Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Building for forever

The decision was made to stay another day in the village of San Javier, located in the mountain range called the Sierra de la Giganta near Loreto in Baja California, Mexico.

The Fuso Szulc parked next to the church in the quiet and peaceful village with its friendly inhabitants.


Who came in the morning to inquire if sleeping had been good.
And it had been fantastic indeed because there were no insects bothering and the temperature dropped to 24º C. (75º F.)

But the most important reason to stay was Miguel del Barco.
The man responsible for building the church of San Javier.
This feat of him has impressed tremendously.



Life gets a lot of meaning when with determination something major is accomplished.
This needs a strong belief and conviction, total involvement and inner balance.

In San Javier is the most beautiful church of Baja California, the first one with glass windows, and it is the result of a guy who went for it 100 %.
Hence, one does not only see the church but also the effort and accomplishment of the person responsible for the project.

This radiates from the church.
At least, for somebody receptive to it.
And this was the exercise today: to open for the positive presence and stimulating influence of Miguel del Barco.

This influence is very much needed because the project “The most beautiful people in the world” is stalling after the French publisher suddenly stopped his involvement.
It feels now the project is only partly accomplished and to finish it, belief and determination is needed.
And those necessary elements are lacking completely.
The desertion by the French publisher has been a devastating blow and no energy and intention is found to try to find another way foreward for the project “The most beautiful people in the world”.
A line is hooked now into Miguel del Barco, the churchbuilder, to tap from him motivation to start new initiatives to get the project back on track.
To be able to believe in it again.

Miguel del Barco had three major advantages.

1. He had a religion. The man was a Roman Catholic.
2. He belonged to an organization supporting him. He was a Jesuit and belonged to the church of Rome.
3. And he was a bachelor. He had made the vow of celibacy and had excluded romance and sexuality from his life.

This means that we may wonder if 300 years from now photography from a contemporary artist can be still as important as a church built by a Spanish Jesuit three centuries ago.

1. The photographer has no religion.
2. He doesn’t belong to any organization.
3. He is not exactly a bachelor.

A church is made of stones and withstands time.
Photographs simply fade away.

The Jesuits were expelled from Spanish occupied territory in Baja California in 1768.
Miguel del Barco was at that time 61 years old and had finished building his church in San Javier.
And he had finished writing several books about the ethnology and history of Baja California.
He went to Bologna in Italy and must have been able to look back on an accomplished life.

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To learn more about Miguel del Barco, click on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_del_Barco






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