Panchito‘s Diary

*suspires very slowly*

Where are u from? -Bremen

No, no like where are u from? -the Andes

Where? -The Ecuadorian Andes

Where is that? -Ecuador

And where is that? -Latin America

That’s a usual interaction in my life. I am no nationalist at all, I don’t like to call me Ecuadorian, I like being Andean, im from the mountains, valleys and plains. that’s my people. I feel more identified with a Colombian Andean, a chilean Andean, a Peruvian or Bolivian Andean, than with an Ecuadorian from the pacific coast. Because we are multicultural, and frontiers are just a political construct.

I actually put a chewing gum on an Ecuadorian flag (yellow, blue and red, like the one from Colombia and Venezuela) at school because I despised the symbolism and militarism of being proud of some colours and forms that are supposed to be a “one fits all” solution to our different cultures, nationalities and ethnicities in the so called “republic of Ecuador”

after this introduction I want to denote, that I don’t hate Ecuador, not more than Germany (where I live at the moment) and other countries. I only hate the USA and Israel (for the moment, I should hate more tho). I am critical of where I live. I could be living in Finland and I will find something that could be better and work for that. I won’t take part of what’s inhumane and try my best to live the best life that I can, and try to bring people with me to the shiny side of the socialist revolution.

Ecuador as a place where I lived, is sweet sour. it’s a beautiful place, with everything that people need and want. But it has a decease, corruption.

Imagine your nice grandparent, so sweet and lovely, very supportive and even smuggles a 10$ bill of an expired currency in your hand when u leave, but then u realised, that some years ago used to abuse your family. How does that make u feel? Conflicted, disgusted and confused.

That’s how I feel about Ecuador, yes, it was colonised, raped and exploited, but that doesn’t excuse that we keep doing it. We can do better but we fucking don’t. “Every country deserves its ruler” I cynically used to say. We have corrupt leaders because we are corrupt.

I blame the elites and capitalism for the downfall of the new socialism in Ecuador, the one I grew up in. I thought that was a standard. But now all what was done at that time rots and expires while people fight over crumbs instead of ceasing the meanings of production (shoutout to my bro Karl) to get back what’s ours. We don’t ask for rights, we fight for them. U don’t ask the British museum for ur art back, u steal it or burn it to the ground. (Sorry got carried away)

The colours of my region and my so called political homeland are breathtaking, but we decided to paint massacres, apathy, poverty and injustice with those pigments.

Let’s burn the (eurocentric and capitalistic) canvas, and begin again, now painting our present and future over the walls, over our bodies, over our clothings and over our hearts. And forbid corruption to makes us sick again. No tolerance for apathy. Empathy must be our core value. Let’s be a community again and use the heads of our slavers as piñatas. (sorry got carried away again)

The fruits are sweet, but the metals are sour. You cannot eat money.