Taras Mychalewych went to Tucson, AZ on October 2 for the movie premiere of Cathy Lee Crane’s “Crossing Columbus.”
In the words of Taras: I was sort of wondering if I’d make it there in time, but it turned out that there’s a time change somewhere in between, so I ended up being there an hour early. Which was fine. Sat with an older Black man by the transit center and had an amazing conversation about how wonderful it is being human.
Later, sipping a beer right next to the movie theater, and I look, and there’s Cathy Lee Crane, the maker of the movie. Man! Pure happiness. Wasn’t expecting to see her there. The movie itself was AMAZING! I mean, you know, it’s an event we see every year, so you might think what is the big deal? A good time to see friends, eat food, listen to music. See kids perform… But there was something very special about seeing all this on a BIG Screen. Everybody and everything is just so HUGE. Phillip Skinner. Adriana Zizumbo, July McLure. Sheila Bjeletich. Esquiel D’Salas… I mean, HUGE! Roberto Gutierrez. Richard Dean. And the countless riders on horses. A swarm of hoofs. A realization that this is bigger than life.
The different viewpoints in conversations about the good and the bad of having this celebration. It somehow becomes more important, more right now. This is what we’re living now; the WALL, all the senseless deaths still happening on the Border. The visuals with the music, of driving along miles of the wall, eerie without being corny, made goose bumps, seeing this big evil thing. This is my personal reaction, of course. Seeing the sculptural mariachis laying on the ground, here and there, at the Sculpture Oasis, reminding me of the Dead on Hells Highway in Arizona, crossing the border, walking for days in the desert heat with no water. A very powerful statement about how slow the changes of History.
Days later, I thought, man, it would’ve been so good to have organized a van for people from Columbus to go see this movie. Already talk of maybe being able to bring the movie to the Deming Cinema. An amazing experience! It somehow energized me so much, that I just drove home without getting a motel room. A four hour drive, and I was in bed at 3AM.
