España ha 20 años / Spain 20 years ago

Still in Carboneras. The Ayuntamiento has had the good sense to paint over the ugly graffitti I wrote about, and Susana has discovered where the real "moros" -- Moroccans, Algerians and others living in Carboneras -- hang out. They were delighted to see her friendly face in the little store where they can buy seasonings from home.

An interview of Mario Benedetti at his home in Spain (where he has spent many of his frequent exiles from Uruguay) reminded me why poetry is the noblest literary art. All else is "fiction," says Benedetti, and I know what he means. I have rarely committed poetry, but should do more -- not because I do it well (though maybe I can improve), but because it can be a more authentic expression of what one feels. Meanwhile, here is one of my few poems, written over 20 years ago on my first visit to Spain, in Spanish: Las cosas buenas de Andalucía.