her invisible heart: Garcia Marquez

The spirit of her invincible heart
guided her through the shadows.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

As a Spanish/Anthropology major in college, I spent about 1.5 years in Latin American. I spent a whole year in Colombia, where Garcia Marquez was from, of course. The magical realism in his work reflects what Colombian culture is like. It takes magical realism for granted. It integrates indigenous beliefs in modern culture. This was true, at least, in 1972-73.

I read his stuff in Spanish. My reading Spanish was so fluent that it was just like sailing through novels in English.

I love(d) his work. My reading Spanish is not so fluent these days, although my speaking Spanish is.

Last night I attended an event where the speaker was an award-winning Zapatista activist, a female. A tiny indigenous Mexican. She did not tell us what her background is. I wish she had, or that I had asked.  The translater, an American woman, missed a lot. It seemed like many in attendance were also fluence in Spanish. When the translater made mistakes, many around me would mutter, a bit under their breath, the correct English translations. Even the guy sitting next to me who sounded Dutch or German caught the translators mistakes. so he must be fluent in Spanish.

I had fun.

Gosh, the world is chock-a-block full of interesting people. And beautiful people. I don't mean magazine model beauty.  People are beautiful, all of them. Last night, I was taken with many women's hair.