August 7th,
1995
To the men
and women in solidarity with Chiapas, Mexico, gathered in Brescia, Italy:
To the
people of the world:
Brethren:
Don Durito
de La Lacandona writes to thee, knight-errant, undoer of wrongs, females’
restless dream, men’s aspiration, last and greatest example of that race which
exalted humanity with such colossal and selfless feats, beetle and warrior of
the moon.
I have
ordered my loyal squire, he whom ye callest “SupMarcos,” to send thee a
greeting in writing with all the requisites that the diplomacy of today
demands, excluding rapid intervention forces, economic programs, and capital
flight.
Nonetheless,
I have wanted to write thee a few lines with the sole objective of helping to
enlarge thy spirit and abound in thy minds good and noble thoughts. That is why
I am sending thee the following narrative which, it is certain, is full of rich
and varied teachings. The tale forms part of the collection “Tales for a Night
of Suffocation” (of unlikely upcoming release) and it is called:
The Story of
the Mousey and the Kitty
Once upon a
time, there was a mousey who was very hungry and wanted to eat some cheese that
was in the kitchen. And so the mousey went very resolutely to the kitchen to
get the cheese, but it turns out that a kitty cut him off and the mousey got
really scared and ran away and could no longer go to the kitchen for the
cheese. So the mousey was thinking about what to do to go to the kitchen for
the cheese and thought and said:
“Now I know,
I’ll put a little bowl of milk and then the kitty will start drinking the milk
because kitties really like milk. And then, when the kitty is drinking his milk
and doesn’t realize, I’ll go to the kitchen to get the cheese and I’ll eat it
up. Verrrrry good idea,” said the mousey.
And so he
went to look for some milk but it turns out that the milk was in the kitchen
and, when the mousey wanted to go to the kitchen, the kitty cut him off and the
mousey got really scared and ran away and he could no longer go get the milk.
So the mousey was thinking about what to do to go to the kitchen for the milk
and thought and said:
“Now I know,
I’ll throw a fishy very far away and then the kitty will run off to go and eat
the fishy, because kitties really like fishies. And then, when the kitty is
eating his fishy and doesn’t realize, I’ll go to the kitchen to get some milk
to put in a bowl and then, when the kitty is drinking his milk and doesn’t
realize, I’ll go to the kitchen to get some cheese and I’ll eat it up. Verrrry
good idea,” said the mousey.
And so he
went to look for the fishy but it turns out that the fishy was in the kitchen
and, when the mousey wanted to go to the kitchen, the kitty cut him off and the
mousey got really scared and ran away and could no longer go get the fishy.
And so the
mousey saw that the cheese that he wanted, the milk, and the fish, everything
was in the kitchen and he couldn’t get there because the kitty was stopping
him. And so the mousey said, “Enough is enough!” and grabbed a machine gun and
pelted the kitty and went to the kitchen and saw that the fish, the milk, and
the cheese had already gone bad and could no longer be eaten, and so he
returned to where the kitty was and cut him up, and then had a great barbeque
and then invited all of his friends and so they had a party and ate up the
barbequed kitty and sung and danced and lived very happily. And the story began…
This is the
end of the narrative and the end of this missive. I remind thee that the
divisions between countries only serve to define the crime of “smuggling” and
to give meaning to wars. It is clear that there exist, at least, two things
that come before borders: one is crime which, disguised as modernity,
distributes poverty on a global scale; the other is the hope that shame may
only exist when one missteps in a dance and not each time we see ourselves in a
mirror. To finish with the first and to make the second flourish, all that is
lacking is to struggle and be better. The rest follows on its own and is what
tends to fill libraries and museums.
It is not
necessary to conquer the world, it is enough to build it anew…Cheers and know
that, for love, a bed is only a pretext; for dance, a tune is only a
decoration; and for struggle, nationality is only a merely circumstantial
accident.
From the
mountains of the Mexican Southeast
Don Durito de La Lacandona
P.S. Sorry
that I do not abound in these letters. It turns out that I must hastily prepare
an expedition to invade Europe this winter. How about if a landing comes to
them next January 1st?
English translation copyright © 2014 by Henry Gales. All rights reserved.
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