Artists’ Statement
“No soy” [I’m Not] is based on a poem by Arabic writer Jalal Al-Din Al-Rumi. Our rendition integrates three languages: English, Spanish, and Arabic, to convey the idea that a human being is not limited by social constructs and that the sharing of cultures can overcome all differences. The poem begins with each distinct language presenting a similar idea, but in their own individual ways. As it unfolds, the languages interact more and more with each other up until the moment they converge to form an uninterrupted harmony of thought.
I am not Christian, nor Jewish.
Ni persa, ni mulsumán.
ولا أنا شرقى ولا غربى
ولامن البر ولا من البحر.
No soy de la mina de la Naturaleza.
Nor from the swirling skies.
No soy de la tierra, ni del agua.
Nor from air, nor from fire
No soy del empíreo, ni del polvo,
Nor from existence nor from entity
ولا أنا من الهند ولا من الصين.
Nor from Bulgaria, nor from Greece.
و لا انا من مملكة العراق.
Nor from the nation of Khorana.
ولا انا من هذا العالم و لا من الاخر،
Ni del Paraíso, ni del Infierno
و لا انا من ادم و لا من حواء،
Ni del Edén, ni del Rizwan.
Mi lugar es no tener lugar
Mi huella no dejar huella.
فلاهوالجسدولاهوالروح،
For I belong to my Beloved.
كل شيء محدود يعود إلى شيء بلا حدود.
He superado todo separación
أرىالعَالمينcomo la unidad of everything
I see both worlds as the unity of everything.
