By Sandy Paulino
¿Cuán importantes son las raíces culturales? ¿y aún más, que califica como raíz cultural y social?
This is a concept I am seemingly called upon to ponder continuously. It feels something like a beckoning – a beckoning by the creator of the Universe for me to grapple with the significance of our intangible “roots”. Roots that ground us (no pun intended). That turns our environment into fuel. That marks the beginning of our journey and measures the lengths we’ve grown by the end of each odyssey.
I shuffle through such thoughts as I disembark at my destination to visit family living in our home country. An adventure that seems almost counter-intuitive aside from the continuation of family ties and visiting old friends. ¡Pero claro, bro! As my family would say about stating something that is assumed to be the general consensus or a concept within which words are incapable of fully expressing. In other words, the obvious. What other purpose would such a treacherous endeavor serve? You could answer this by questioning, “ Who in this world is more important to us than family and close friends?”
If you’re willing to risk your life in traveling to spend just a few days with them, then you must really care about them. And you see them at least once a year, twice if you can make it work. Are that longing and consistent reconnection not reason enough? Otra vez, pero claro bro. I would ask, why not live there then? To maximize on the opportunity and eliminate the risk of life that comes with the journey, it would make the most sense for you to pack up and move to the homeland. I’m sure you as well as many others can agree that that solution is insufficient. Now, why is that? Perhaps, because what we seek cannot simply be fulfilled by a loved one’s physical company. Otherwise, we would never leave our loved ones in search of something else. Sometimes, in search of anything else. I wrestled with these thoughts quite frequently throughout this journey. And I finally came to an answer. What we really seek in this world is –
DING! Like the ancient microwave, the pod loudspeaker signals our arrival. I still can’t believe people used to knowingly “nuke” their sustenance on a daily basis. Fortunately, the pod mate next to me was not the pondering type. Fortunately, my audible ruminating provided the perfect ambiance for them to drift into quite a peaceful sleep. In turn, I was given a defenseless target to bounce a ludicrous amount of questions off of. As payment for their silent suffering, I woke them upon our arrival. Our predecessors instilled in us this idea of a “Golden Rule,” which basically meant to do nice things for people as you would want them to do nice things for you. At least, I read something like that in our local archive.
¡Mijo! I hear as I am received by my grandmother. A visibly older woman, who has managed to keep her boisterous youthful spirit. She speaks too loud and laughs even harder. Sometimes so hard her dentures glide out. She walks slowly, stoically, with an atmosphere of invaluable wisdom. Plays dominos and casino swiftly, so as to not waste time in taking your money. Which, she pays it back and then some with irreplaceable meals, pristinely brewed coffee, and one-of-a-kind tales. Don’t forget her obscenely dirty jokes and stories at the perfectly worse moments – like in front of our spiritual leaders, and during funerals, and church of course. As we arrive at her 1200s-style home, I take in the vintage decor from what used to be the Americas. An amalgamation of the European-American technology from back then and the Latin American sazón from even further back. The first thing that welcomes me is her prized philodendron plant. She called it her Amor Eterno, her “Eternal Love”.
“Why?” I asked immediately and almost subconsciously. I’ve always felt that it was her dramatic showmanship, from the novelas that she’s addicted to. However, in my pensive state, it was as if I yearned at this moment – no, it was pleading for me to seek an understanding of its significance. Her slow, soft smile whispers to me as if to say, “I have been waiting so long for you to ask.” Her response was not too different, “Your grandfather asked me the same question when we met.” She continued by asking, “Mi niño, do you have healthy roots?” Thinking she was going senile, I played along, “Claro mama, I put conditioner in my hair twice a week” – an unexpectedly quick clap of her hand on my shoulder indicated that the response was incorrect. A moment that reminds me of her combat experience. “Estupido, sin verguenza. Try again.” Afraid to be wrong, I give it a moment. At this moment, I remember what I was pondering. “Aha! Isn’t that part of why we visit the places our family comes from? To strengthen our roots.” *SLAP* On the other shoulder. “You are not wrong, but still stupid.” My PhDs and Nobel Prizes aren’t worth a fresh cup of coffee to this woman. She then asks a question that answers my own, “Do you think you leave your roots when you leave this place? So, you are ‘root-less’ walking around on your big, crowded planets? You do not grow in your work, your relationships, or your personal goals?”
“Pero cla-” That was it! It felt obvious at first, but if our roots were only where we come from, why don’t we all go back to Africa on Earth for the holidays? Why move anywhere other than where your loved ones are? Perhaps, because we do not seek to simply reconnect or reunite with these aspects of our lives. What is the motivation for this upheaval of our daily routines? Sensing the realization in my soul, she finally speaks directly. “Mijo, my philodendron has been around longer than me, so it must know something. It has heart-shaped leaves on long vines, to decorate everything around it with love.” With her nonscience she proclaims, “Yet, it has no roots to call ‘home’. I can cut off a vine and that small part will grow in water the same as in soil. Into another ‘amorcito’. But cariño, it is not ‘root-less’. It carries its roots within, as we do.” And as if she were a psychic, “You are not here to ‘reconnect’ with your roots, estupido.” Thanks mamá. “Que tanta reconexión necesitas? You are here to figure out what to DO with those roots! I wanted to interject here because I felt it was important to still take trips and physically be in these spaces. But, I learned my lesson about thinking I had the answers to any of her questions. Now in full preaching mode, she concludes, “What you seek is where to plant them. Where will they receive the love they need and where can they spread the love they have. So you come here. For me to teach you these lessons, and feed you the foods from the lands that our ancestors cultivated. So you can walk the paths that led to where you are. So you can smell the air that aided in your conception.” “Ew, grandma,” I think as she laughs way too aggressively for the safety of her unbuckled dentures. And just like that, my grandmother solved a puzzle I had been trying to piece together for years…with her plant. We take these trips, desire this strengthening and reconnection, and even risk our lives for it. That purpose that drives us to partake in all of this, even in the smallest sense, is strong enough to get most of us to step outside of ourselves. Ultimately, that purpose that we all seek to realize is…
Rationale
The land is where everything comes from. It is where we come from, and what we are made out of. Quite literally the main elements that make up human beings are the main elements in the natural world – such as hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. That being said, Cristina Sturmer presented at the Black Futures, Black Ecologies Symposium an excellent explanation of the significance of connecting with our lands and even more so, taking care of them. In her connection to her ancestors, she pointed out the significance of the maroons and the quilombos: the communities they created in remote areas. She highlighted their ability to use the land effectively and in a sustainable manner. This, in connection to my short story, is about the importance of our roots. The point is not in the obvious physical value of land or our roots. But that they are harnessed to strengthen the community and tapped into appropriately. Sturmer beautifully explores how the misuse of land by the oligarchy in Brazil eventually led to injustices and social inequities.
The misuse of land impedes the progress of building a healthy or even supportive community. Just like having a place to go back to is essential in building or cultivating a family. From these interactions, and keeping the terrestrial integrity of our lands, we can gather a much deeper understanding of ourselves. Then, we’re left with no choice but to continuously reevaluate our own worth, oftentimes increasing its value. We can at the very least get a more accurate measurement of that worth and adjust accordingly. In “Paraíso Negro,” I loved Haywood’s description of becoming “more comfortable with nature.” It reminded me a lot of my experience, growing up visiting the Dominican Republic during my vacations from school. Having to pick my snacks off of trees and plants, waiting for before meals to be done due to the nonuse of microwaves, and the constant bombardment of animals – whether it was frogs, lizards, stray dogs, cats, horses, cows, mosquitos, or flies. But that experience is what helped me mold my experiences into what I have now. It’s what truly helped me strengthen my connection to nature. To the land.
Of course, I was combative and in shock from the change in terrain. Then, I grew to appreciate the environmental nakedness of it all. The value that was in eating straight from the land and knowing how to harness that process, while paying respect. This exercise has been so unexpectedly useful in helping me incorporate my past experiences into my identity and worldview. I had an appreciation for this course, “Afro-Latinidades” and the subject before even stepping foot into the classroom. However, this exercise really had me tap into some creative expression, learning about the importance of land utilization, and having a physical piece of reference as to why I appreciated this process so much. The grandmother I described in the story is very much like my own. Her daughter, my mother, is actually the one that loves Philodendron plants. And the idea of connecting to the land and our roots was actually one that I’ve meditated on for a while. This helped me add some content and guidance to that process. Thank you so much for this and the great work that you all do. I’m grateful for the experiences we have created already and super excited to see what the future holds!