Polytechnic University of Madrid, in addition to teaching, its artistic spirit also takes him to the world of photography and writing. A story of his, “Water in the Paradise” has obtained an award in the Third Call for Photography and Photography Awards. Short Story in International Cooperation for the contribution to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The Augustinian Recollects have been missioning in the Prelature of Lábrea for 98 years and have been there evangelizers, bricklayers, teachers… of everything, because the needs were pressing at all levels. All the prelates of this mission have been Recollects, and Recollects have been almost all the missionaries who have left their youth years there and some their entire lives.
In recent decades they have relied on volunteers and some qualified lay people to carry out their health and construction projects, for example. One of the projects, called “Terra Solidaria”, managed to provide humble people with a house simple, habitable and with running water in your home.
In 2017, Jacinto Gil Sierra, a specialist in tractors and agricultural machines, spent a month and a half by making his knowledge available to the Labreenses and, specifically, with the installation of running water in the houses of the Terra Solidaria project.
Gil Sierra retains, he says, “a very pleasant memory of the month and a half I spent in Lábrea,” So, when the Polytechnic University called that short story contest related to development cooperation, “it occurred to me to write this which is “autobiographical based on feelings rather than actions.”
Since the art of writing is not foreign to Jacinto, given that he has also written two novels, two books of short stories and books on other topics other than narrative, he decided to tell his experience about his stay at the mission. In the story, as he himself confesses, rather than telling what he did, he tells how he experienced it and what feelings surfaced inside him.
Below we offer the full text of the story.
Water in Paradise
Luis couldn’t take his eyes off the window. The small plane in which he had taken off from Manaus he flew at a low altitude, allowing him to enjoy the view of the Amazon jungle. The green carpet was only interrupted by numerous meanders in which pale brown water wandered as if lost in a labyrinth. He wondered if his life might not also be taking many aimless turns. At the time, his destination was an airfield located on the edge of Brazil. He landed and in the booth that served as a terminal the friar who was with him identified him expecting. On the dirt road to the town, which they traveled in a off-road vehicle, Brother José informed him of the materials they already had and the group of bricklayers who were waiting for his arrival to start the work.
The reason that brought him there was the construction of a well and an elevated tank to supply water to the homes of an indigenous community. In a region where What is most abundant is water, so much so that the plank floors of wooden houses were raised above the ground to escape the humidity, it was necessary to ensure that came out through the taps. Let the water come from above and not below.
The student who had been there the previous summer thanks to a cooperation scholarship development did the project, the friars got financing and the time to execute it. Luis was the teacher endowed with the spirit of adventure enough to travel to the limit of civilization. He was immediately subjected to such a warm welcome that he changed his fears of the unknown for the joy of being able to help those people. The Friars had performed the miracle of getting the materials to arrive, the bricklayers obeyed blindly and the curious people who approached gave them looks of surprise, gratitude and hope.
“The eight hours of daily work, divided into two sessions of four, were completed strictly. Luis laid out the foundations of the warehouse in the messure that the well was dug, the reinforcement of the pillars and the planks of the formwork the shortage of tools was more than compensated by the enthusiasm and desire that the bricklayers showed. They soon established themselves solid relationships, based on the devotion that the inhabitants of the town began to feel towards Luis. The children were the ones who spent the most time contemplating how a frame was raised that they had been told would serve to let water come out of the faucets that were being installed in the homes. Women with caramel skin would not need to go to the river with the jugs. The beardless men would shower at returning from the cassava plantations. Children would play with water inside their own houses.
On Sundays, the only day that work was interrupted, the activity that attracted almost the entire population was attended by the mass celebrated by Fray José in the town church. The humility of the decoration was more than compensated by the songs of a choir that accompanied the ceremony. Those voices modulated in a soft Portuguese, very pleasant to the ear, they helped lift the spirit. They seemed like angels singing psalms in paradise.
The well progressed downwards and the concrete structure progressed upwards. The day that concluded the work was very celebrated. Luis invited us to buy beer from the only food and beverage store. Refreshments for the children who the women didnt like. Next to the place of the improvised celebration stood a framework covered with boards. A tank, which competed in height with the treetops, stood on four pillars. Next to it a well. Two pipes through which the water rose from the ground to the tank.
They successfully tested the operation of the pump, although the water was expelled without connecting the pipe. Luis left instructions on when to remove all the boards because the concrete would have already set, start the pump so that it fills the tank and open the outlet pipe stopcock.
The goodbyes were painful. He knew the first names of many neighbors. Yeah If he could, he would return to his country accompanied by some boy or girl, but they would be more happy in their world than in a big Spanish city.
On the return flight he looked at the landscape with a different spirit. He consoled himself by thinking that green meant hope. He fought melancholy by trying to store memories for the future. He took great care of the camera that would allow him to see images of people you were least likely to meet again among all those who had left their mark on his life.
Neptune (Pseudonym)
The board of this website thanks Mr. Jacinto Gil Sierra for his generosity so that we have been able to make this tender story known.
