#hermanidad

[lunaera-yo]

| soy hombre: duro poco

y es enorme la noche.

pero miro hacia arriba:

las estrellas escriben.

sin entender comprendo:

también soy escritura

y en este mismo instante

alguien me deletrea #octaviopaz #hermanidad https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn04DxPg47w/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=p9bflzrjzp9y

[unmaskingmaskculinity]

Let There Be Light - 1946 (Restored Image and Sound)

The quality of the copy of this important film by John Huston currently on YouTube isn't very good, so I found a better one and tweaked it with digital image...

Read about this documentary in a book I’m reading about trauma, “The Body Keeps the Score,” I couldn’t stop it, watched the whole thing. So intrigued by the loss of a friend, fellow solider, not that I don’t understand it but how it connects to the need for all people, men included, for relationships, for connections, from the perspective of my work, ‘hermanidad.’ When the loss happens so tragically and violently, trauma stays in the body. So heartbreaking to see the how the violence they experienced affected them, also speaking to the need for expression when trauma occurs.  

[unmaskingmaskculinity]

Kieran “word-spitting” Gopaul and Gilbert “your host” Salazar first wrote and performed Hermandad: Speaking the Unspoken during their graduate program in Applied Theatre Arts at University of Southern California. With Professor Laura Vena’s support, Kieran and Gilbert used a creative writing process to explore and express the depths of their relationship to themselves and each other as men, which resulted in this spoken word piece on masculine identity.

Hermandad: Speaking the Unspoken was first performed live by Gilbert and Kieran in the Spring of 2013 for Professor Laura Vena’s graduate course on Writing Culture, and once more in the Summer of 2013 at Cafeina Galeria in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Subsequently, Gilbert adapted the piece for a solo performance during Naked Stage Nights at Real Women Have Curves Studios in January, 2014 (see video).

This spoken word piece was devised to open a dialogue with young men on their relationship to themselves and other men. A central question to consider while watching this spoken word piece is:

"What codes and masks do I use as a man when I am with myself and other men?"

For more information please visit:

-Gilbert Salazar’s Unmasked Education website:

http://www.gilbertsalazarunmaskededucation.com

-Kieran Gopaul’s Participatory Approach to Youth and Community Development online project:

http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/129517/A-Participatory-Approach-to-Youth-Community-Development/

Follow @UnmaskGilbert @GoKieran

#unmaskeducation #newmasculinities #youthdevelopment #criticalconsciousness #community

[unmaskingmaskculinity]

Description of how “Unmasking Hercules” relates to Latino/Hispanic American culture

Just submitted “Unmasking Hercules” to Nuestras Voces for MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition with Repertorio Español: this was my description of it’s connection to Latino culture:

“Unmasking Hercules” relates to the Latino community in its experience of masculinity as Hercules and Eros and all the characters navigate their masculine and gender identities in relation to each other. The theme of hermanidad relates to a topic not seen often in Latino media and stories, due to the tight restrictions and greater awareness of machismo. This socialized system of gender for many Latino cultures can restrict the relationships of men, particular the relationships and perceptions of gay Latino men. The issue of homophobia is uncovered in “Unmasking Hercules” as the topic of machismo as it’s metaphor and magic surrealist device, also harkening to Latino literature, of the mask is used throughout the play. Other symbols used related to Latino experience is the symbol of the bridge relating passageway and journey, also common elements of the Latino immigrant experience, in this case depicting not just the cultural backgrounds of the mostly Latino characters but the journey of gender and masculinity.

[unmaskingmaskculinity]

“Unmask” my submission to: El Retorno, The Serpent’s Tongue

I exhale memories of rupture, when my voice gave out, standing in voice class when it happened… when the floor came out from under me, attempting to reach a high voice, high above the throat, my soul cracked. I felt cold, I couldn’t stand on my own from the shaking. I was younger and silent. In one quick moment I cracked what had been wrapped in years of layers of resistance to weakness, layers of trauma and shame. CRACK, the mask dropped, I was vulnerable, exposed to air. DROP

 The mask of attempted manhood was broken, the little boy that would one day realize his queerness exposed the queer man standing and shaking. I attempted a straight narrative of sexualized manhood, building layers on my mascara, until falling in love with another man forced and challenged me to either cement my face to this mask or let it go and love and submit to love.

 La Madrina Gloria gave me strength, “Only gay men have had the courage to expose themselves to the woman inside them and to challenge the current masculinity.” I opened myself deeper to a spiritual vagina, a spiritual womanhood ….. that would open me to loving a man.  

 Speaking with serpent’s tongue was to unmask, to search for authentic voice and face. To speak unmasked was to speak with both queer love and hermanidad.

There were two men that entered me, I was challenged by one with a love that penetrated my body and my heart. And challenged by the other through soul, through spirit, enabling my mask to drop, creating new consciousness. Liberation. Ritual and performance broke the masculine script. I spoke in truth from reservoirs that were almost tapped dry. I loved free’er.  

This love of hermanidad helped to firm my queerness, to call upon one man as my soul partner and other as my soul brother.  

 A brother es un hermano espirtual.

Hermanidad is listening

To the breath, as I’m close to your face, masking you, helping to unmask you.

Hermanidad is knowing you are still growing

Seeds in my mind, light in my soul, feeling more alive, more of a man I wanted to be.

Hermanidad is loving a man, loving man

           MOVE MY FIST…. NO!

Hermanidad is sharing your pain, your hurt,

I…….. love you

Hermanidad is searching for truth, finding it then letting it go

           Go, Go, Go, Hold It, Hold It, Hold……..

Hermanidad is a warm embrace, skin touching, spirits colliding

           Spirits colliding? Societies fingers pointing. Borders, Barriers, Hands can’t touch,   eyes can’t meet, souls can’t connect.

                       Tears Spilling, Blood, Fists, Fists of Rage, It’s all I can show.

 Hermanidad is missing.

[unmaskingmaskculinity]

Speaking of Oppression while taking Privilege

Thursday I attended a day long workshop on Trauma. The room was a mix of Restorative Justice practitioners, Social Justice organizers, counselors, healers, community members, a mix of cool cool people. Our introductions began with people bringing not just their names and their professions, but also people introduced themselves as, ‘a survivor of trauma,’ or by saying, ‘I am a survivor of trauma.’ I introduced myself as, when it came to my turn, “My name is Gilbert Salazar, I am a Restorative Justice practitioner and theater artist. I’ve used drama and therapy in my prevention work with boys and young men and I am survivor of trauma by learning how of a man to NOT be by NOT doing what my father did.”

  I was moved and felt gratitude by one brother, Sal, who having said not being used to being in spaces like this, and not mixing or combining the professional with the personal, began to speak on someone in his family just released from prison and the pain this was causing him and family due to the reasons why he was locked up.  He admitted he had not said his to people in a public space like we were as he held back tears. It was a moment of what Kieran would refer to as ‘strength through vulnerability.’  

  The day went on heavy with the content of trauma and breakdown and definitions and cases and causes and descriptions of various types of trauma. The facilitator in me wanted to move the discussion through to get to powerpoint slides and content but as many people in the room had experienced trauma, I recognized through my work this year and my Masters program last year that people need to heal first before they can retain knowledge and help others and themselves. So knowing this I knew that people needed to give stories and offer their experiences as part of their healing process and I had to be patient. Yet, the participant in me after my journey of voice and discovery knew that I can be quiet and shut down in these spaces, but the healer part of me knew that people needed to share and I was okay not sharing and wanting to give space to others. As the afternoon came the facilitators ‘finally’ -I was still trying to practice patience, tried to move discussion to content of the day and asked for people to share only when they feel they had to. A few continued to share and offer their voices. Towards the latter of the day we were asked to check in with people next to us about how we were experiencing the workshop so far and the day and ourselves. My colleague next to me shared that she was feeling somewhat triggered by how certain stories were being told and who was taking up space she said, “I’m so glad of men like Gilbert, or male identified people like Gilbert.” I was next to speak and I said, “If you’re talking about certain people in this space talking up a lot of talking space, I agree and if your talking about the fact that it has been mostly men who have taken up a lot of space and shared stories about their violence and objectification, there’s a lot that I could have shared but I didn’t really need to.” I thought of Sal who throughout the day took up a lot of talking space. My other colleague who was sitting to my left said, “I’m so glad for the brothers in the movement but you perpetrate the same shit in these spaces.” We then discussed briefly about privilege and bringing that into spaces even when the deeper core of the conversation is essentially about oppression and the trauma of oppression. My colleague offered that she understands that men need spaces like this to share and often don’t have these spaces but her reflection of how she felt brought up how this can still trigger others, specifically her as a woman.

  When it came time for the final reflection at the end of the day, I asked the facilitator if we could use a talking piece and pass it as we offered our reflections. When the talking piece came to me I said, “The word I want to offer of how I want to close out is- gratitude. Gratitude for the facilitators, for the men that feed us today, gratitude for this space that we’re in. And although so many of us gave and offered stories, I really want to give gratitude to the men in this space, to the brothers who opened up and shared their truths, themselves, and opened up a space of openness and vulnerability and showed strength through vulnerability. And I continue to see how we as men need to sit in circle and need to do the work to heal ourselves.”

    I hope that I can push and challenge myself to engage my own healing but also to encourage and organize and work to create spaces like this for men, in short to create hermanidad.