Clear Skies and Open Hearts [Blog] – Generation Justice

To me, love seems like a force that can manifest in any direction that your imagination desires. To me, love is creativity.

L to R: Aja Lujan, Christina Rodriguez, Izzy Mustafa at the Celebrating Love event. (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Walking through the gravel up the Railyards, I could breathe in the smell of green chile roasting and hear chatter, music, and laughter rising up through the blue and grey glass-tiled windows.

The Railyards Market is an experience for all the senses. It brings music, food, and art to the community, from the community. The Volcano Vista Wing Squad was out front, waving, and handing out little gifts. The gifts were intended to be repeatedly “given” throughout the Railyards: a pattern of gift-exchanges between strangers. I began to walk inside where there were gifts all around me: an assortment of food, flowers, and even hugs.

During one moment I was near the stage, and I saw Manuel Gonzales introducing a round of local poets. There was something so familiar about the way he moved his hands while he spoke, and the rhythm of his words. I couldn’t quite place it until much later – that he was the same poet that had come into my classrooms while I was in middle school. I remembered his energetic slams causing my perspective of poetry to do a 180. All of a sudden his poetry was fresh in my mind again, and all I could think was about was how special New Mexico is. The Railyards had a lot of love in store for me.

Besides the activities – the event on Sunday, September 14 was intended to celebrate the love that we have here in New Mexico. In our state, we have a variety of organizations that have love as the core of their work. This event was intended to celebrate the beautiful work that those organizations do, and to collectively celebrate love. At one point, all of the people inside the Railyards held hands in one giant circle. Everyone was so genuine and filled with openness – for one another, for love, and for New Mexico.

Celebrating Love. Railyards Market. (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Generation Justice came down to the Railyards not only because we also work from a place of love, but to help document the experience. We welcomed anyone that was interested in being interviewed, whether they wanted to speak about the allure of New Mexican culture, the ways we can integrate love into our daily lives, or the ways we can improve our education systems for our future generations. In such a lively environment, there was so much color reflecting through our camera frames, and our microphones captured the passion and warmth in their voices.

Aside from everything to enjoy, there was just one question: what is love?

The answers were limitless – the laughter of children, a puppy jumping at your feet, a magic trick, feeling your hands in the soil, a poem through a microphone, the taste of horchata, strumming a guitar, the breeze through the windows, biting into fresh fruit, the movement of a trapeze artist, the way the paint clumps on a canvas … to me, love seems like a force that can manifest in any direction that your imagination desires. To me, love is creativity.