Vida Newspaper, Volume 4, Issue 5 - April 1977

Page 4 VIDA April, 1977 por Norma Quiroga Limon (Dedicated to Amelia Flores Quiroga and all my friends) Slowly, I made my ascent Stumbling here and there, Stopping and resting at times. A strong, cold wind was blowing Which made my climb that Much more difficult. Quite a few years had gone by Since the last time I had visited my old friend. Being winter, I had expected My friend to be bare and gray But to my astonishment My beautiful friend sat At the top of the mountaion With a brand new coat of jade green leaves... That seemed like a myriad . of emeralds dancing at the compass of the wind. My good old friend said: “I saw you coming, so I grew a new dress for you.” I too had grown a new dress — But not for my friend — The snow had crowned my head. We sat side by side Without saying a word But greeting each other Like good old friends Always do. Many roads I had traveled, A great variety of places I had seen, An unaccountable number of books I had read, But I never learned so much As I did by sitting next To my wise old friend, the tree* How well I remember the first time We formally made our acquain¬ tance. As a child I had run up and down the mountain, Paying little or no attention to the magnificent tree That sat at the very peak. This knightly tree, who seemed to be the guardian Or keeper of this vast pile of earth and rock — Until, one day this majestic tree Grew a beautiful exotic white flower That I had never seen before or have seen again. And I said to myself ‘‘This flower is for me,” So I began to climb the huge tree But the flower was much, much higher Than I had thought it would be. I saw our small village way below me, And our river and its banks with its fields of Maiz. At the other side the immense, endless desert Extending to the horizon Where it became one with the blue sky. I became dizzy and very frightened. Then the benevolent tree gently My Friend Lorraine Garcia and Federico Castaneda of L.M.U. Grupo Folklorico dancing at last year’s Cinco de Mayo festivities. El Grupo Folklorico escorted me down, And for the first time I sat by this beautiful tree. After this we became close friends. I would confide in it my joys, sor¬ rows, secrets, foolishness, and dreams. And my friend in turn would say: ‘‘Sit very quiet and listen; Listen to the desert as hard as you can, Let the wise timeless desert Share some of his secrets with you.” Other times my friend would point to me The tiny ant, and we would ob¬ serve her for hours, And the things I learned about this insignificant insect; Things I had never deemed possi¬ ble. Sometimes my friend would move its shade To the opposite side of me, and would tell me, ‘‘Close your eyes, and let the radiant, ardent sun Embrace and caress you, and feel it with all the zeal That you are cababl e of . ” And ju st at the moment I would feel my blood and heart Go into an unimaginable dream. My friend would bring its shade back to me And I would protest loudly. The wise old tree would say: “Feel the instant with all the in¬ tensity That you are capable of, whether it is joy, or sorrow; For if you try to retain the instant it will escape You more — the duplication of an experience Is never possible. But if you insist upon it It will control you, and eventually it will destroy you.” This type of experience would leave me In a total state of confusion And I would ask my wise friend to explain. The answer that I would get was, “With time, with time you will know what I mean.” Many hours, engrossed in inti¬ mate Conversations, we expanded. Other times we simply sat quietly, Listening to our inner self and the world around us. Then the day came when I had to journey; It wasn’t easy for me to leave my friend. But my understanding friend didn’t seem to be sad, The tree simply said “Don’t forget What together we have learned; Go now, and conquer your dreams Or yourself, whatever comes first.” With all the enthusiasm and vigor of youth I ran to see the world. I stumbled and fell many times And there were times when I thought I would never be able to get up again. But the words of my friend the tree Would ring on my ears “Don’t be ashamed to fall, For it is part of being human. Be ashamed when you stop trying to stand up.” Much later, I learned to walk. The years went quickly by. My failures were many And my victories were very few. Now I felt weak, and my pace was very slow, Almost reduced to a crawl. And then I went back see My kind friend. Anxiety, despair, and fear Had invaded my whole being, Fori knew my end was quite near. My wise friend said to me, “Sit here for a while and let seren¬ ity Take you, and later My roots will absorb you , And next spring you will come back In my jade green leaves.” “My friend,” said I, “I would like That very much, but in a piece of cement I must rot — and There is no way out of that.” My kind friend had presented me with many of its different moods, But never any like this. Its leaves were full of dew... The old tree seemed to be crying... Then I heard my friend’s voice saying “It is a sad thing to be a human being.” “Don’t feel sad, my good friend,” said I, “For it is in the knowledge and acceptance Of our predicament and reality Wherein lies our strength.” “Yes, it is very true,” said my friend. Now the brilliant, passionate sun was kissing the warm and thirsty desert. It was late, much later than I had thought. So I stood up and went and em¬ braced my benevolant friend. I felt as if the “savia” of my friend was running through my veins, And a feeling of serenity and warm invaded my whole being. And with a firm step I began my descent. The last words of my wise friend to me were: “When my friend the ant comes around, I will tell her a thing or two — That insignificant wingless insect (called human being) That has learned to fly — Things that I had never deemed possible.” maiz - corn savia - sap por J. Alvarado The Loyola Marymount Uni¬ versity MECHA GRUPO FOLKLORICO was founded in the summer of 1970. At that time the grupo was under the direction of Emilio Pulido, a well known Mex¬ ican Folklorist. By 1972 the group was able to establish firm roots with the University when Begin¬ ning, Intermediate and Advanced Dance of Mexico courses were es¬ tablished. The group has had a total of five Director- Choreographers with the present director being Ms. Graciela Hol- quin Hinojosa. An ex member of the Ballet Folklorico of the Uni¬ versity of Guadalajara, and also of the world renowned Ballet Folklorico de Mexico of Amalia Hernandez, Ms. Holquin has given the group new life and new direction this last year. At present the group is expanding its reper¬ toire to little-seen dances of Guer¬ rero, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Yuca¬ tan. This, of course, is in addition to already established styles such as Jalisco, Veracruz, Huasteco, por Fernando Ruiz Chicano, full of the spirit from the gods above, returned from the holy land of Aztlan and was con¬ ducted by the spirit and the light into the land of Metropolis for forty days and forty nights. There he was tempted by the evil one, “El Moderno”. During this time, he fasted, and at the end of it he was hungry. El Moderno said to him, “If you are the son of the Gods and of everything that lives, command this street light into a deer of the forest.” Chicano turned to him and answered him, “The ways of life say ‘thou shalt not destroy your own brother for greed,’ but rather ‘pass life down to extend life itself’.” El Moderno took him to the highest of sky scrapers and showed him all the cities of the world in a single instant. He said, “I will give you all the power and the glory of these cities; the Norteno and others. The grupo’s focus is commun¬ ity service. As such they have been providing the L.M.U. as well as the surrounding community with six years of successful per¬ formances. The Grupo has ap¬ peared on K.N.B.C.’s (Channel 4) “Brainworks” program. They have performed several times at the Music Center and have re¬ ceived several civic awards as a result of their participation in the Cinco de Mayo Celebrations. In 1975-76 alone The Grupo per¬ formed at twenty five different functions. In the past semester the group was involved in at least fif¬ teen performances, and it seems the trend will continue. However, one basic problem has plagued the group, and that is graduating seniors leaving the group each year. A steady supply of persons interested in the group is needed. If you are interested in joining please contact the present student directors, Jose Hernandez or Elsa Rodriquez. You can drop a note at the Chicano Resource Center, Malone 201, or call extensions 2970 or 2975 and leave a message. pfower has been given to me and I give it to whomever I wish. Bow down in homage before me, and it shall all be yours.” Chicano looked at him and re¬ plied, “The ways of life say you shall bow down and do homage to the way and the word of your Gods, they alone shall you adore.” Then El Moderno led him to New York, sat him at the top of the United Nations and said to him, “If you are the descendant of the Gods, throw yourself down from here, for the way and the word of life has it that They will bid their warriors to watch over you,’ and ‘With their shields they shall sup¬ port you, that you may never stumble on the street’.” Chicano said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shalt not put your Gods to the test’.” When El Moderno had finished all the tempting he left Chicano, and went to await another oppor¬ tunity. Tahlequah