lune 12, 2013
(The
Portlanì» (Dhscruer
An Audience
at
Last
Arts
X
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 11
two ardent fans began a years-long
search to find out what happened to
their musical idol. Their enthusiasm
fo r th at se a rc h —and d ire c to r
Bendjelloul s enthusiasm for the re-
markable story that attended its
outcom e-fueled the making of this
film, which was itself a passion
project that took years to make.
As it turns out, truth was stranger,
and more interesting, than fiction,
While his music was fueling the anti-
apartheid movement half a world
away, Rodriguez went on living an
obscure working-class existence in
Detroit, where he had grown up in a
large Mexican-American family.
He worked construction and res-
torationjobs and raised three daugh-
ters (quite well, by all indications—
-they are a compelling part of this
account). He maintained an interest
in music ( I attend the shows," he
says mildly) and in poetry and art,
appreciations he cultivated in his
daughters. He also maintained an
course — but for me, it is more than
that. Rodriguez is a truly remarkable
musician with a prophetic gift, who
went almost completely unnoticed
until his mid-50s, and might well
have spent his whole life that way
This happens all the time, particu-
larly to people who are poor and
come from underrepresented cul-
tures. It is worth reflecting on how
easy it is for a dominant culture to
miss outsider voices who cany deep
and prophetic wisdom.
Second, Rodriguez himself is a
profoundly inspiring example of a
person who lives consistently out
of his deep core. The story has an
odd, tim e-capsule quality to it-
Rodriguez writes and performs a
good quantity of inspiring and
thoughtful music and then, when it
seems no one is listening, weathers
his disappointment and simply goes
on living his life. He lives it well. And
A once-skeptical reporter comments on
how this story won him over in part because
it embodies the deep hope that every person
has - that one day the rest of the world will
discover and applaud one's truth worth. jj
X
interest in philosophy (which he when his fans find him 27 years later
studied) and in politics, making an they find a good and decent man
unsuccessful run for Detroit mayor
He is not bitter; he has not
(more evidence of idealism gone stopped thinking and striving and
unnoticed). The passions that fu- taking chances. He has passed on
eled his music, which speaks to the to his three daughters a good way of
experience of dispossessed, per- living, and it shows in how they
sis*ed -
describe walking through the expe-
Eventually, as the film recounts, rience of newfound fame with him
the combination of dogged detec- He is gracious and does not waste
five work and the emergence of the time wondering what happened to
internet enabled Rodriguez's South the royalties for all those albums
African fans to find him. His daugh- sold in South Africa (although I
ters recollect the surprise and deep certainly wonder about that) One
pleasure of traveling to South Af- of his laborer friends likens him to a
nca with him and watching their silk worm, noticing that Rodriguez
father step on stage to the deafen- transformed his pain into something
ing cheers of a sold-out crowd.
beautiful. As the friend marvels, who
atching the footage (much of it among us can say that we have
captured by his oldest daughter) is done such a thing?
profoundly moving. His youngest
Here is rich inspiration for all
aughter recalls a strange sense those who toil in obscurity, with no
that they were watching him do what expectation of ever being heard. The
he was always meant to do, yet inspiration is not simply the hope
never imagined: he went "from be- that one will be discovered; it is the
ing the outcast to being who he was hope that one could live one's life so
- a musician playing to his fans on well that in some sense whether one
stage. It is hard to describe the is discovered is not the pivotal is-
ease with which he accepts it all, as sue. Rodriguez responds to his ne w-
t ough he has been dealing with found notoriety warmly, but he does
such crowds all his life, and yet also not appear to be much affected by it.
with unmistakable humility.
One might search a long time to find
Which brings me to the two les- someone like that,
sons that struck me most in this
D arken Ortega is a judge on the
story. A once-skeptical reporter Oregon Court of Appeals and the
comments on how this story won first woman of color to serve in that
him over in part because it embodies capacity. Her movie review column
the deep hope that every person Opinionated Judge appears regu-
has - that one day the rest of the larly in the Portland Observer You
world will discover and applaud can find her m ovie blog at
ones truth worth. He is right, of opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com.
Page 17
FNTED1
ENTERTAINMENT
L ove, S elf-
D isc o v e ry an d
H u m an T riu m p h
ery and human triumph. Despite having only television
characters for professional role models when she was
a child, Sotomayor resolved to become a lawyer. That
dream took her from valedictorian of her high school
class to the highest honors at Princeton, Yale Law
School, the New York County District Attorney’s
office, private practice and appointment to the Federal
District Court by the age of 40.
The book debuted at the top of the New York
Times Bestseller List for Hardcover Nonfiction in
early 2013 and remained there for several weeks. A
Christian Science Monitor review notes “a surpris
ing wealth of candor, wit, and affection. No topic is
off-limits, not her diabetes, her father’s death, her
I divorce, her cousin’s death from AIDS.”
According to The Washington Post, “Anyone
wondering how a child raised in public housing,
without speaking English, by an alcoholic father and
a largely absent mother could become the first Latina
on the Supreme Court will find the answer in these
pages.”
Extra copies of the book will be available at all
neighborhood libraries in early January. Readers are
Multnomah County Library has selected Supreme
encouraged to share these extra copies with friends,
Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s “My Beloved World”
coworkers and neighbors.
for its 12th annual community reading project, Eveiy-
Beginning in February, you’re invited to share
body Reads 2014.
your thoughts at a book discussion at your neigh
The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to borhood library, local bookstore or elsewhere in the
the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has become an Ameri community.
can icon. In this autobiography, she details her jour
Justice Sotomayor will come to Portland to speak
ney from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench. on Tuesday, March 11 at the Arlene Schnitzer Con
“My Beloved World” is a story of love, self-discov- cert Hall. Tickets are now on sale at PCPA.com.
Justice’s memoir
selected for
Everybody Reads
Family Law
Bankruptcy
Criminal Law
Expungements
Animal Law
Real Estate Matters
Wills & Trusts
Probate
PC
ATTORNEYS
"7f\
Local Lawyers fo r
Your Legal Needs
(503) 288-5522
3537 N. Williams Avenue, Suite 101
www.petersonlevine.com
To Place Your Classified Advertisement
Phone: 503-288-0033
Fax: 503-288-0015
e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com