- The Argentinian Acrobat

Dani,
i think it was a privilege to have met Dani.
He's had it rough...
he followed love to Holland, and got dumped
now he's been here over six years, he came as a total foreigner, couldnt speak dutch, couldn't speak english, the culture was opposite to what he'd ever known.
He learnt everything by himself,

His mind is brilliant. he's nearly 40 years old, but he goes to the circus every week and does acrobatics and somersaults and outrageous things like that. He can be found in the kitchen juggling, or by the back door smoking a joint. He tells me he feels more secure when he is wearing black. he wouldn't really let me take a photo of him, so i had to do it sneakily, this one is at the pub where he was working on sunday night.

What was most interesting when i first met him was the amount of saddness he managed to store inside himself. I like to listen to him talk, he speaks really fast english, with a spanish type accent, so sometimes you have no idea what hes talking about, but he talks enough so eventually you can pick up the gist of it.
and its not like he's just talking rubbish just for the sake of talking. What he says is really interesting, ive learnt a lot about social heirachy and social politics, and about western life from his perspective. We've had some interesting conversations about religion and God. He doesnt like it here in Holland, the Dutch people weren't very nice to him i dont think, people are afraid of the way he looks because he's a bit darker. He got stuck here because he was about to fly away but then september 11 happened, now he cant fly anywhere cos security is more strict and he doesnt have the right papers. But his fire is dying here.
Some days he would just stand and look out the window and he would be close to tears, whenever he talks about it he gets angry and his language is colourful, but its still full of sadness.
He was telling me how he feels, so depressive, like his heart is being squeezed, just wants to cry sometimes, but there is noone here he can trust.
I started crying one time when he was talking, just the amount of sadness that one man could contain... it wasnt pity, it was more a sadness that people can be so broken and so hurting and i didnt know what i could do about it.

After talking to Dani i always have a lot to think about. and i wonder why he cant see God clearly. He went to a Catholic church when he was growing up, and he even admitted that God had helped him out when he was in some rough situations. but all he sees is the world of suffering and arrogant western white man.

I wrote a song about him...

He's been a lot happier in the last couple of weeks because he made a decision to leave, hes been waiting for ages for some friends to drive to spain so he could go more safely, but they've decided not to go. and so he's taking the risk of training to Spain and his ticket is all bought and hes off in a week. I hope he doesnt get caught.
The police have caught him so many times while he's been here, but he's not doing anything wrong, he's no burden on society, and each time the police have let him go instead of sending him back to his country. He seems to have someone looking out for him...

I'm going to germany for a week, and so today was the last time that i would see Dani, we took a walk along the canal and through the 'forest', it was beautiful...
The sun was shining and he was talking the way he always does, he was talking about a lot of different things, about the things he will miss, and thethings he's glad to be rid of. He told me about a few of his lovers, and the one he is going to stay with in Madrid. he told me about some of his nieces and nephews and god-kids... he talked about freedom... and about a bird he once had that was in a cage for seven years. he talked about the way we use our energy and how the mind can be so much more powerful when really conditioned, much more than the body can. He told me about a German girl who he did acrobatics with... He talked about how rich people do not know what it means to be a gentleman... he told me about some of the really differnt and interesting people that he's met in his life, that 'normal' people would never ever meet.

I just listened.

We sat on a bridge for a while, and there were some swans swimming along the river. It was a really beautiful walk with my new friend Dani. I like listening to him

well we both had to go out this evening so we walked our bikes together to the place where we had to go our separate ways, and we said our goodbyes, three kisses on alternate cheeks like the europeans do and one on the lips... it was beautiful.

Dani is beautiful, i am glad that i met him
one day maybe we will meet again i hope


He can't wait to get out of here, he has hopes and dreams for his future, he wants to make something good for himself, something that he cannot do here or would ever want to. it is sad to see him go, i hope he finds what he's looking for...