This post was originally published in Trace of Echoes.
The Greek philosopher and teacher Aristotle once said, “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation, rather than upon mere survival.”
Laredo is a rich environment for that sentiment, because issues of survival explode in front of us every single day. Harsh geographic and political circumstances along with the demoralizing violence of poverty confront large numbers of our neighbors. The river swallows the dreams of those seeking a new world, while the appetites of drug users way beyond the border checkpoint fuel a dependence on drugs and the violence they breed.
Amid this constant border reminder of how important it is to survive, there is a beckoning to the awareness and contemplation encouraged by Aristotle.
I find much stimulation in this type of contemplation in my vocation as a practicing attorney. Every day I am faced with factual scenarios and predicaments that highlight the importance of everyday survival. Amid these concerns, I am able to connect with humans who reflect on their journey. When they engage and involve me in their contemplation, I learn about their individuality and their yearnings. How I process their resilience finds a way into my poetry and other writing.
The arts movement in Laredo blends both the sentiments of survival and awareness. I see it around me every day. There are many artists who take their other talents to public service, education, and business. There are those who parked their artistic influences to pursue professions, yet never lost their yearnings to create. They bring those experiences into homages to the citizens that they survive. They ask questions in the artistic format that they follow up in their professions and community activism.
And this is where art in Laredo’s scene has the potential to explode into a renaissance. Just like the periods of enlightenment in other great cities in history, it is the arts that leads the way for progress in the political, business, educational, and economical arenas.
Today in Laredo, poetic and other movements join presentations by local songwriters, home-grown musicians, graphic artists, painters, artists, artisans, film makers, documentarians, and other artists.
From my vantage point, the realization of so many artists is that the city’s spiritual and economic survival depends on whether the arts can seep into the consciousness of the community. The arts influence the senses, and then the mind, the heart and ultimately the soul. The arts feed the hunger that daily survival creates, and the artists of this city know that art cannot take a break, that it must multiply and find its way to everyone.
The arts also help obliterate the gap between the generations. When people my age allow themselves to be exposed to the younger artists in Laredo, they soon find that the universal themes exalted in the arts are familiar and urgent. Once they give themselves the chance to experience the new art, their awareness and contemplation soar to levels that surpass mere survival.
The art movement that the local band Trace of Echoes documents clearly denotes that Aristotle’s ideal is alive and well in Laredo. The rhapsody that is inspired by influences as basic as survival, to themes of love and independence recognizes that looking at our landscape, our experiences, and ourselves enhances the value of life.
It is a good time to be a Laredoan. The aura of creativity is around us. Embrace it and your life will grow in meaning and love. And as I tell people my age, if you want to see how solid our future is, come to an artistic presentation.
You will be inspired.
