THE MULTITUDE (2010)

(Aldo Cardoso, Cochabamba, 2000)

We are like water. A single drop goes unnoticed. Slides over the moss. Falls onto the floor and disappears into the bowels of the Earth. 

Thus we are. We walk in the shadows. We slip through the cracks in the rocks. We unite on our journey. We pass through caves. We join the millions in the cavern vaults. 

Thus we are. We move together in one body Powerful and fluid, we emerge suddenly into the light, roaring torrents and no rock can oppose our might. 

And yet, our step is reborn in the green fields and it flows through the infinity of flowers, forest trees covered with tender new leaves and the gardens that gleam with buds of sweet and juicy fruits.

Thus we are. One person goes unnoticed. The Lords ignore him. They disregard his power. The solitary life lives in fear. But when the multitude run together it is they who tremble because they feel weak and fearful. 

Thus we are. We unite on our journey, we are the multitude that menace them. For that they would divide us, contain us, channel us and isolate us for their own power. They would , for their benefit, have us remain as stagnant water, our world turned putrid and unwholesome. But then, as always, we emerge suddenly, roaring back into the light with the overwhelming force that is know to the powerless, and their walls crumble and the world of oppression is destroyed unto the ground. 

Yet, when we leave behind the days of anger and devastation, and we glide freely, we also carry the beauty of spring to all corners of the Earth. 

Thus we are. Like the water. Humble and invincible. Truly powerful.

(Text integrated into the installation Los guerreros del agua of Aldo Cardoso, presented in the context of the photographic exhibition Aigua, Amics de les Arts i Joventuts Musicals, Terrassa, 2011. Translated by Kieran McGrane.)