Gypsy Power

Wow, a co-worker loaned me the movie "Latcho Drom" by Tony Gatlif, and I got sucked into watching it right off. First movie I've watched in several months, so maybe I'm a big target, but this one moved me deeply. It chronicles the lives of the gypsies with scenes that follow the seasons and also very artistically blends progressively more sophisticated/urban scenes from India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain. Maybe it's that 1/4 Hungarian in me that stirs when I listen to gypsy music, but it digs deep into me somehow. It's so inspiring how these outcast peoples can create such an incredible beauty and display of passion while living a wandering life without a home. There was a scene with a Spanish woman all alone on top of a hill in a park with her son(?) helping to keep a fire going, and she sings the most desparate song with incredible conviction and a look on her face that left no doubt she felt every word. I am often inspired to live my life with this level of conviction, whatever I might be pursuing, and to give everything I have to excell at an activity, especially if it is something I can teach or give to others. This is all the more interesting because of my own strong love of dance, during which I have had "duende" moments where my entire universe got wrapped up in the dance and everything else faded away except the intense focus into the music, as if through the movement and connection to the music I could connect somehow with the ancient rhythms of the universe. Of course it's important to dance for the joy and fun of it, but it's interesting that my most treasured and vivid dance experiences were with a partner who somehow seemed to understand what I'm reaching for, and was willing to connect inwardly on their own introspective journey.

Whew! Heavy, gritty stuff....I better quit before I get too carried away!