Well, I leave El Cerrito this year with mixed emotions. I was hoping to get more video of interviews with the actual villagers, and while every effort was made to set some of these up, no one in the village was very interested in being interviewed. The older villagers summed it up by saying that they are just very private people. And while over the years they have given interviews and been tape-recorded, video was just a little too much for them. Again, I felt like an outsider, prying into their lives. Regardless of how important I think it is to get this all documented before it all fades way, their wishes must come first. There is a reason that these people have chosen to live a harder life out here in the middle of nowhere under some harsh conditions, and being left alone is probably one of the major ones.
So I leave this place feeling torn between wanting to share the uniqueness of this tiny New Mexican village and on the other hand wanting to hide it away from everyone. I feel split in two by my conflicting feelings. On one hand, I am a Gringa, a stranger to this place. I have no roots here, no family history, no right to document this place and its traditions. A stranger with no voice. On the other hand, something about El Cerrito draws me in and makes me feel protective of the village. While I am not a landowner in the village, is it not still my right to try and learn ab out this place, and in learning be able to teach others. As a US citizen, is it not my right to voice my opinion on the preservation of this village. I am not sure there is really any one correct answer.
So, I am left with packing up and trying to get in as many last shots of the village as I can. On my way out, I plan on visiting some of the scenic over-looks to use for "infinity" back-drops in Second Life. As I pull out over the mesa and the village disappears, I can't help but feel that I am witnessing the death of a village.
0 comments:
Post a Comment