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Fernando Botero

Fernando González Ochoa

Corporación Otraparte

Viaje a pie (Trip by Foot)

Comments in English to "Trip by Foot" of Fernando González Ochoa

By Albeiro Rodas (Amir El Ro)

The following is just a comment in English (in my English), about the most popular works of Fernando González Ochoa, the Philosopher of Otraparte. It is not a translation, because in that case would be a "composition", since his work should be translated by a native-English-speaking, in the same way I think I can translate a work from English to Spanish. In 1928, González began a trip with his friend Benjamín Correa by many places in the Antioquia, Caldas and Valle del Cauca states. That trip was the inspiration for the book that was published in 1929 and banned by the Archbishop of Medellín, Mgrs. Manuel José Caycedo on December 30, 1929. Any Catholic believer in the Archdiocese who would dare to read such a book, would face ex-communion as a mortal sin. The prohibition of Caycedo was soon followed by the one of the Archbishop of Manizales, a city where González worked since 1921 as a judge: 

"Basta leer sus páginas saturadas de volterianismo y lascivia para persuadirse de que está prohibido por el mismo derecho natural" (Tiberio, Arzobispo de Manizales: Ratificación de la prohibición de Viaje a pie, Manizales, 8 de abril de 1930, publicado en los archivos de Corporación)

Tiberio said in his prohibition to the faithful persons of his Archdioceses, that it was enough to read its pages, full of Voltaire and lewdness to get convinced that it is forbidden by the same natural law. 

As it is not a translation, I use the original text in Spanish and I do my own comments in English. The text will be divided by numbers to have a guide in the reading: the numbers are entirely mine and they follow the same distribution of the ones of the Bible: a chapter and a verse. Moreover, a philosophical work should be read in its original language. In the González's case, it is not only Spanish, but the Spanish of Antioquia with its characteristics and tendencies. The book was dedicated to General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, a president of the middle of the 19th century in Colombia and one of the leaders of the most liberal constitution of the history of the country, when it was called "The United States of Colombia" that ended in 1886 with the constitution of a single republic. That 1886's constitution let besides the liberals and conducted to the War of the Thousand Days where the liberals were defeated.

1. (1) ANTES de todo, un autor debe definir su clima interior. Este enmarca, define el libro.  En cada época de su vida el individuo tiene tres o cuatro ideas y sentimientos que constituyen su clima espiritual. De ellos, de esos tres o cuatro sentimientos o ideas, provienen sus obras durante esa época.

(2) He aquí, tomadas de nuestro diario de diciembre de 1928, unas notas que definen nuestro ambiente interior durante la época de la realización, de la gestación de este libro:

(3) “Diciembre, 5. —Cielo azul pálido; quieto el ambiente. Somos muy felices fisiológicamente. El Pacífico debe estar rutilante. Todos venimos del mar. Nuestras células son zoófitos marinos, nadan en soluciones salobres.

(4) Perpetua lucha es la vida del hombre. Concentrarse es el método para vencer.

(5) En este diciembre los árboles deben dar unas sombras muy frescas a las orillas de los ríos del Trópico; las selvas deben tener un silencio religioso en estos mediodías y el mar debe estar tibio, debe enviar a las costas tufaradas de vida. Nos sentimos el animal perfectamente egoísta”.

(*) "A Trip by Foot of Two Amateur Philosophers"| I say "A trip" by "Un viaje" | González considered himself a "Philosopher Amateur", something that results surprising if we consider that he dedicated his life to think and write. That could indicate also his originality: philosophy is actually something we do as amateurs. Maybe there is not a profession called philosophy. Nobody is paid for think. 

1. (1) An author might define his "interior climate" - "clima interior". González says that every author has in his life three or four sentiments and his works come from those sentiments. Therefore, the author might know himself. Know yourself, that is the first idea to start. (2) The inspiration of this work is his notes of a diary of December 1928, the same notes that defined the "interior climate" (3) To go inside the interior, the deep of yourself, you might start in your skin, the physiology that is affected by the environment. González mentioned the Pacific Ocean. It is actually not far by miles from the region he visited. But the region is the Andean part of the Central Range. The Ocean, therefore, is so far and so unconnected to the coffee region. However, he mentioned the Ocean and we are creatures who come from the sea. The interior climate, according to me, starts from outside. This is a trip to my own self, but it starts from places so far like the Ocean, like the time of the most primitive evolution. (4) The life of the man is a fight. González mentions how we can be successful in such fight: concentration. (5) The nature gives, everything gives something. What do we give? We feel as the perfect egoist animal.

To be continued

The Lower the Latitude, the Better my Attitude!  Friday, July 04, 2008   Site dedicated to the Colombian people!

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