ÉRIC CANTONA RAURICH, CATALAN & SARDINIAN ROOTS

Claire Fontaine and Joseph de Ca'th Lon have just arrived in Marselha where The Grandma awaits them. Both have arrived later than expected due to air problems caused by storm Ingrid which is also affecting French lands, in this case those of the west, and Catalonia.

All three will spend a few days visiting Provence and Occitania and, today, in Marselha, they plan to attend a football cup match.

Talking about football in Marselha, is obviously talking about their local team, Olympique de Marseille, but above all, talking about the figure of one of the most spectacular footballers of all time: Éric Cantona.

Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona (born 24 May 1966) is a French former professional footballer who is currently an actor.

In his football career, Cantona was a physically strong and technically skilful player with both creative and goalscoring ability. Mostly utilised as a deep-lying forward, he was also capable of playing as a centre-forward, as a dedicated striker, as an attacking midfielder, or as a central midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.

Cantona played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United, before ending his career at Manchester United, with whom he won four Premier League titles in five years, including two League and FA Cup Doubles. He wore the iconic number 7 shirt at Manchester United and was known for turning up his collar. He is affectionately nicknamed King Eric by Manchester United fans. Cantona won league championships in England and France in seven of his last eight full seasons as a professional, and at least one trophy in eight of his last nine. At international level, he played for the France national team and scored 20 goals in 45 matches. He appeared at UEFA Euro 1992 and, in preparation for Euro 96, was appointed captain in 1994.

In 2003, Cantona was voted as Manchester United's greatest-ever player by Inside United magazine. He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. At the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards in 2003, he was voted the Overseas Player of the Decade. Cantona was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021. Charismatic and outspoken, Cantona's achievements in football were set against fallings out with coaches and team-mates, and a poor disciplinary record throughout his career, including a 1995 conviction for an assault on an abusive spectator, for which he received a two-week prison sentence, reduced to community service on appeal, and an eight-month suspension from football - preventing him from participating at Euro 96.

In 1997, Cantona unexpectedly announced his retirement from football just before his 31st birthday. He then moved into a career in cinema, including roles in the films Elizabeth (1998), French Film (2008) and The Killer (2024). In 2010, he debuted as a stage actor in Face au Paradis, a play directed by his wife, Rachida Brakni. Cantona took an interest in the sport of beach soccer; as player-manager of the France national beach soccer team, he won the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona was born in Marseille on 24 May 1966, the son of dressmaker Éléonore Raurich, and nurse and painter Albert Cantona. His mother was Catalan and came from Barcelona, while his paternal grandfather was Italian and had emigrated to Marselha from Ozieri in Sardinia. While fighting the armies of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War in 1938, Cantona's maternal grandfather, Pere Raurich, suffered a serious injury to his liver and had to retreat to France for medical treatment with his wife. They stayed in Saint-Priest, Ardèche, before settling in Marselha.

Cantona began his football career with SO Caillolais, his local team and one that had produced such talent as Roger Jouve and had players such as Jean Tigana and Christophe Galtier within its ranks.

Cantona was given his full international debut against West Germany in August 1987 by national team manager Henri Michel.

Regarded by pundits as one of the best players of his generation, one of the greatest Premier League players of all time, and as one of France's and Manchester United's greatest players ever, Cantona was nicknamed by Manchester United fans as King Eric. A large, physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player, Cantona was a forward who combined technical skill and creativity with power and goalscoring ability. Despite his height and imposing physique, he was a skilful player on the ball, due to his long torso, which gave him a lower centre of gravity than most players of his stature, and who possessed good technique and ball control, as well as an excellent first touch.

He was renowned for his vision, passing, intelligence and playmaking skills, in addition to his eye for goal and powerful and accurate striking ability, which often saw him score from spectacular strikes and volleys. As such, he often played in a free, creative role between the midfield and forward lines throughout his career, acting as a deep-lying forward behind the main striker, due to his tendency to drop deep into midfield to retrieve the ball and orchestrate attacking plays, as well as his ability both to score goals and provide assists for team-mates. However, Cantona was also capable of playing as a centre-forward, due to his ability to hold-up the ball with his back to goal, although this was not his favoured position, as an out–and–out striker, as an attacking midfielder, or even as a central midfielder on occasion. He was also an accurate penalty and free kick taker.

Due to his height, physique, positional sense and heading accuracy, he was strong in the air. He was known for being both mentally and physically tough, and was highly regarded for his strong, commanding and charismatic personality, as well as his leadership qualities and bravery, which helped to alleviate pressure from his team-mates. Cantona was known for turning up his collar during matches.

Cantona was a hard-working player, who also stood out for his defensive contribution off the ball, as well as his ability to start attacking plays after winning back possession. He also drew praise in the media for his discipline and dedication in training. Despite his talent and ability, he was also notorious for his aggression, confrontational behaviour, volatile temper and lack of discipline on the pitch, as well as his tendency to commit hard challenges, which made him a highly controversial figure in world football.

More information: These Football Times

The real fans of football 

come from the working class. 
Now they cannot afford 

to come and watch the game.

Éric Cantona

PHOCAEANS, THE LINK BETWEEN MARSELHA & EMPÚRIES

Today, The Grandma has been walking through the streets of Marselha and after devouring a fantastic local breakfast, she has decided to visit the City's History Museum to learn a little more about the city's Greek past and the links of Massalia as a Hellenic colony with other colonies such as Empúries.

Phocaea or Phokaia, in Ancient Greek Φώκαια, Phókaia; modern-day Foça in Turkey, was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. 

Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in Provence) in 600 BC, Emporion (modern-day Empúries, in Catalonia) in 575 BC and Elea (modern-day Velia, in Campania) in 540 BC.

Massalia, in Greek Μασσαλία, was an ancient Greek colony (apoikia) on the Mediterranean coast, east of the Rhône. Settled by the Ionians from Phocaea in 600 BC, this apoikia grew up rapidly, and became the centre of Greek trade in western Mediterranean, branching out and creating many outposts on the coasts of what is now Spain, the south of France including Corsica island, and northwestern Italy (Liguria).  

Massalia persisted as an independent colony until the Roman campaign in Gaul in the 1st century BC. The ruins of Massalia still exist in the contemporary city of Marseille, which is considered the oldest city of France and one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements.

Massalia was established ca. 600 BC by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western Anatolia. After the capture of Phocaea by the Persians in 545 BC, a new wave of settlers fled towards the colony. A creation myth telling the meeting between the Greeks and the local population is given by Aristotle and Pompeius Trogus.

After the middle of the 6th century BC, Massalia became an important trading post of the western Mediterranean area. It grew into creating colonies of its own on the sea coast of Gallia Narbonensis during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, including Agathe (late 5th-early 4th c. BC), Olbia  (ca. 325), Tauroentium (early 3rd c.), Antipolis and Nikaia (ca. mid-3rd c.).  

Massalia was known in ancient times for its explorers: Euthymenes travelled to the west African coast in the late 6th century BC, and Pytheas explored northwestern Europe in the late 4th century BC.

The colony remained a faithful ally of Rome during all of the Punic Wars (264-146 BC). The retreat of Carthage from the Iberian coast after its defeat in the Second Punic War (218-201) gave Massalia the dominancy over the Gulf of Lion, and the fall of Carthage in 146 probably led to the intensification of trade between the Greek colony and the Celtiberians.

Archaeological evidence, in the form of amphora fragments, indicate that the Greeks were producing wine in the region (Provence) soon after they settled. By the time the Romans reached the area in 125 BC, the wine produced there had a reputation across the Mediterranean for high quality.

Massalia initially chose neutrality during the Civil War between Caesar and the Senate, but sided with Caesar's opponents after the arrival of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. The city was besieged in 49 BC and eventually had to surrender to Caesar's army. Massalia lost most of its inland territory in the aftermath of this defeat.

During the Roman and Late Antique periods, the city, then known as Massilia in Latin, remained a major center of maritime trade. It became a civitas within the Roman Empire at the latest ca. 300 AD.

The Greeks used the proverbs Ἐκ Μασσαλίας ἥκεις (you are coming out of Massalia) and Ἐς Μασσαλίαν πλεύσειας (you might sail to Massalia) in reference to those living an effeminate and soft life, apparently because the men of Massalia were wearing fancy long perfumed robes and tying their hair up, which other Greeks interpreted as signs of disgrace.

The Romans on the other hand had a more positive view of the city as a bastion of Greek civilisation in barbarian lands, and as a loyal ally of Rome.

A genetic study conducted in 2011 found that 4% of the inhabitants of Provence belong to the haplogroup E-V13 lineage, which is especially frequent among Phocaeans (19%), and that 17% of the Y-chromosomes in Provence may be attributed to Greek colonization. According to the authors, these results suggest a Greek male elite-dominant input into the Iron Age Provence population.

More information: The Collector 

Empúries was an ancient Greek city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia. The city Ἐμπόριον, in Greek  Ἐμπόριον, (Emporion meaning trading place) was founded in 575 BC by Greeks from Phocaea. The invasion of Gaul from Iberia by Hannibal the Carthaginian general in 218 BC, prompted the Romans to occupy the city, in Latin Emporiae, thus initiating the Roman conquest of Hispania. In the Early Middle Ages, the city's exposed coastal position left it open to marauders and it was abandoned.

Empúries is located within the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà on the Costa Brava. The ruins are midway between the town of L'Escala and the tiny village of Sant Martí d'Empúries.

More information: MAC

The vast number of the Greek colonies, 
their wide-spread diffusion 

over all parts of the Mediterranean, 
which thus became a kind of Grecian lake, 
and their rapid growth in wealth, power, and intelligence, 
afford the most striking proofs of the greatness 

of this wonderful people. 
Civil dissensions and a redundant population 

were the chief causes of the origin 

of most of the Greek colonies.

William Smith

FROM PHOCAEAN MASSALIA TO PROVENÇAL MARSELHA

The Grandma is already in Marselha enjoying the culture and history of this special and fascinating Provençal city.

Being in Marselha is being at home. Getting lost in the streets of Vieux Port, closing your eyes and when you open them feeling the Mediterranean Sea so close amidst majestic architecture that recalls Barcelona, ​​Palma, Napoli, València, Alghero, Catania, Malta, Corti or any Greek island, because Mediterraneanness is the common link of all these peoples who, speaking different languages, really have a common culture represented in this sea that one day helped the Greeks to sail further and colonize new lands.

One of these conquering peoples was the Phocaeans, who settled in what we know today as Provençal Marselha. Centuries later, Marselha continues to be a very important city, an indispensable port enclave and a city that has made migrations the basis of its current society.

The Grandma is very much in love with this Marselha that makes her feel at home and where she keeps some of her best friends and her best life experiences.

Marseille, in Provençal Occitan Marselha, is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river.

Marselha is the second-most populous city proper in France, after Paris, over a municipal territory of 241 km2. Together with its suburbs and exurbs, the Marselha metropolitan area, which extends over 3,972 km2. The cities of Marselha, Aix-en-Provence, and 90 suburban municipalities have formed since 2016 the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, an indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues.

Founded c. 600 BC by Greek settlers from Phocaea, Marselha is the oldest city in France, as well as one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements. It was known to the ancient Greeks as Massalia and to Romans as Massilia.

Marselha has been a trading port since ancient times. In particular, it experienced a considerable commercial boom during the colonial period and especially during the 19th century, becoming a prosperous industrial and trading city. Nowadays the Old Port still lies at the heart of the city, where the manufacture of Marselha soap began some six centuries ago. Overlooking the port is the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde or Bonne-mère for the people of Marselha, a Romano-Byzantine church and the symbol of the city. 

Inherited from this past, the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) and the maritime economy are major poles of regional and national activity and Marselha remains the first French port, the second Mediterranean port and the fifth European port. Since its origins, Marselha's openness to the Mediterranean Sea has made it a cosmopolitan city marked by cultural and economic exchanges with Southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. In Europe, the city has the third largest Jewish community after London and Paris.

In the 1990s, the Euroméditerranée project for economic development and urban renewal was launched. New infrastructure projects and renovations were carried out in the 2000s and 2010s: the tramway, the renovation of the Hôtel-Dieu into a luxury hotel, the expansion of the Velodrome Stadium, the CMA CGM Tower, as well as other quayside museums such as the Museum of Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean (MuCEM). As a result, Marselha now has the most museums in France after Paris. 

The city was named European Capital of Culture in 2013 and European Capital of Sport in 2017. Home of the association football club Olympique de Marseille, one of the most successful and widely supported clubs in France, Marselha has also hosted matches at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2016. It is also home to several higher education institutions in the region, including the University of Aix-Marseille. A resident of Marselha is a Marseillais.

The name Marseille most likely comes from the name Massalia given to the ancient city initially founded by Greeks. Variations of the name include:

-In Latin Massilia, from the Greek Μασσαλία (Massalía), which is the oldest attestation of the name, since the city was founded by Greek settlers around 600 BC, and remained for a long time a Greek-speaking place even after it fell under Roman rule;

-In Occitan (Provençal) Marselha according to the Classical orthographic norm, which may be written Marsiho according to the Mistralian norm, from the Medieval Occitan Marselha or Masselha;

-In French Marseille,

-In English Marseille or Old English Marseilles.

Marselha was founded as the Greek colony of Massalia c. 600 BC, and was populated by Greek settlers from Phocaea (modern Foça, Turkey). It became the preeminent Greek polis in the Hellenized region of southern Gaul.

The city-state sided with the Roman Republic against Carthage during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), retaining its independence and commercial empire throughout the western Mediterranean even as Rome expanded its empire into Western Europe and North Africa. However, the city lost its independence following the Roman Siege of Massilia in 49 BC, during Caesar's Civil War, in which Massalia sided with the exiled faction at war with Julius Caesar. Afterward, the Gallo-Roman culture was initiated.

The city maintained its position as a premier maritime trading hub even after its capture by the Visigoths in the fifth century AD, although the city went into decline following the sack of AD 739 by the forces of Charles Martel against the Umayyad Arabs. It became part of the County of Provence during the tenth century, although its renewed prosperity was curtailed by the Black Death of the 14th century and a sack of the city by the Crown of Aragon in 1423.

The city's fortunes rebounded with the ambitious building projects of René of Anjou, Count of Provence, who strengthened the city's fortifications during the mid-15th century. During the 16th century, the city hosted a naval fleet with the combined forces of the Franco-Ottoman alliance, which threatened the ports and navies of the Genoese Republic.

Marselha lost a significant portion of its population during the Great Plague of Marselha in 1720, but the population had recovered by mid-century.

In 1792, the city became a focal point of the French Revolution, and though France's national anthem was born in Strasbourg, it was first sung in Paris by volunteers from Marselha, hence the name the crowd gave it: La Marseillaise. 

The Industrial Revolution and establishment of the Second French colonial empire during the 19th century allowed for the further expansion of the city, although it was occupied by the German Wehrmacht in November 1942 and subsequently heavily damaged during World War II. The city has since become a major center for immigrant communities from former French colonies in Africa, such as French Algeria.

The Marseille dialect, a variant of the french language influenced by the provençal, is renowned for its colloquial and melodious nature. It is characterized by an exaggerative style and also incorporates influences from Arabic, Italian, and other local dialects. Despite its colorful expressions, the dialect remains predominantly localized to the city of Marseille, with limited use beyond the region.

More information: City Breaks

Marseilles isn't a city for tourists. 
There's nothing to see. 
Its beauty can't be photographed. 
It can only be shared. 
It's a place where you have to take sides,
 be passionately for or against. 
Only then can you see what there is to see. 
And you realize, too late, 
that you're in the middle of a tragedy. 
An ancient tragedy in which the hero is death. 
In Marseilles, even to lose you have to know how to fight.

Jean-Claude Izzo

PALMA N'ÉS LLUNYANA, SÓC LLUNY DELS CARRERS...

Last hours on the island. Last farewells, wishes of good luck and health and, not having left yet, there is already a desire to return.

With Mallorca always in her heart, The Grandma flies to Marselha, where she will meet Joseph de Ca'th Lon and Claire Fontaine next weekend, knowing that those of them who have half Catalan and half Mallorcan hearts will always have Mercè and her beach.

Mercè
Palma n'és llunyana
Sóc lluny dels carrers
Lluny dels ametllers
I d'aquells carrers que clou la murada
Que clou la murada

Mercè
Lluny del teu esguard
Lluny del teu esguard
I del vent tranquil
I del vent tranquil
De la casa clara
De la casa clara

Lluny d'aquells terrats
Lluny d'aquells terrats
On els gorrions s'estimen i canten
I les monges estenen
Els pecats del món i la roba blanca
I la roba blanca

I un frare balla
I un frare balla
Arran de teulada
Esperant prendre el vol
Cap al cel tan blau
Cap al cel tan blau
Faldilles enlaire
Faldilles enlaire

Mercè
Taronges i flors
Taronges i flors damunt de la taula
Les gavines t'acompanyin
El lent caminar cap a l'hora baixa

Sempre tornaré
A la nostra platja
Les ones no em deixen, mumare
Allunyar-me'n massa
Allunyar-me'n massa

Mercè, Mercè, Mercè
Mercè

 

Mercè
Palma is far away
I am far from the streets
Far from the almond trees
And from those streets that close the wall
That close the wall

Mercè
Far from your gaze
Far from your gaze
And from the calm wind
And from the calm wind
From the clear house
From the clear house

Far from those rooftops
Far from those rooftops
Where the sparrows love and sing
And the nuns spread
The sins of the world and the white clothes
And the white clothes

And a monk dances
And a monk dances
Arrival from the roof
Waiting to take flight
Towards the sky so blue
Towards the sky so blue
Skirts in the air
Skirts in the air

Mercè
Oranges and flowers
Oranges and flowers on the table
May the seagulls accompany you
The slow walk towards sunset

I will always return
To our beach
The waves they won't let me, my mother
Too far away
Too far away

Mercè, Mercè, Mercè
Mercè

Sempre tornaré
A la nostra platja
Les ones no em deixen, mumare
Allunyar-me'n massa.

I will always return
To our beach
The waves they won't let me, my mother
Too far away

 Maria del Mar Bonet

NO HI HA CARRERS MÉS BLAUS QUE ELS DE LA MAR...

Ones que banyen asfalt
Abocadors amb gavines
Les cases omplen els camps
I els estranys ens compren l'illa

 

Pobre camp!
Tan trist i tan tot sol com t'has quedat
Per golfs i agroturismes enterrat
Amb gent que no te viu i fuig de pressa

 

Pobre camp!
Solcat de carreteres per frissar
Florit de cotxos, motos i autocars
Modern, urbanitzat i els fruits en terra

 

Ciutat!
Que dura i poc amiga t'has tornat
Amb tan poquetes flors en els terrats
Amb gent que mai no riu i va de pressa

 

Ciutat!
Vestida de ciment i pla mirall
Amb llum que sols disfressen desencants
Amb tan poquets jardins i sense gespa

 

Mariners!
No hi ha carrers més blaus que els de la mar
Ni una escalfor més dolça que aquest sol
Ni cases més polides que les barques

 

Mariners!
Els crits de les gavines per bressol
Les veles i les algues per llençols
Un rellotge de llum, xarxes de plata

 

 

Waves that bathe asphalt
Dumps with seagulls
Houses fill the fields
And strangers buy our island

Poor countryside!
So sad and so alone as you have remained
Buried in golf courses and agrotourisms
With people who don't laugh and go quickly 

Poor countryside!
Furrowed with roads to scurry along
Flowered with cars, motorbikes and coaches
Modern, urbanized and the fruits on the ground

City!
How hard and unfriendly you have become
With so few flowers on the roofs
With people who never laugh and go quickly

City!
Dressed in cement and a mirror surface
With light that only disguises disappointments
With so few gardens and no lawn

Sailors!
There are no streets bluer than those of the sea
Not a warmth sweeter than this sun
No houses more beautiful than boats

Sailors!
The cries of seagulls for a cradle
Sails and seaweed for sheets
A clock of light, silver nets

 

 

  

Mariners!

No hi ha carrers més blaus que els de la mar
Ni una escalfor més dolça que aquest sol
Ni cases més polides que les barques.

 

Sailors!
There are no streets bluer than those of the sea
Not a warmth sweeter than this sun
No houses more beautiful than boats.

 

Música Nostra

QUAN ES TANCA UNA FINESTRA, CAL OBRIR UN BALCÓ...

Del color de l'alegria
tenc el sentiment remull,
s'han negat totes les penes
dins el fondal dels teus ulls.

Dins un llit de lluna blanca
les teves mans per llençols
i les roses dels teus llavis
florint dins cada redol.

Com s'enfonsen les angoixes
dins les ones del desig
i els malsons com s'esvaeixen
en el coixí del teu pit.

Quan es tanca una finestra
potser cal obrir un balcó:
bon amor, si avui t'allunyes,
un altre m'omplirà el cor.

 

The colour of joy
I have a feeling soaked,
all sorrows have been denied
in the depths of your eyes.

In a bed of white moon
your hands for sheets
and the roses of your lips
blooming in each curl.

How anguishes sink
into the waves of desire
and how nightmares fade
into the pillow of your chest.

When a window closes
perhaps it is necessary to open a balcony:
good love, if today you go away,
another will fill my heart.

 

 Quan es tanca una finestra
potser cal obrir un balcó:
bon amor, si avui t'allunyes,
un altre m'omplirà el cor.

When a window closes
perhaps it is necessary to open a balcony:
good love, if today you go away,
another will fill my heart.

Música Nostra  

LA POESIA ÉS UN LLOC ON CONVIVIM AMB ELS ESTELS...

Al·loteta, robadora,
a qui vos compararé?
A la flor de la perera
o a les roses del roser?
A la flor de la perera
jo us comparo per blancor
i a les roses del roser
jo us comparo per l'olor.

Anam allà on anam.
Venim d'allà on venim.
Entram allà on entram.
Sortim d'allà on sortim.

Me n'anava a no sé on
i em vaig trobar no sé qui,
que em digué no sé què
i jo no sé què li vaig dir.

Mal qui fa, mal qui no fa.
Mal qui diu, mal qui no diu.
Mal qui plora i mal qui riu
i, per això, en tot mal hi ha.

Vols que et digui la raó,
del mode com has de viure?
No has de plorar ni riure
ni estar content ni felló.

Muletes, correu, correu,
fareu sa palla menuda,
que, si la feis grossa i tronxuda,
en s'hivern la hi trobareu.

La poesia és traspassar els llindars
i consentir habitar entre fosques.

La poesia és un lloc on convivim
amb els estels i les arrels
reconeixent la igualtat dels nostres destins.

La poesia és la pedra que tiram
contra els miralls perquè se'ns esmiqui la forma.

La poesia és una dent contra el ferro,
una fulla contra el vent,
una flor de cirerer contra la història.

La poesia és un llit
on pasturen dos cossos que es devoren
els vestits, l'herba i la fruita.

La poesia és un camp de clavells
atacat per un exèrcit de tisores.

La poesia és un hortolà
sembrant un desig,
dormint al costat d'una col,
regalant ala dona un coixí de bledes.

Si no fos pes carretó
que va darrera, darrera,
no hi hauria cap somera
que batés un cavalló

Little thief,
to whom shall I compare you?
To the blossom of the pear tree
or to the roses of the rose garden?
To the blossom of the pear tree
I compare you by your whiteness
and to the roses of the rose garden
I compare you by your scent.

We go where we go.
We come from where we come.
We enter where we enter.
We leave where we leave.

I was going to I don't know where
and I met I don't know who,
who told me I don't know what
and I don't know what I said to him.

Evil is he who does, evil is he who does not.
Evil is he who speaks, evil is he who does not speak.
Evil is he who cries and evil is he who laughs
and, therefore, in all evil there is.

Do you want me to tell you the reason,
for the way you should live?

You should not cry or laugh 

nor be happy or sad.

Little mules, run, run,
you will make a small straw,
which, if you make it thick and thick,
in winter you will find it.

Poetry is crossing the thresholds
and consenting to live in the dark.

Poetry is a place where we coexist
with the stars and the roots
recognizing the equality of our destinies.

Poetry is the stone we throw
at the mirrors so that our form is shattered.

Poetry is a tooth against iron,
a leaf against the wind,
a cherry blossom against history.

Poetry is a bed
where two bodies graze that devour
their clothes, grass and fruit.

Poetry is a field of carnations
attacked by an army of scissors.

Poetry is a gardener
sowing a wish,
sleeping next to a cabbage,
giving the woman a pillow of chard.

If it weren't for the heavy cart
that goes behind, behind,
there wouldn't be a donkey
to beat a horse

 

La poesia és un lloc on convivim
amb els estels i les arrels
reconeixent la igualtat dels nostres destins.

Poetry is a place where we coexist
with the stars and the roots
recognizing the equality of our destinies.

Música Nostra