In the communityWe Continue(continued) in the most frivolous(lewd) launch and little later we come(came) to a place where the river was made(become) wider, since(as,like) in a bay. In a shore the rock was forming an irregular semicircle and it(he,she) arrives, in higher area, one saw a little house. " ¡ we come(came)! " Someone said and the whole world began to stoop. If they do not say it to me I would not have realized. One did not see community for any side and only on having risen for a way that was coming to a rock, they could there turns houses, platforms and a big building, with roof of palm. The houses were all in bahareque*, painted target, an alone room, with roof of straw and low doors, since(as,like) in the museum of The Mercy.
To them not natives us directed to one building round, with wide windows covered with grid and drawings of prominent figures of Walt Disney of colors in the walls. They said to us that it was a question of the lounge of pre-school, but since(as) the children they were not studying in this epoch, we could leave our suitcases there. We walk(walked) a bit, cross(crossed) a line of houses and come(came) to the square(seat), since(as,like) of approximately 30 x 50 meters. There it(he,she) was waiting For His(her) Isael Sáenz, of the CRIGUA, and Paul, the representative of the river. They took us to the house of the captain Isaías, where we knew him, together with his(its) wife and his(its,her) children. There they gave us yucuta of seje20With small banana, I parboil and a little(some kind of) of casabe. It was a delicious luncheon as few ones.
The maloca of Chorro Bocón, with his(its,her) typical ones 20 x 40 m, his(its) roof of palm and his(its,her) walls of bahareque, was slightly bigger than I was expecting to find in a community. It(he,she,I) should have approximately 17 meters of high place, from the floor(flat) up to the last guadua*. The structures of guaduas tied and fixed began like to approximately 5 meters over the floor(flat). It had been necessary to to have been a work the tenacious one, between(among) all the members of the community, because the normal thing is that the money for his(its,her) communal constructions it puts the condition(state) and/or the security; the people always put the hand of work. The floor(flat) was a cement slab, smoothed meticulously. A fourth part(report), of behind, towards the times of communal dining room, only a railing of wood was separating her(it) from other one. The principal part had great number of bankings directed to a small elevation(increase) close to the wall of forward and the seats that existed opposite it(him). On the same wall they had given an infinity of religious posters of the " Biblical close(united) churches " that were explaining the writings, the relation between(among) the good and evil, which would happen(pass) in the Apocalypse, how to resist the temptations, and this way. In an edge of the elevation(increase) one saw a podium, as which the president of the U.S. uses always in his(its,her) allocutions., or the priests on having read the gospel, but it evident was that in this occasion was reserved for the shepherd.
The maloca was located in the center of one of the edges of the square(seat), the majority of the houses of the community, only those who were staying behind other houses could not see her. We come(came) to the maloca the mayor, the departmental secretary of agriculture, the indigenist of the department, the municipal indigenist, the representative of the CRIGUA, the attorney - teacher sent by the department of government, and I. We sat down opposite the bankings and saw since the building was filling with people. The bankings were separated by a corridor in two groups, in one the women sat down and in other one the men. The agenda was read and each of the employees explained what his(its) office had done for the communities when his(its) shift came to him(her). I explained the small thing that it(he,she) knew it(he,she) could come to them across the net and what had been discussed in the sectorial tables. It(he,she) was touching us to speak in a minute more or less, and to allow that Paul should translate the puinave what had been said. Naturally, the translation was not very trustworthy, since some of them were getting longer a lot of(many,very) and Paul was translating in his(its,her) own(proper) words, in what his(its) memory was managing to store. Since always it(he,she) happens(passes), it(he) was giving him(her) major(bigger) emphasis to the topics that more had called him(her) the attention.
The intervention that more they looked like to like was that of Isael, of the CRIGUA, since it(he,she) was entirely in puinave and occasionally it(he,she) was doing jokes to our expenses and the whole world was laughing; with the exception of that we understood not even a word of the puinave, certainly. The mayor was joking with our translator because it(he,she) was repeating very much the word "uncajé" and this age the only word that it(he) knew, and was saying: " if one sees? Little by little one is learning ". Later, puzzled, I asked that was meaning this word, it(he) answered me that he(she) wanted to say "certainly" and that he(she) reminded(remembered) her(it) very much because it(he,she) seemed that he(she) was asking for a red wine: " a coffee! A coffee! ".
After the "speeches" it(he,she) opened a round of questions. Naturally, which more were taking part were the leaders, Pablo and Isaías. The others were doing very punctual and very simple questions, but the great majority did not take part. Those who more were speaking were the young captains, some. The members of the community of Big-mouthed Jet were almost all there seated, but they said nothing. Some of them were stopped looking from the door or from the windows, since almost all the bankings were busy(occupied). While them of forward they were speaking, two pots passed of yucuta for in the middle of the public, and everyone was taking a sump of plastic and with it(him) it(he,she) was drinking. The one that did not take was because it(he,she) did not want, but every that it(he,she) was raising the look one saw someone different taking. The normal thing is that in the meetings offers something to himself(herself,itself) always of eating, but, the absenteeism increases considerablly. Up to the secretaries they extracted his(its,her) plastic bags of cookies "Glory" surrounds ultimately, stuffed bananas and small chocolates, that distributed between(among) the concurrence.
Isaías's participation was the longest. Confidence had more that the rest, since(as) host it(he,she) was in his(its) environment, and he(she) was charmed with the idea of fusing three securities of the river in one. He(she) proposed the union to be more forts at the moment of doing requirements before the government and making the steps easier. The mayor had exposed the problem of a project of improvement of housing for the whole river, which approved but did not work because the people received the cements bundles, but it(he,she) did not use them. Several of these bundles wetted(got wet) in winter and they turned rock, others were on the verge of getting lost. Isaías was awarding the responsibility of this failure to the authorities, which they were not coordinating well with the communities and up to(even) they were denying to remove to end the projects that native same had proposed, as the construction of the roofs in zinc. Also it(he,she) was stopping to understand that if the mayor was not fulfilling his(its,her) promises, he(she) had to remember that it(he,she) was between(among) natives and that they were changing his(its,her) captains when they they were not working. Of a spontaneous way, one was speaking about the recall(cancellation) of the mandate and about the right of the communities to determining the way since they assume the progress. It(he,she) gave complaints on the miners, his(its,her) drunkenness and the prostitutes and very nicely it was required a solution.
The mayor felt that they were throwing(shooting) five-peseta coin to him(her) and answered with a long explanation on the motives for which it(he,she) could not have expired with this and other projects, which had to see with the transport, with which the petrol for the municipality was more expensive because the condition(state) pays three months later and with the difficulties in order that the head offices were turning the money. In this then there finished meeting the mayors of the whole country to discuss a decision of the constitutional court, which was prohibiting to use the money of the condition(state) for the functioning of the municipalities; one blurred(busy,moved) like that(this way) was destining many(many people) to the bankruptcy or was making them impossible pay his(its,her) obligations.
But at that(that) more him(her) they threw it(he,she) went to the indigenist of the municipality, since they were saying that it(he,she) was not doing but to walk, that he(she) was not attending to the people who was going to look for it or to spend(pass) her(it) to him(you,them) turning in the people(village). It(he,she) defended itself arguing that was touching him to be in five parts(reports) at the same time, so(then) had to solve problems of education with the FER and at the same time with the municipality, which they are in different buildings; that could not remain in the office exactly because it(he,she) had to go to such-and-such community and they were not staying nearby. The people did not like the treatment(deal) that was giving them, but it(he,she,I) was not giving supply either. Who knows if at these hours the same indigenist will be. I have the feeling that(that) not, since they had put the complaint up to(even) to the department of government.
When it(he,she) came the night, they gave me a small rowing-boat and allowed us to hang in the house of the pilot of the community. There I did my first attempts with the knots of the hammock and for the first time I slept bamboliándome* with any movement. It was a strange sensation, since(as,like) her(it) of sleeping in a ship. In Inírida I knew a university teacher, of industrial design. In his(its,her) first trips he(she) hated the hammocks and could not sleep in them. But, as things of the life, it(he,she) touched him to sleep entire months on them, while it(he,she) was crossing the amazonia. Ultimately, in the hotel - refuge where I knew it, it(he,she) was not resisting to sleep in a common and current bed, and had to get up in the night to hanging. " Already I can not sleep without them " he(she) said to me. I did not have any problem and discovered something very agreeable: In populations near to the river Inírida almost it(he,she) is not long-legged and I did not need of toldillo*. Also I discovered that when several hammocks hang itself in an alone girder, the dream becomes communal. That of the hammock of the corner turns round to sleep and we all sway(swayed). If I low me to midnight to urinating, everyone rocks a bit. Anyhow, one sways as approximately ten minutes after be raising. Sometimes I was doing to remember(remind) these cradles that have some mothers, who can rocks to make to sleep to the child; now I know what these small ones feel(sit).
For native Amazonian the hammock or the small rowing-boat is something indispensable, so much as his(its) craft to go fishing. It is the precise(necessary) "bed" for the amazonia: it(he,she) jabbers on and gets into any part(report), does not weigh very much, only he(she) needs two sticks(woods) to be used and it(he,she) does not cost very much either. Between(among) the communities always there is who can weave them and I spread in the canoes to put them coiled. Our furniture compared with them, are the whole cañengo*.
On The following day more representatives came, of the communities that could not have come. They presented and demonstrated his(its,her) needs, it was continued with Trespalacios's exhibition on the indigenous legislation and with the discussion. The people who came from the same Big-mouthed Jet also increased. I could know a bit more of the community, could see that his(its) school was worn down, that the children were in vacations and saw movies in VCR. I could see how several women were coming to the house of the captain, loading replete pots of the food that we all were going to eat.
This day the luncheon distributed since it(he,she) was doing normally in the community: The part of behind of the maloca, the dining room, had a big table in the center, surrounded with bankings brought closer to the walls. In her(it) they put the pots with yucuta of seje, sweated rice, soup of danta with meatful bone, and a plate with leaves(sheets) of casabe. To the side they put the plates, the glasses and the spoons. There was no crockery, the whole "china" was of plastic or of identical metal. The whole people of the community were doing row and the captain was serving each one with bigger cutlery, dosing in order that it(he,she) was reaching. But one of the colonists who were coming with us, it(he,she) did not last, decided to take a spoon and he to be served only. A small group of colonists and natives followed(continued) automatically the example and soon there was a small multicultural riot extracting (or better plundering) the pots. The "personalities" we ate of first, but several that came after the riot remained without food. Me the whole situation was looking like a cartoon of what does our "culture", on having entered indigenous territory and having broken the communal order. It was what was happening(passing) when they were facing the " individual initiative ". The small communities have between(among) yes brotherly links, ours are commercial. The colonist is accustomed to seeing for yes same and the others will see they do what. The same situation demonstrates our terrible zeal and the distrust that we have for with our leaders.
I Crossed the square(seat) on the one that was turning the movement of the community and could see some colonists sat between(among) the indigenous families, his(its,her) families. They were members of the community, since(as,like) any other one. Since(as,like) in the colony, which preferred living in the middle of the native ones they were less, but they were adopting the local culture and the language almost completely.
! A pity that they have been and are so small! If the shock of our two cultures had been happened more for the love that for the ambition, if for ours the miscegenation had been a virtue and not a shame ..!
In the moment of the farewell, to the interior of the maloca, the employees pressed the hand hard of each and every of the captains, in a cheerful farewell. An elder came and said a few words to us in puinave, that today I do not remember(remind), and that translated it(he) itself since(as,like) " welcome to the Guainía, welcome to Big-mouthed Jet ". Isaías took advantage of the farewell to ask me for instruction on the project formulation, a lack that I noticed in all the communities that I visited. But my instruction was so precarious that small I could do in the matter.
The people quite(everything) were going out of his(its,her) houses to see and to greet the acquaintances us. I saw to several going forward for the way towards the river and when we come(came) to the bongos, the whole community was there, looking at us to divide. I thought that it(he,she) was to say goodbye and raised the hand to say good-bye, but nobody answered me. There was in his(its,her) faces a strange melancholy, by snatches I was looking alike that they were looking more to the river that to us. It(he) was so rare(strange)! The whole community looking at us as whom it(he,she) looks at television, as the group that sees an accident of traffic and does turn to him(her), but he(she) does not say anything.
NOTEClick in
to return to the mark of note.