MAYAN WOMAN VENDING FLOWERS IN EL MERCADO IN LAGO ATITLAN, PANAJACHEL, GUATEMALA. paintography by MICHAEL FORBUS (MIGUEL) 2007 COPYRIGHT IN THE MERCADO, THE WOMAN SELLS THE WILD FLOWERS SHE GROWS AND GATHERS. SHE LIVES IN ABJECT POVERTY YET SHE IS SATISFIED AND JOYOUS. MY FRIENDS DRIVE RANGE ROVERS AND SPORTS CARS AND THEY SEE THERAPISTS TO FIX THEM. TO FILL THEIR HOLES IN THE HEART. TAKE A HANDFUL OF THESE MAGIC PILLS, THE DOCTOR SAYS AND YOU WILL FEEL NOTHING MORE. YOU LIVE IN THE DARKNESS OF THE CAVE, NEVER SPEAKING OR COMING OUT OF IT, YET YOU DO HAVE YOUR HAND OUT WHEN IT IS PILL TIME. THE DOCTOR IS GOD AND HE SAYS I WILL HEAL, YET HE TAKES YOU FURTHER AND FURTHER FROM YOUR SELF, THE INNER STRENGTH THAT KEEPS YOU SANE AND IN THE LIGHT. HE MAKES APPOINTMENTS AND YOU COME, FEARFUL OF THE CAVE, THE DARKNESS, THE FEAR OF GOING UNDER, YOU TAKE THE SMALL PILLS THAT CHANGE THE CHEMICALS IN YOUR CORTEX AND YOU CEASE TO REMEMBER ALL THE BAD THINGS THAT HAVE HAUNTED YOU, BUT AGAIN ALL THE JOY HAS LEFT YOU ALSO. THE LOVELY WOMAN MAKES HER TORTILLAS BY HAND AND WARMS THEM OVER WOOD, THE CORN SMELL IS PLEASING TO HER. SHE WILL ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH CORN, SHE PLANTS IT. SHE HAS A CAFECITA FOR BREAKFAST THAT SHE HAS TRADED THE COFFEE FARMER FLOWERS FOR, TO DECORATE HIS TABLE FOR THE BEANS THAT ARE FRESH ROASTED AND GROUND. HE IS HAPPY. SHE IS CONTENT. THE FLOWERS GIVE HER GREAT JOY AND THE MERCADO IS HER CAFE AND HER PSYCHIATRIST. SHE TAKES NO PILL BUT SHE EXPERIENCES JOY EVERY DAY. HER CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN LOVE AND RESPECT HER. SHE WORKS TOO HARD FOR AN OLD WOMAN, HER HUSBAND IS SLEEPING WITH THE GODS. BUT SHE IS FULL OF JOY AND LAUGHTER AND NOT FULL OF PILLS THAT MAKE YOU FORGET YOUR JOY BUT SAVE YOU FROM THE DARK CAVE. SHE HAS NO DARK CAVE, SHE HAS HAND MADE TORTILLAS AND A LITTLE CAFECITA CON LECHE AND A VILLAGE THAT LOVES HER AND A HUGE PATCH OF FLOWERS THAT DEPEND UPON HER. AND CUSTOMERS THAT GAIN GREAT JOY FROM THE BEAUTY SHE SPREADS. SHE HAS NO FEAR, SHE IS READY TO FLY ANY TIME THE GODS ARE READY, NO FEAR AND NO PILLS. copyright by Miguel (Michael Forbus) "Art is the heart's explosion on the world. Music. Dance. Poetry. Art on cars, on walls, on our skins. There is probably no more powerful force for change in this uncertain and crisis-ridden world than young people and their art. It is the consciousness of the world breaking away from the strangle grip of an archaic social order." ~ Luis J. Rodriguez.