Salvador Cardenal: Parte de la Historia

8 March 2010

En Memoria de Salvador Cardenal, Q.E.P.D.
Articulo Publicado en Edición 03 de Revista HECHO

By Claire Grün, Photography by Chris Sataua

Salvador Cardenal is one of the most prominent contemporary Nicaraguan composers. Born in Mexico in 1960, he is a singer-songwriter, poet, painter and ecologist with more than thirty years of artistic life. The artist, self-proclaimed as the guardian of the beautiful, has granted me this interview from the comfort of his home. With a little Hibiscus tea, good humor and painting, the afternoon lies still and the magic begins…

How did you get started as a painter? What does it mean for you be one?

- Way before I started writing songs I painted. I made my first painting in 1971 when I was 15 years old. How did it all begin? Well, first I started by copying comic drawings, and then I gradually realized how easy it was for me to draw and paint whatever I wanted. Since then my passion for painting has remained ever-growing.

It seems to me that in painting there is some sort of unexplainable magic. I never understood why, but colors provoke me by giving me the sensation of the existence of a world with many more dimensions than the one I live in. Colors drag me into this world of sublime dimensions, ethereal and luminous, closer to the state of Nirvana, of ecstasy.

Do your paintings possess a message? A planned out discourse or rhetoric? A purpose?

- No, I believe that it is something completely natural. By painting beautiful things, it may be a way for others to accept me as someone who has beautiful things inside. That is why I don’t like protestation painting that much. Although I do admit having painted, for instance, forests on fire for the sake of protesting against that particular issue, but it still isn’t what I like to paint. It’s not that I have nothing to protest against, for I protest against things that happen in reality with my poems and songs, but I’m not interested in painting the ugly nor cruel realities. Instead, in my paintings I like to show a world that could exist, a world full of beautiful people who with a smile are able to illuminate an instant with that spark of living love and loving life and its mysteries. All of this can be transmitted through a painting, with a particular color or simply with the image of an angel.

The same face appears in many of your paintings. What does this mean?

- Well, I guess it resembles my face. What I was looking for were Greek-like noses and little mountain mouths. The faces are always similar to the extent of almost giving the impression that it is the same person, but please do not interpret this as if I’m searching for this particular person because I am not. It is nothing more than my way of seeing a face, and I don’t alternate because that is the face that I like.

Are your paintings conceptually loaded? Comment on technique.

- I am concerned with the perennial. I worry about how permanent and strong a depiction can be. Why? Well, before I used to paint as an amateur on paper or on any surface, and some paintings would turn out quite nice but due to moths, dust and humidity they would easily get ruined. Now I am more concerned about preserving my paintings by painting solely with oil on canvas. I can assure you that if you now wish to pour water over one of my paintings it will remain intact. And, yes, this is all I care about regarding the technique of my paintings.

Tell me a little of your philosophy on the life you led.

- It was good, but not so good. I would have liked that it was better. For example, I sometimes don’t take care of myself. I wish I would practice what I preach more often. For instance, I like junk food, soda, cigarettes, and I know these things are bad for me. On the other hand I don’t eat meat. I don’t eat anything with eyes that care stare back at me. But…you know what? In fact, I think I could be that type of person oriented towards becoming a puritan.

The problems with the environment, do you think they can be solved? If so, then how is this expressed in your artwork?

- I believe it is possible. If each individual could take care of his or her garden, little by little things would turn out for the best. However, it seems that we haven’t been able to come to an understanding. There are people out there that are much too cruel, people that kill a precious bird as if it meant nothing. If they could kill a butterfly for amusement, they would. In my paintings nature is one of the themes. I paint dragonflies, butterflies; you name it, anything beautiful. And yes, I have hope that someday we will all comprehend the beauty of nature and finally learn how to respect it whilst rejoicing in its endless love.

What is your first childhood memory that comes to mind?

- I remember telling a friend that nature was in communication with the human being. I also remember that right after I said that it started to drizzle and at the same time a butterfly appeared magically as if out of nowhere. I predicted that it would land on the palm of my hand. It did! I stood there stilled by astonishment, contemplating the contrast between its frailty and the roughness of my skin. Then, a drop fell on top of the butterfly, and it flew away just it had arrived, magically.

Past, present, future? ?

- Presently I am reaping what I’ve sowed. I’ve always been honest with my songs and my paintings; I never sold myself for money. I always preferred to write or paint about those things that touched my soul whether I got paid or not.

Obviously, youth dissolves itself little by little. In my present state of being many passions have extinguished in relation to how I was when I was younger. Lately, I have been losing the flavor of basic necessities, passions such as sex and food. Maybe I haven’t entirely lost that flavor, it could merely be lack of interest. I like it more this way though, for passions make you suffer. I remain mature and constant in my spiritual growth because my soul is no longer a stranded little boat in the middle of the sea not knowing where it’s headed. And my poetry is always there, expressing this maturity.

As to the future, I would like to be a part of history. I don’t care if my name is forgotten as long as my songs continue to send out messages. I am constantly searching for that message that will transform a generation, that will aid the hungry with food, love or justice. What would I gain by being famous once I am dead? What matters is the perennial message that can outlive any mortal reality.

Feel free to say the first thing that comes to mind.

- There is this phrase that I like very much: “The poet is the only bird that flies with one feather.”

5 Responses to “Salvador Cardenal: Parte de la Historia”

1. Salvador en Hecho Magazine - Salvador Cardenal says:

   10 March 2010 at 6:28 AM

   [...] la entrevista completa en Hecho Magazine, con fotografía de Chris Sataua, incluida en la Edición 3 de la misma revista. [...]
2. darwin says:

   10 March 2010 at 3:37 PM

   Que vayas con Dios, Salvador. Gracias por todo.
3. Zoila says:

   12 March 2010 at 9:26 PM

   Fue un privilegio haberte conocido, haber compartido la misma jornada en La Cruz de Rio Grande…frente a la fogata nos cantasbas “La Cosecha”. Hermano, amigo, companero…con tu mirada limpia, tu sonrisa de nino, con tu amor por la tierra,por la naturaleza, con tu amor por la patria, con tu fe en la vida, en la humanidad, asi nos diste lo mas bello…lo mas profundo de tu alma y tu pensamiento convertidos en poemas, en canciones, en bellas melodias, en pinturas. Haz volado hacia la paz sublime…hacia la libertad eterna. Tus suenos..tu arte seguira viviendo. Mis respetos a tus seres queridos y familiares.
4. Linda Cruz says:

   10 April 2010 at 12:13 AM

   Y porque pusitste eso foto con sus ojos cerado? eso si fui una foto muy feo.
5. Hecho says:

   12 April 2010 at 3:56 PM

   Estaba cantando, la mayor parte del tiempo cantaba y tocaba la guitarra con los ojos cerrados, era su forma de inspirarse. Asi era él y esa foto lo refleja bastante. Es una foto muy bella, sobre todo si realmente conociste a Salvador.