The beaches are one of the main characteristics of the city of San Sebastián. But our ideas about participation, creativity, culture and illusions are not reflected in their waves. As soon as I touch the sand, all I see around me are the waves that come out of the sea and immediately freeze. Even now, I only see old icebergs full of actions that always do the same and words that always say the same.
I have worked hard all my life to put critical participation through cultural teaching at the center of this task in which every human being is self-employed and to reveal a new language of participation to society. Culture, yes, culture! And that is what we call culture, the biggest obstacle to this. Today, the real requirement of our cultural institutions, I would say their only requirement, is the daily abolition of the cultural force of creation. Here, participation is the fulfillment of the promise of all power regimes, their inclusion in the sterile projects of the administration. I once put my hope in myself and others, and they looked at me with fear that I should take the job away from them, before closing all the doors of “progress.” And time passes, and every new cultural plan is necessarily worse than the previous one. For what reason? Because culture is in the service of capital (Cultural Capital, a curious coincidence). Schools, universities, cultural centers, everywhere.
Cultural advances in the service of the future. The future in the service of the future. In the service of the future they want for us, of course. Let’s put on a face like this, my dear friend – they tell me – through the exercise of freedom that is your participation, we are trying to consider your future! There is only one truly sad thing about it: to be able to speak of the future with such indifference. They sell us the future, eliminating all opportunities to participate in the present. And I find it odious to participate in it.
The future is not the future that politicians make for the future. It's another one. Politics and culture as well as others. What is left for me of all that is no longer alive, few things, really, but it is also true, that little is always there, alive. In the world, Ana, Ixiar, dear beauties, money rules, and as long as money continues to rule, the plan is simple and good, we will want to buy part of the future that the regime promises us, and if we do, everyone will applaud us, but if we do not, we will be left out. However, it’s an unbelievable wonderful thing to have it outside, and on the outside, as little as possible to keep doing all that.
Against everything that is being imposed on us from within, against what is being proposed to us by the institutions that promote the culture of money, that live completely in tune with money, I don’t care where it comes from, from the Basque government or from the Spanish government, I have lived completely away from them, far away, far away. Ixiar, Ana, I want to give you the reason that you can’t do anything alone, I personally can’t do anything, because being alone I continue to serve the power, because I’m just another client of the money. That is why you have not only reflected on participation, but also convinced me to participate with you, but not internally, but externally.