by Alberto Lenz

I like cacti because they are stubborn and rebellious plants. They rise up in the middle of nowhere to fight against the most adverse conditions. They are survivors of many apocalypses.

Pablo Neruda loved them too:

Cacti are always full of thorns. I think that the thorns are like their little arms, catching the wind. But the thorns are not aggressive, they only defend. Cacti only want us to leave them in peace, surviving alone in the field, in the desert, in between the rocks. They look only for the minimum, what is necessary to continue their life and do not aspire to anything more. In this they are very wise.

Cacti do not want to attract our attention. However, in the end, they do so involuntarily with their capricious forms. There are small, round ones and also very tall, thin ones. Some are flat and others are spherical. From time to time they are covered in flowers, reminding us that they are alive. In reality they neither speak to us nor look at us. But, I think, piled up at the bottom of the garden, they are often laughing at us.

Our city is a place of cacti. They appear and exist everywhere. They shout to us that we are close to the desert, even if we think we are not. They ask us to take care of the water, even if we never do it. But above all they adorn San Miguel. Without them our city would be other, and perhaps would die of sadness.

Sometimes I would like to be like a cactus: impassive, reckless, proud, building my world despite everything, above everything.

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Alberto Lenz is an artist living in San Miguel de Allende dedicated to sculpture, painting and architecture. Recently, he is also working on the design of jewelry and textiles, under his XIDO-Estudio brand.

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