sent to Jerusalem with nothing of an idea or plan. The tension in the atmosphere was high, as it was right at the time that the US recognized the ancient city as the capital of Israel. They say knowledge is power, but it also cripples our curiosity and desires to learn something new rather than more of the same thing we already think we know. I did not have an opinion nor a dog in the fight that would give me the right to voice one. My attitude was to keep it like Socrates and know that I did not know shit.
I showed up and one thing led to many other things, much of which I got on film. A lot of the footage was lost in ways I can’t explain, but just like life one has to make the most out of what one has. No importa. The beautiful people, special places, and powerful relationships will forever be a part of the picture developing in my life’s journey.
One could have been born and raised in another time or place and had their faith in a different belief, religion or institution. I believe that is the case. And I also believe la Tierra Santa was a visit for me to come to terms with my Christianity and own it. A Latino can’t call himself Chino and expect his Dominican upbringing to not appear in his actions. I cannot deny my Christianity no more than I can deny my Latin culture. Nothing is perfect, no one is infallible, and just because some people did some fucked up things does not mean I need to toss the baby with the bathwater (Por fin entiendo esa frase). The sword can kill, defend, and/or cut up some delicious sushi to serve a family.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
On an external level, I learned that Tel Aviv knows how to party Latino style, Palestinian food is world class, and the desert is fucking cold.
En la Tierra
