Harrel: Thank you for writing. It is very impressive what you have done and what you have read. I envy your time management skills. To be sincere, I am not sure if I undestand your point. Of course we have to look for the truth and for my it is fine that you decided not to buy the losers script. I do agree that reading is not the same as experiencing (sex is my favorite example, but swimming or bicicle riding are also useful), but do not think that living in Mexico means knowing about indians, or knowing them first hand. I do live in the cosmopolitan occidental side of the mexican society and my contact with ethnic groups is very limited. Most of the people I interact with would not recognize themselves as indians and do not live like that, despite the fact that they obviously are. People usually prefer to see themselves as "mestizos" (half-bred); you and I know the reason why, no need to go deeper. My point is that aztecs were noy as "good" as you said and Hernan Cortes (with S, please, otherwise is like writing Evanz) was not as bad. My readings on the subject are not as extensive as yours but certainly more mexican (mostly mexican authors) and more history/anthropology less art and spirituality. You don´t like Bernal Diaz del Castillo, eh? Well, I can understand, it´s the vision of the spaniards, but it is a must. Do you read in Spanish?
Regards Salvador > Sanchez, > > The Aztecs were famous for propaganda. Their whole use of the language was > subtle, metaphoric and propagandistic. Or so the most current research > that I have read on it so states. I had come to the same conclusion as a > result of a new opera that we originated on the Journey of Quetzalcoatl with > translation by Rafel Jesus Gonzales and the music by Ken Guilmartin. It > was just one of the explorations that we did into many cultures. > > The > Garcia Lorca "City of Gypsies" was another, working with the Disney > corporation on Pocahontas and the Gypsies in Hunchback of Notre Dame was > another. Working at the research to create believable universes and to > recreate actual people out of stereotypes in works of art is what my art is > about. I'm not a romantic or a classicist. I am an artist. It is about > telling the truth. As Garcia Lorca said: The Ancient Springs. > > When we did Carmen I studied the score, the literature, > the history on the time, entered the world of the Romany, consulted with > Romany scholars and in the end was visited by them when we presented our > Flamenco Carmen. We required the company to study the Romany and to study > Flamenco for three years before we did the work. In the end we got the > same review that Bizet got when he wrote it. > > Nobody wanted to believe that > Gypsies were people, adults or even human. I placed our NYTimes review > next to the Paris review of the opening of the first Carmen and was proud > that in 1994 I had created the same kind of believability that Bizet himself > had created when he wrote the piece. We were the Anti-Carmen because our > Gypsies were not only alive but had suffered a continual thousand year > holocaust that culminated in Germany when 75% of all Gypsies in the world > were murdered by Hitler. > > Now the purpose of history and artistic transparency in producing a work of > history is not to tell THE Truth but one of the truths. The choices of > history are arbitrary based upon fashion, self-service, politics and many > other things. The truth of Carmen's underlying purposes are as threatening > today as is the possibility that a 10 year old child sent to prison for > murder might not be culpable. > > Knowing everything you can and refusing to > dehumanize people and resort to stereotype brings out the real horror of > historic monsters and points the heroes of life. Villainy is usually as > banal as that the countries greatest serial killer on TV today. Art > picks a version of the truth in order to discover wisdom. If you were to > go through the set book for a Television series like Star Trek for example > you would find incredible research. Histories are invented for the > smallest detail because a series must create a world the audience can live > in. > > When I did Quetzlacoatl I was just beginning to come back to and accept the > Indian > reservation in my life. I have had such myths taught to me about art and > Indians that are not only lies but despicable. Because my skin is lighter > than my fellows I have been in the halls of the mighty and listened. I > know what is said and as Francis Jennings the great librarian of the largest > Indian library in the world, the Newberry Library in Chicago, also said: > He > read all the books and he knew a lot of Indian people and not many of them > were in those books. So he wrote some himself. They are the best but > even Jennings doesn't cover all the bases and sometimes his opinions are not > right on. But he knew the difference between the people and writing. He > also knew that writing is arbitrary and must always be put together with the > story from every side. Opera directing is the same. You can take a > Zefferelli production at the met and even see the history of the sewers in > Italy. Cavalleria Rusticana. > > So what I am going to do is present you with my bibliography of the books > that I own and used in preparing Quetzalcoatl, Lord of Dawn. Admittedly > they can never balance your experience. But a lot of Americans don't know > very much about us and talk a lot about what they don't know about our > cultures, our use of metaphor and our agricultural and forestry methods. > But the Oxford University Press volume on forests of the world wrote a > chapter about us and where Americans deny, the Brits have no conflict of > interest and so just report the facts. The English got it right. Here > is the bibliography that I used. After I did the production then I > studied with a great Cherokee scholar who introduced me to the connection > between the Cherokees and Mexico and why I could read a lot of the materials > correctly without having studied them. > > But still, you have walked these > paths I have simply read or dreamed them. You have life, I have my history > and my study. You speak the language from birth while I have learned its > structures not for the purpose of conversation but creation. You will > always be deeper in your experience of these things than I. That does > place a great responsibility on you for self knowledge. The bibliography > is not only Nahua but other peoples who came in contact with the Nahua > during the entire time frame for the Quetzalcoatl saga. It also included > knowledge of the other directions and of Kukulkan amongst the Mayas. I did > a little research, not included here, amongst the Huichol and the Otomi. > We also relate every year to the indigenous people's of Mexico as they > travel to our Powwows and festivals where we sit and talk and sense each > other, sharing food, dances, clothing etc. > > One point I would make is that although I don't believe you meant it so, we > never considered ourselves as having lost. If we had we would have > disappeared. We have not and will not. I bought that script for a while > and it was terribly destructive. We now have our own place at the table of > religions and nations of the world and we are busy filling it. Guilt is > repressed rage. It is useless but historical truth must escape the bonds > of both Spanish and Aztec chauvinism in the use of language. Truth is the > only acceptable norm and gracefulness proves whether we know how to live or > not. > > Here is the Bibliography: If I did Quetzalcoatl again, everything would be > subject to further study. There is however a lot of corroborating > material > since I did the production that is now available. But > what is said today is always superceded by the morrow. There are no > final exams in art until you retire. One last point I would make is that > all > of these books that are written by Europeans are really about their culture > and their way of perceiving. These studies all teach those of us who do > them ultimately about ourselves. > > Bibliography > > Manuscripts: > Leon-Portilla, Miguel, THE BROKEN SPEARS, THE AZTEC ACCOUNT OF THE CONQUEST > OF MEXICO, Beacon > Codex Mendoza, AZTEC MANUSCRIPT, ed. Kurt Ross Miller Graphics > Codex Nuttal > Codex Borgia > Limted sections of the Florentine Codex (the complete was not available at > the time, Bierhorst has now translated the full text but I don't have it) > > > Art: > Bernal, Ignacio, GREAT SCULPTURE OF ANCIENT MEXICO, William Morrow > Bushnell, G.H.S. ANCIENT ARTS OF THE AMERICAS Praeger > Cervantes, Maria LOST TESOROS DEL ANTIGUO MEXICO MUSEO NACIONAL DE > ANTROPOLOGIA, Geo Color > Covarrubias, Miguel, MEXICO SOUTH, The Isthmus of the Tehuantepec, KPI > Chavero, Alfredo EL ULTIMO QUETZALCOATL, Cosmos > Ekholm, Gordon F. ANCIENT MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA American Museum of > Natural History > Fernandez, Justino, A GUIDE TO MEXICAN ART. Chicago > Muser, Curt, FACTS AND ARTIFACTS OF ANCIENT MIDDLE AMERICA, Dutton > Smith, Bradley, MEXICO, A HISTORY OF ART, Doubleday Windfall > Grey, Michael, PRE-COLUMBIAN ART, Gallery books > Enciso, Jorge, DESIGNS FROM PRE-COLUMBIAN MEXICO > Hunter, C. Bruce A GUIDE TO ANCIENT MEXICAN RUINS Oklahoma > > Histories: > Alarcon, Hernando Ruiz de, TREATISE ON THE HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS THAT TODAY > LIVE AMONG THE INDIANS > NATIVE TO THIS NEW SPAIN, 1629 Oklahoma > Brundage, Burr Cartwright, THE PHOENIX OF THE WESTERN WORLD QUETZALCOATAL > AND THE SKY > RELIGION Oklahoma > Brundage, Burr Cartwright, TWO EARTHS TWO HEAVENS An Essay Contrasting the > Aztecs and the Incas; New Mexico > Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar, THE NARRATIVE OF ALVAR CABEZA DE VACA Imprint > Carraqsco, David QUETZALCOATL AND THE IRONY OF EMPIRE MYTHS AND > PROPHECIES IN THE AZTEC > TRADITION Chicago > Caso, Alfonso, THE AZTECS PEOPLE OF THE SUN, trans. Dunham, Univ. of > Oklahoma > Clendinnen, Inga AZTECS AN INTERPRETATION Cambridge Univ. > Dahlberg, Edward THE GOLD OF OPHIR Dutton > De Las Casas, Bartolome, THE TEARS OF THE INDIANS, BEING AN HISTORICAL AND > TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE > CRUEL MASSACRES AND SLAUGHTERS COMMITED BY THE > SPANIARDS IN THE ISLANDS OF > THE WEST INDIES, MEXICO, PERU, ET. AN EYE > WITNESS > ACCOUNT. Oriole Chapbooks > Ediger, Donald, THE WELL OF SACRIFICE, An account of the expedition to > recover the lost Mayan treasures, Doubleday > Nicholson, Irene, MEXICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY, Paul Hamlyn > press > Burland, Cottie and Forman, Werner, THE AZTECS GODS AND FATE IN ANCIENT > MEXICO Galahad books > Burland, Cottie THE FOUR DIRECTIONS OF TIME, ANALYSIS OF PAGE ON OF CODEX > Fejervay Mayer > Burland, C.A. MONTEZUM LORD OF THE AZTECS. Putnam > Pina Chan, Roman QUETZALCOATL SERPIENTE EMPLUMADA, Fonda de Cultura > Economica > Davies, Nigel THE AZTECS Putnam > Davies, Nigel THE TOLTECS, UNTIL THE FALL OF TULA, Univ. of Oklahoma > Davies, Nigel, THE TOLTEC HERITAGE FROM THE FALL OF TULA TO THE RISE OF > TENOCHTITLAN, Oklahoma > Duran, fray Diego, BOOKS OF THE GODS AND RITES AND THE ANCIENT CALENDAR, > Oklahoma > Duran, Fray Diego, THE AZTECS THE HISTORY OF THE INDIES OF NEW SPAIN > Orion Press > Hemming, John , THE SEARCH FOR ELDORADO Dutton > Horcasitasw, Fernando, THE AZTECS THEN AND NOW, Minutiae Mexicana > Jennings, Francis, THE FOUNDERS OF AMERICA, Norton > Joyce, Thomas A, MEXICAN ARCHEOLOGY Kraus reprint > Leon-Portilla, Miguel AZTEC THOUGHT AND CULTURE Oklahoma > Peterson, Frederick, ANCENT MEXICO AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PRE-HISPANIC > CULTURES, Cap Giant > Sale, Kirkpatrick, THE CONQUEST OF PARADISE, Chris, Columbus and the > Columbian Legacy , American History > Sanders, Ronald, LOST TRIBES AND PROMISED LANDS, THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN > RACISM, Harper > Schele & Freidel, A FOREST OF KINGS, THE UNTOLD STORY, Quill > Soustelle, Jacques, DAILY LIFE OF THE AZTECS, Stanford > Soustelle, Jacques, THE FOUR SUNS, Grossman pub. > Ruz, Abert, PALENQUE The Official Guide National Institute of > Anthropology and History > Thomas, Hugh, CONQUEST MONTEZUMA, CORTES, AND THE FALL OF OLD MEXICO > Simon and Schuster > Thompson, J. Eric S. MAYA HISTORY AND RELIGION Oklahoma > Todorov, THE CONQUEST OF AMERICA, trans. Richard Howard ; Harper > Colophon > Vaillant, G.C. THE AZTECS OF MEXICO Pelican > Williams, Eric, FROM COLUMBUS TO CASTRO THE HISTORY OF THE CARIBBEAN, > Vintage > > Poetry: > Bierhorst, John trans. CANTARES MEXICANOS Songs of the Aztec > Stanford > Bierhorst, John trans. FOUR MASTERWORKS OF AMERICAN INDIAN LIT. > THE JOURNEY OF QUETZALCOATL, Arizona > Estrada, Alvaro, MARIA SABINA HER LIFE AND CHANTS Ross Erickson > Gonzalez, Rafel Jesus, THE JOURNEY OF QUETZALCOATL, manuscript > Knab & Sullivan A SCATTERING OF JADES, Stories, Poetry and Prayers, > Simon and Schuster > Leon-Portilla, Miguel PRE-COLUMBIAN LITERATURES OF MEXICO Oklahoma > Thompson, William Irwin, BLUE JADE FROM THE MORNING STAR Lindensfarne > > > > Sprituality: > Arguelles, Jose, THE MAYAN FACTOR THE PATH BEYOND TECHNOLOGY, Bear and > Co. > Goetz & Morley, POPOL VUH Oklahoma > Leon-Portilla, Miguel, NATIVE MESOAMERICAN SPIRITUALITY, Myths, Discourses, > Stories, Doctrines, Hymns, Poems > from the Aztec, yucatec, Quiche-Maya and other > Sacred Traditions, > Paulist Press > Markman & Markman, THE FLAYED GOD, THE MYTHOLOGY OF MESOAMERICA, Harper > Prechtel, Martin, SECRETS OF THE TALKING JAGUAR (Mayan) Putnam > Recinos, Goetz & Chonay, THE ANALS OF THE CAKCHIQUELS, > TITLE OF THE LORDS OF TOTONICAPAN > Oklahoma > Schele, Freidel & Parker MAYA COSMOS, THREE THOUSAND YEARS ON THE SHAMAN'S > PATH, Morrow > Tedlock, Dennis trans. POPOL VUH Simon and Schuster > > Fiction: > Canty, Jerome SOUNDING THE SACRED CONCH Amazing books > Gillmor, Frances FLUTE OF THE SMOKING MIRROR, A PORTRAIT OF > NEZAHUALCOYOTL, Arizona > Jennings, Gary AZTEC Atheneum > > > Mathematics and Science > Arens, W. THE MAN EATING MYTH Oxford Univ. > Austin, Alfredo Lopez, THE HUMAN BODY AND IDEOLOGY CONCEPTS OF THE ANCIENT > NAHUAS, vol 1,2 Utah > Aveni, Anthony F. NATIVE AMERICAN ASTRONOMY, Texas > Closs, Michael P. NATIVE AMERICAN MATHEMATICS, Texas pr. > Fagan, Brian M. CLASH OF CULTURES, Freeman > Marcus, Joyce, MESOAMERICAN WRITING SYSTEMS, Propaganda, Myth, and History > in Four Ancient Civilizations; > Princeton Univ. > Morley, Sylvanus Griswold, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF MAYA > HIEROGLYPHS, Dover > Tedlock, Barbara, TIME AND THE HIGHLAND MAYA, New Mexico > Tedlock, Dennis, THE SPOKEN WORD AND THE WORK OF INTERPRETATION, > Pennsylvania > Williamson, Ray A. ARCHAEOASTRONOMY IN THE AMERICAS Ballena > press/center for Archaeoastronomy > > > Travel: > > Wright, Ronald TIME AMONG THE MAYA, Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and > Mexico, Wiedenfeld and Nicholson > > > Ray Evans Harrell _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
