COSMOPOLITISM

In this site that was born with a cosmopolitan calling, I wanted to hold a small room to think about immigration. This is not a subject that I really know about, but after attending the meeting that CDA (Audiovisual Development Centre) and FURV (Rovira i Virgili University Foundation) organized, and as I’ve been very inspired lately, to the point that seeing a single fly bring me ideas, and as we all could see the fly was there, I’ll give wings to my thoughts.

To the question what do we want from immigration, I’ll answer that basically, what we want is communication, which is not a small thing. And it is not because, beside idiomatical barriers, even in the same language, communication is not an easy thing.

Like Marta Hincapié said, what we want is to take a look at ourselves through the eyes of the others.

Do you remember that photograph of the Earth that changed the world in the 60’s because: oh, surprise, it was incredibly blue? We had to get outside of ourselves, out of the planet, and go a little further, to discover who we actually are. It all is a question of looking at everything with open eyes, and from a different point of view.

I wanted to thank David Serra, Aleix Cort and Oriol Grau, for having such a patience and sense of humor (in fact they were talking about that), although the presence of Mr. Murphy and his law hanging around informatics equipment didn’t make it easy. You know the man likes wandering among computers.

In fact, I nicely suggested him, a couple of years ago, that he should retire and have a rest so we could be happy too. But, as I did it only in Spanish (my cosmopolitism wasn’t that ready yet), the man won’t understand me. One of these days I’ll try again, in English, just in case.

I’d like to say to Sergi Pompermayer that as I am also a screenwriter, I totally understand what he means when he talks of writing about known things. But I’m not that sure immigrants’ feelings are unknown to us. I think it must be the feeling of being different among the others that seem to have something in common. Anyone that has felt a little freak at any time should have an idea of what it is. And writers totally fit in that description.

Matthew Tree, a writer from London that writes in Catalan, said in a conference in the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business of the URV, that talking the language of those you’re visiting, even if it’s just a few words, is like getting underneath their skin. And those that make that small effort are hugely rewarded with welcoming and consideration.

If I had to choose a key word in the journey I’ll take “cosmopolitism”. Because immigration has now, much more of an economic meaning, than a social one. And what would end defining that plurality willingly accepted for those that go round the world to learn and know, and build themselves, must be cosmopolitism.

My father was born in Madrid, because hey, grand ma was there; his parents were from Aragon, but he felt totally Catalan. Do you know what he said when he was asked where he was from? He said he was a citizen of the world.
So that, I’ll go on with tradition, and I’ll keep fighting to understand and to get understood, in all of languages and all of lands that I possibly can. I hope the way the world is going, that wouldn’t be too much to ask.