Robinson (2010)

Robinson
Sumi Ink, metal leaf, and watercolor on paper, 17" X 22"

Reinaldo Robinson, April 11 2008, Perico, Cuba.
(Prologue to Justo and Oddu Aremu).

Robinson: Yo se lo digo a la gente, a mí no me importan los relajos que forme la gente. Yo lo único que hago una cosa, yo sé que yo puedo ir a cualquier casa que hagan fiesta aquí, pero yo no voy, no voy caballero porque oigo hablar cosas que no me gustan y puedo ir a donde me de la gana y a veces me mandan a buscar, 've allá y trae a Robinson'. Yo no voy ni a la fiesta a casa de los parientes míos. No es por celo ni nada, todo ellos vienen aquí, de todas maneras cuando ellos se consagraron tuvieron que venir aquí. Cuando nacieron vinieron aquí, vinieron en el vientre de la autora de sus días, los limpio el santo ése y los limpiaba las cosas religiosas. Cuando nacieron los trajeron aquí también porque antiguamente aquí se paseaba a los muchachos después de los 41 días por todas las casas. Ese secreto si que no se lo voy a decir a ustedes. A todos los que nacimos en la familia ésta los paseaban por todas las casas religiosas ésas. Ahí es donde yo creo, esto si se lo voy a decir ahora. Ahí es donde yo creo que deben de haberme hecho algo en las distintas casas que por eso no me tocó la consagración. Me pasearon por todas las esteras ésas. Yo nací un día 6 de enero. Entonces puede ser que sea eso y después la consagración que tenía el viejo. Decía que me hacía Juan Francisco Angarica que él vio, uno que le decían Titi, el padre de Alberto, que vivía allí mismo con mi…

Robinson:  I tell everybody I'm not interested in the scandals people make up.  I know one thing, I can go to any house that hosts a ceremony around here, but I don't go, no sir, because I hear things I don't like.  I can go wherever I feel like going, and sometimes they send someone to come and get me. " Go over and get Robinson".  I don't even go to ceremonies at the houses of my relatives.  It's not because of envy or anything like that, they all come here.  Anyway, when they were consecrated they had to come here.  When they were born they came here, they came in the womb of the creator of their days, they were cleansed by the deity that lives here, and they were cleansed by the sacred objects.  When they were born they were brought here because in olden times children were taken on a walk to all of the houses after their 41st day.  That secret I am not going to tell you.  All of us who were born into this family were taken on a walk to all those religious houses.  That is where, I think, I am going to tell you this now, that is where I believe they must have done something for me in those various different houses, which explains why I was not consecrated.  I was born one 6th day of January.  So it could have been because of that, and then the consecration that "el viejo" (Justo) had.  They said that Juan Francisco Angarica did something for me, someone who was called Titi, Alberto's father, who lived right there with my…