An Inspiring and Rich History
According to our favourite thinkers, creativity and inspiration doesn´t come from an esoteric ritual but from a change of perception and from looking properly at everything.
When I was 18, having lots and lots of books to read for my University, “A hundred years of solitude”, from the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez came to my hands. Gabriel, known as “Manucho”, is one of the most popular writers from Latin America, adored as that smart, black sheep and bohemian uncle.
“Cien años de soledad” –that´s the name of the book in Spanish- depicted Macondo, a spot in Colombia with a never ending rain, the sacred siesta, a quiet but passionate life and the black-white party system drama of every Latin American country, almighty “caudillos” and landlords that fought for centuries.
García Marquez was enrolled in the “magical realism” movement, a completely different approach to writing, stories and a precious new use of words to build beauty. His particular style perfectly blended the contradictions of poverty, wars, power with magic, faith and some wise ingenuity even under the worst circumstances.
After devouring in five days this century of being alone, the world was never the same: a tree was not only a tree but a member of a secret family of rainforest creatures; a rainy day was more than that, the remembrance of the out-of-Earth Macondo, its moods and of the whole Buen dia family (whose generations populated the pages). Colours, people, butterflies and everything that you've seen all your life began to get their own magical existence and presence. Magical realism, inspiration, new worlds, a fresh view far from the binary yes/no logic, that reflects the infinite shades of the Latin American soul.
What inspires you?