caeed1d
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I made strength from everything that had happened to me, so that in the end even the final tragedy could not defeat me. And that is what Ultima tried to teach me, that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart. --Antonio
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Rudolfo Anaya |
219caeb
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It is because good is always stronger than evil. Always remember that, Antonio. The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
28612f9
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Understanding comes with life. As a man grows he sees life and death, he is happy and sad, he works, plays, meets people - sometimes it takes a lifetime to acquire understanding, because in the end understanding simply means having sympathy for people.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
74870e0
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It seemed the more I knew about people the more I knew about the strange magic hidden in their hearts.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
91e62c3
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I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her [Ultima] I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things.
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spirit
bless
rudolfo
ultima
me
river
presence
soul
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Rudolfo Anaya |
6c55c5e
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Ultima came to stay with us the summer I was almost seven. When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth. The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood.
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beauty
llano
bless
rudolfo
ultima
me
river
mystery
childhood
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Rudolfo Anaya |
260cb8d
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I think that if there is a hell it's just a place where you're left all alone, with nobody around you. Man, when you're alone you don't have to burn, just being by yourself for all of time would be the worst punishment the Old Man could give you
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Rudolfo Anaya |
d013de5
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The sun was good. The men of the llano were men of the sun. The men of the farms along the river were men of the moon. But we were all children of the white sun.
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men
good
moon
llano
bless
rudolfo
ultima
me
sun
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Rudolfo Anaya |
eb0ce6f
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The germ of creation lies in violence.
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violence
inspirational
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Rudolfo Anaya |
33dd2d6
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A [real] man does not flee from truth
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Rudolfo Anaya |
f0117d1
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There are many gods . . . gods of beauty and magic, gods of the garden, gods in our own backyards, but we go off to foreign countries to find new ones, we reach to the stars to find new ones--. . . . The god of the church is a jealous god; he cannot live in peace with other gods.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
70875ad
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Any land will flow with milk and honey if it is worked with honest hands!
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Rudolfo Anaya |
ce4dc1d
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Good is always stronger than evil. Always remember that...The smallest bit of good can stand against the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
dc379eb
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Perhaps the best god would be like a woman, because only women really knew how to forgive.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
aaff297
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Sometimes a man has to cry. Even if he is a man.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
b3c4c52
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The orange of the golden carp appeared at the edge of the pond. . . . We watched in silence at the beauty and grandeur of the great fish. Out of the corners of my eyes I saw Cico hold his hand to his breast as the golden carp glided by. Then with a switch of his powerful tail the golden carp disappeared into the shadowy water under the thicket.
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fish
beauty
bless
carp
rudolfo
ultima
golden
orange
me
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Rudolfo Anaya |
3115ba3
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Where did you get Ultima's name?" many ask me. "That was her name when she came to me," I answer. From that first fortuitous meeting I have trained myself to act as a dream catcher. I don't seek characters, they seem to come to me asking me to tell their stories."
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Rudolfo Anaya |
e605c6c
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And that is what Ultima tried to teach me, that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
b6ed55f
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And what of the men who made love to the woman who became La Llorona? Did they every cry for their children? It doesn't seem fair to have only her suffer, only her crying and doing penance. Perhaps a man should run with her, and in our legends we would call him "El Mero Chingon," he who screwed up everything. Then maybe the tale of love and passion and the insanity it can bring will be complete. Yes, I think someday I will write that story...
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Rudolfo Anaya |
1820016
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The body is not important. It is made of dust; it is made of ashes. It is food for the worms. The winds and the waters dissolve it and scatter it to the four corners of the earth. In the end, what we care most for lasts only a brief lifetime, then there is eternity. Time forever. Millions of worlds are born, evolve, and pass away into nebulous, unmeasured skies; and there is still eternity. Time always. The body becomes dust and trees and e..
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Rudolfo Anaya |
840f001
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I had seen beauty, but the beauty had burdened me with responsibility.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
1bc81ae
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I was drinking beer to kill time, the erotic and sensitive Mexican time which is so different from the clean-packaged, well-kept time of the Americanos. Time in Mexico is at times cruel and punishing, but it is never indifferent. It permeates everything, changes reality. Einstein would have loved Mexico because there time and space are one. I stare more often into empty space when I'm in Mexico.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
a92899f
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I wonder what the years have gathered in the bags. I bet it's like looking through old trunks, old letters and photographs, an old shoe or two.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
56cf502
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The gaze of her clear eyes held them transfixed. "You must understand that when anybody, bruja or curandera, priest or sinner, tampers with the fate of a man that sometimes a chain of events is set into motion over which no one will have ultimate control. You must be willing to accept this responsibility."
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Rudolfo Anaya |
b25adff
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It was very sad to see my father cry, but I understood it, because sometimes a man has to cry. Even if he is a man.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
32fdf8c
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Time forever. Millions of worlds are born, evolve, and pass away into nebulous, unmeasured skies; and there is still eternity. Time always.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
21f11a3
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Why are they like that?" I asked Cico. We skirted Blue Lake and worked our way through the tall, golden grass to the creek. "I don't know," Cico answered, "except that people, grown-ups and kids, seem to want to hurt each other--and it's worse when they're in a group."
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Rudolfo Anaya |
0a66997
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I asked Go to answer my questions, but the only sound was always the whistling of the wind filling the empty space.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
769dd83
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Economically, New Mexico ranks low, but we know the real treasure lies in the people, the landscape, and the history of its many communities. Here, people have struggled and survived for years, and they have not lost sight of the prize. We believe our region is a spiritual corridor; the earth nurtures us, and our deities can be invoked for the good of the community. Here, Native Americans have been saying prayers and keeping the world in ba..
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Rudolfo Anaya |
ac605a2
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I think most of the things we call evil are not evil at all; it is just that we don't understand those things and so we call them evil. And we fear evil only because we do not understand it." - Gabriel Marez"
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Rudolfo Anaya |
7680adf
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The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant. There is no need to fear men like Tenorio.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
6117ad2
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It is good to die on a hill of the llano, beneath the juniper--
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Rudolfo Anaya |
b68a4ec
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It is good to die on a hill of the llano, beneath the juniper--" -Narciso."
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Rudolfo Anaya |
f1cd9df
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car.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
25573b3
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We prayed until our faith passed into an exhaustion that numbed us to sleep.
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sleep
prayer
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Rudolfo Anaya |
5adef25
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There are so many dreams to be fulfilled, but Ultima says a man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower, with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom, and no one else meddling in it
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Rudolfo Anaya |
b4f534f
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From my mother I had learned that man is of the earth, that his clay feet are part of the ground that nourishes him, and that it is this inextricable mixture that gives man his measure of safety and security. Because man plants in the earth he believes in the miracle of birth, and he provides a home for his family, and he builds a church to preserve his faith and the soul that is bound to his flesh, his clay. But from my father and Ultima I..
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Rudolfo Anaya |
5d04116
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Ay, every generation, every man is a part of his past. He cannot escape it, but he may reform the old materials, make something new
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Rudolfo Anaya |
5fe3bc3
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Ultima said to take life's experiences and build strength from them, not weakness.
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Rudolfo Anaya |
eba3b2c
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Those sons of bitches up there are to blame!' Another worker shouted and jumped forward. He shook an angry fist at the blank faces that looked down on the death scene from the offices atop the yard administration. 'Sanchez's work crew had been cut back twice! It's unsafe to work with so few men! You all know that! Yes, someone's to blame, and the blame lies with those bastards that treat us like animals and our rotten union that won't prote..
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corrupt-unions
unskilled-labor
workers-rights
workers
class-warfare
unions
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Rudolfo Anaya |
9364bed
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He started from nothing, I hear say, and now he's got the only supermarket in the barrio. He has a big Cadillac car, and a lot of political connections at City Hall. They say he delivers the barrio's votes every election, for the right price. Some of the people call him el patron. Of course he takes his mordida from everyone--Do you know he charges the people on welfare a dime to cash their checks. He gets a man a job, and he takes a bite. ..
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credit
interest
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Rudolfo Anaya |
e550db3
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We don't need the gospels, we need the fiery men who wrote them!
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christianity
religion
the-gospels
religious-hypocrisy
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Rudolfo Anaya |
ab529db
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Bah! Do you think the poor people of the barrio pay for the upkeep of the Church? No! Wealth flows from wealth! And sources of wealth need stability to exist! And the Church provides stability! We teach the poor how to bear their burden; they are promised the kingdom of heaven, which is far more important than the little gains your strike would make ...
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religious-hypocrisy
strikes
workers-rights
class-warfare
unions
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Rudolfo Anaya |
4f93bca
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I cannot let things remain as they are, because then I would not be free. If I cease to act because I fear the future, then I create a worse enslavement for myself. That much I know. While my people are not free, I am not free. If the freedom and justice I seek loose destruction upon the earth, then I accept that responsibility, but it seems to me that the real responsibility must be borne by those who keep me from my freedom. I must act!
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solidarity
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Rudolfo Anaya |