1/ ... J-I',J,,, ....lJ". .. "'I't""'" _..,....,J, .. 1""01'",oW "'8".oJ ,/0"...., ,J,MOJ.f drI..- , ...s., ,. "'u"! ,lor..IJ,/on '-"for ....1..... , .lItJ - .... ),,' - ... r .NIIN] -? .. " ran. No",,,", T h ~Gay so. .... The Magic othe State Michael1aussig "".... "'---___ ,.,. woo .., _.. _-.. ... . 11__

e"',. .....1 ...... - ..... .. - ...", .. _. .. - " ._ .. _-_ ....- ....... _..... _...........LLW., .. _._ .pO,.-.' .......... ......... -.... " _.. .... ...,* . ....... "'Goo... ""'" T_", ,, ... T. ,... _........ / "... ,-" . -." ....,. ,,, ... "'7 'a*..... " , . 2.,. "s...., ,......_....7 ' 1. _",." c .",".7...-.ne._ 320.""o::IC) .......... , oACKNOWLEDGMENTS Iwooldlike10Ihank!hest uoentsInIlle of Per formance Stud>es01NewYorkUniYefsity who look "'" MlIICofrne S!mesemln.at In !he lali 011987 and with whom lla!.ed the basic Ideas Ilere\l1. ThreeIIrtisl s, Moscoso,SusanaAmT' I\icIOngaodsc. eaml ....walkingonfi.e. themselveswith needleS f.om willchhang tM national colors. Oil!No!She wenton.IooIOOgyp.Irs ootthe weirdnessof the grims. To the cont .ary.Ir s the weirdness 01the st ate. Hert!isapicMe01theEuropeanElsewnert!.SheWa1:lmoreII recorder.as \'OUcan see, than a-Jtist. Isthis a real place? Ilisked? , , 0 , I\ 0" (At,

\",( 0'> No l!)(Ife. no less. th .... any otller. She "",Hed. Only the names hIM! been changed to Pfotect the innoeeflt. It's more II questJon 01wtIatit Is that seems to make a place .eal. shecontinued,mal-!l{l8CfI.Tofeelits II':>"" ureIn the flare iIOddisappearance of pOetry into tn.I\hno less than of splfitIntobodyiswfIefesignandsubstance.the stateand thepe0-pie,for DOeprolollged. gnotifying and IIIchemicaIlnstllnt.fuM!.This Is ~ t .Iguess.Zambrano,feels.yearIn,yearOUI.headcowed between hisiIands.candles tIarifIg inpoolsof wiSJ(atthe feet of the queenInthe ob$Curit)'cl hisshack. -..toll!Eladio WlM!"Shis stump at. shadow)'dangefSstalkiflgthehoIi2ori01 theC_ Ilelds.and-..toll! Ofeliaand H8) :Io!;sjointly createas theIndiao br_ IooIen.foroscillatingbetweenthesetwoIrs 01 first1ime and otheftlmes. na-tionandaIJjecUon.unable toa4ustone 10theother.waiting for wtlat memory portrayed asaneYeI'.mcreaslrCperfection of the fifst time t o feasse,titself. ... aitIrog.thlll Is.lorOfeHa10re1!\ewthe mile01 !ight.nearted common sense andllumof ttla1 _s sorely 1ad_" "" ."'ICOO " ".."" was cutsllor landdyedblond..and5h ..hadbeautilul Pflachllke. gOfden.OfOWflsklfl.Her smile was 001 only constant but a little unner.... Ing. hovering betweeo Irony BOdsaintly stupidity. He _saw he! become possessed Ofact as abanco Of l\eal any-one. A banco's JobIstoguidethe Spitils andproteCIlhe personPO" sessed.ItwassheWIISholdingofl bec:llUseshehadattained some ultimatest ate 01 being and become..spimherself .condensed Intoadisembodiedsmile.ButlaterhewonderedIfsomethingelse mighthavebeendisturbingher.Whenhereturnedtothemountain. yearsafte.-wards.the guardianstoldhimshehaddied80dsomeone elsehad takenher shedonthenat.Shehaddied01 cancel, though "ulte young. Allhis guidesdied or dlsoweared lilcethaI.Of elseHkeZaldlihad been almost kliledt>ythe _y spirits of the dead wriIt1wIxlm the)' were wornng and had togiveup.It was the mount!linthatdid it. For allIts beauty and uplift.)OUcould not forgetIts dance.-.Hesometimeswon. o:!eledif thespirit"'.IeenwouldlethimftnlshhisbookorIfanytkirc badwouldMppen 10him.TherewasflOefIdofpeople whoa.Msed him t oThe )'mannan-.clleIris. In hitSlUCIy01 SflifllpossessionIIf'IlOOIIpeopleinGood . Ethiopia. whom he visitedIn 1933. he eoncIuded some possessions were real, somefake.andmost _inbetwean.ThIstI arealproblem lor lim. def1U;sophisticated8I1IhropolOglstsally8W!Iyfrom Its Implications fortrutllandbeing.Mission werms to his IIIBme.SuI tile fatmonl\asbelme II namelets CO$t8jluanlan stalking aroundthe&lade&5& buffoon8O':\ing tough$Pk:lngiliaspeechwith ton(lfMlltt;n.and fagot.sooofabitchand fagot . and the pi/iflms tet & JOodIaICh out of this. _ro"".";:"'Of,," ;1,,. Teflmll'lll\es later yet anothef spirit arrives. this time a little old lady named AmIfromthe big oil l(lWf1.She WI'Igglesinto the fat man's boCIy just fine andhe shrinks li ke "primeInto a tiny voice speaking English In..mngCapUlinMissionandtheChiefJusticetostepforwardand stop thisspecl al...;alCf8!lendhave8littlechat.ThepHgrimscheer wildlyast heChief.scaredwitlessthaihisspiritwillescape,triesto maintainhis dignity"5 wellashis!healy 01drama.Missionremains cool , calm.and c o l ~ .Afterall.thisIs his territory.O-IeeyW&re" deep purple. HermanMe!,;;II ..wroteastory."BenitoCereno,aboutacargoof AfricanslawsOYefpo" .. ringtheirmast.. ",and,attheapPloachof anothervessel,PletendlngtobesubmissivecaptNesonceagain, commanding the c.ew to lOCIas If they weresl ill ln COI'Mland and they we.e slillsl""es.TheStofy ismemorable for the curiousatmosphe.o f e ~aboardtheslave-shipbytheseacaptainvisitingit .Some.eal. Some lake. Mostly Inbetween. The jailin theoiltown wllerethemassacrehadl a kenplaceafew monthseaMIe.hadsomethingofthisatmosphe.e100.Therewasa f abulation of .eol i(y,brought about by the coll usion between the more poNe.ful prisone.s and thei r jailers. By now the human.1ghts groups from the U.S.had boon andgooo. TileIndiansfromtheGuajl.ahadbeentaken toanotherprison,and thejudgepresidingoverI Ilemassacrehadbeen.emovedtile~ befo.e he waS10 file cl\a(ges against the National Guwd. Tileprisoners in!t1lshighsoourityprison woreeMlian clothesand had the 'I)fl of the patios mosl nf the day and many of them we.e "si-bly armed,if only withknives.RIHTlOfhad it there were plenty nf guns too. TIlekitchens hadno fOOd,the clinic WR$withoutmedicines,and therewasame.ehandfulofguards(withoutweaponsoruniforms) inside the prison.But oulsidestOOd the National Guard. Itwasastrangeandexplosivemileoff reedomandImprisonment; anoppressiveanarctryofpherbs andspon(y cattlelunas andliquor.Inah0l-low Inatree trunk wasabeautiful shrine centerec to carry anIdentification ca,d from theDeparlment 01HeatthIndi:lAdhis court whoare 01alto luz,TheJow.Iight types hunger for IIghI andare amlous toprogress and hence can be bought thrOUIV> pr'a)'eflIandtheCatholicmasstoInvadetilebody01one'senemy. -, _. m " .lidyou' . ethepersoo whocuredmelButZaldadldn'trememberheratall.lie. daughter saidYeslShehadt.eateod)r went to the mountam. Uno val le. who lat&o"became lamous as IIhefhal ist ,celestinoSolo.andRodrigP.they werethefirstmI!dicos 10gooutthe.e.WhenJllOI"eInthosedaystherOOdJcosdidnot beoomepossessedlUno valle w,xlld call the spirits with hi s mind and theywouldan5WE!f_boJtnot 1hroiabsurd In the hysteria 01the state's selfff!Pfe!loeflt atiol'l. For the great desife of the monument Is its need for defacement. AswiththeFvIlrer interpolating intothedesign 01 hismonuments whatheerMsagedtheywouldlooktilleasIIIln$,themonurneaYe to see me inoleoE"""", DI'1the shine.-!of example.standat-dtrope. likeBataillefa9Cinateohad beeflln Marta since 1828andhad81\endOOthelibefatOfin IllstdaysaodkeptliS reHc811 those)'ftarsII5tMI1piece01d!1eOene!Msed 10caHIIpriestfor\tielast 58Crame ""t: 'v, ., /1": b""ll to, '''llHJ ' .. iwol n.:r J. "'" __ . , ,. "'" (-''J I"., /1'"11t ..." 14..1 """' 10 .. ..., "" ."''' ...... oM "''''''- ll o\lj ,,.. w,.f'" *""_0. 1m"""', ", du.'" _. t lNi. .........tftd ... /0. fooo' J''''''J ,..,Jo",Iws go"'.'" ,.. , ,",, Ia, go... ...... ... _",wI,","lI' ThiSIIMsage oames from apainstaking Germanrefugee historian wrOtingOUringWOOdWarII.IIremainsthemostrespeaadscholarly account of the life 01thelJberalOo',-The ship U\al "'as 10 take 111mlay ",alting in the IIarbof - it "'lIS the SIlIp 01the dead, letusi0oi< this:nhe is weak ened by poIitiea1Ioroos. In oM..J..11......, "'"" .,., /otI ...J'd OJ s..... II.! f ... (...""" .. AoJ 1,"",.. " II.! J.... ,lotI'1tShk-t 'i! J- Kit sch is Where FearLockswith the M li teA bSllrd His ;meeeIstheWilliS.on the, \!!mOt,ontheschools.onthemoney, on the moutlt8lntopS. on the prisons,BOdin the eenle< 01every town&ridhamlet any and _ry..tlere.The)'0\1'"priestfromSpain shekel III.head.The01(1men comeby&lid take thei r haUl011 illSthey pass 11ft;statuein tile They call him IIIsalnt l TheyaslamlrcandpicWrtrc;and rete!lkli InWOtdsandstones.paint and tlronle " !his eflort visible throughlma&er1DHpealOrcaorneenormousIfnot anxJety.81llh1seffot't.and no!: just the &OI\I1ue1l.tNsconlUIrlI c0m-mitment1(1theIfnaelISbegunbyIn1842- theuNifir@. lJbIquil)o at It 811SOserioo."11-.1 "jtIt loW """"'I!I_., dot,.. /I,N ..-1..1 . ... __ _1\ peofI_ C"'H' ... " HisImageIsever)'Where,aCOfllJoliedlTenzy01klts.chacrossthe cultured landscape, the bf'dges. the bus stops, the money, cigar WflIP. pers... nottomentionhisstatuecentefing everyhamlet.village, town and city nailing It tothe earth just as his hot'se sp/eads its wings skywards.No wonder themenraisetheirhatsIntotheair.Irs asif thereis,finally,nothing ... nothing to represent other th"" this ell... ,"",. Andthisi snoless fearsomethanabsurd,teetering onthe comic, thefalllTomthecommandingheights,hooveschumlng withsacred energy the mixture 01fear andabsurdity thlll Isvlrtuall)'I1'l81'Uculable othe,thani nseIf-wnscioltsl)'naivearl 8\loftrait of theliberator) thlll iS thekey Ingredientin the engagementwithpefSeCtJt ioo - persecution itself beilli undet"stood Ma ~of dialectics. 01 Intertwining C0l\-lusionsplayed oflagainst counter confusions... andlIe,e is_e the circulllllll8 imaga is crucial. I,.11I 1........ or 'HI..... Uke the 1_ on the 1110111':,UIOIe canand wiltpay \'Ponits money which i s advanced aspromisSQfY note tothe cit!zelVYand.Incleed. 10 \tie WOII01tilespecificnatureofits butitsvalueIntile abstract .tlli sIsexpressedas money.Maney canrepresentaoyIhioe. but sinceIt doesIlOI depictthe oeea Itself butIs only a sitn in place ofit. It Isitself governed in t umspecffic value ""ddt it express-es In the abstract. Intllis _ Ird5)'fnOOol""'k:and qulntessentillily circular power of mediatin@;tIleconcretewitlltheabstractthen.llestheeJO:qulsltepro!> .\I-.,.J s,.... , __ KoolIf.... _w Iemof rne.k:wordswithIhlogs.abs\nletuM8:salswith c:onCfMepar!lel.llar1oand,most e5.I)eCiillly.metaphoi'ocit)' with literality - to such eflec::t Ihat od1 thestate monument can _to errest the irIthewhitepurityof itsmarble:thelat/'Ief 8IXUonpanied by the tlemoulNlllrc of money,10oneslae. ;"S!1ceonthe O!hef,!his blindjust'lee\tIatfeQUirHfromthelatherboththeforOltofarms andthemystique of aeath.This remindsus that whileIndeedmoney not only sums lIP the inelfably comJ*x problem 01 representation. zig-lagging backandforlh between !he (illusion of thel concrete and the (Illtefacluelity of the) abSlfact.il dOeS$0 thIlnkStoecenlfel euthority outside of money itself - namely !hestau!.whleh. however,Isitself si&rliflcantloritsatwaysbeingbeyood... bei''IIlitseflsomethin8;nol justelusiYebutgeneretlwlofandIn,eriorit)andaennedby sucto.Uke rt'IOO'I81'.the stete is thick wiIhsou.atulf. It IIthe moslimpoftanl commodity of all,_1\1 leboriK" ,,,. !hat pio.idea theif not$OIuti(In,to theridOIe 01surplus 8Iue. ThelIoneuor of thil commodity sells it to tilelISabsl1ect and ur..\II,sBlIeborpo...er 'fI'hoseworlh IS....r.at Mill. (1oI1ow1ngAdam SmithandAristotle)calli'excI\8tIge V81ue.'ButlikelIllY commodity. thls l.oorope,,er Is consumed by the pUrchaser - I .. the who comel to "POSsess'it-not as enabstract e)OCtlange.valuebut lISiii partlcularandCO/tCfe1euse-value.Thisexchangefromthegeneral abslfaet 10the concfeteIsthtosthe flrsl step Inthe cirCUit. Itle firststep into the current mediated by curreoey. The po..orcheser oIlaboo".power then deploys his or her I'I8Wp""session In its carnel embodied II'IO)denconc;r.te and particular u_al ueto create 'exch8rCe value" (I.e ..abstract anduniYeor'" abst ract8IIduniverlioalInthecommoditythat Itlatlabof haSfashion . and, IllS this IMt feature, so eommonplace and)'llt so mystefloos,ofa backandfor\tltrMsfar Incamatin( abstractionthat moneymediates and from whictl val"" Iscreated. New.CCtlsJOOrsplrifpossession.theperformanceof embodiment anddisembodimerrt_ espedallythetheaterembod)'ingthespirit forceof asewally bifurcatedUniversalIdeaflowing\tlroughaco... giomerat lonofspiritsbovl'ldto8tenuouslyO!IfltraIizedhierarchy crowned Dr the !JUra of the UberatOf" wadoc'led"Dr the spirit queen. 11-;1r",,*,- .. I:.n .It .... _" " A crucial fealUl'9of IJ1ls1ile8tef of spiritpoSsession I,\he cir culatlonof oftheeeadtht"oughlivehumanbodiesIsa_ mentparalleltothecirculationoftheghostl)'magicoftheNation-Statethroughthe.body""of thesociety - aswhenthePresidentof the ReptJl:OieirlYoIethaI money mediates andmeasures and let liStrytofollO"WBfolsdeathandnegationtllal 5houklbringforth!l.a'omthef1ei!olby.... ,lIP01'dark..k ...... dncerd.,t. of thesI_. whohadworIIedthe CacllOpllIntiItions.A phOsphorncenttrailofglitterirclight_il l thrOll&hthe cocoout tr_ as they sped through. ThereW8fetiveC&r$altogether.Thefree0IIe5formedanIIfC IirOUIIdthetrapped ones.Themen WOUld11&11'cl&a,enea80d!IIlOYel more. swe.atlll&Intheir brtght swtrro:nirog OOlillmel.red.blue.and ye+ law.as the title rose. Thebee :h w.. flOWB D8Itlel'iekl . Foo'hall8 mile. lui!Ienith.then!werethef\O'rowsmadeb'itileCIIrS. Thenthefe_e the&reatholestheme-n_e tofieeI1Ieir _,til rm.ese lou,wt>eeldfiwmachineswouldbusilyvansformnatLJre.allowing peoplesuchas t!>ese,the ones,to let toplaceswnere prev;oustyonly clIfflptlsinos andbiHlN' IIad walkedandWi!W'eSlicked thesand in rtlylhm to themoon.Wasthls ""y InthisElsewhere,not SOmuchinduSrrl81ized8S8IJtomobilized,withtheci t iesmadeulll r.. onaccount01CalS,therearosew1ththe moonharf,ing high00 thecliffs00c Iethepoundll1f,seathespiritqueen,mi5\less01the serpenls and d'r1lgOll5,eve.hI" n,,....... ... ,...s, I"")t'" c.'''', ....... ,F- . ,fl ......J' proefindsucha rTIO; $whitetIoBe,!IIldtogetOOrwiththeenigmatk:!;pirit queentlangirlChighliIE!flormance COl lapsing giant rhythms of quietude and decay Into stagedpo'09OsinSCIe\hemagic of theSlate t,- of1eflng \he hoSpitality of their Shrines noleSS!han 01their boehind the mask of poIitiic/'ithe _of the l iteral is created and itsAsto the natura 01tNl.tworI'l Is the perfect statement pro-vlcl!neIhat cOOouss ez saoftheconc:,fIIeIhetfl(ure80dmetaphor need-wftile aimultaJ"oetwts'l' jll!f1UtbifC that sense with _of jll!florz 80d rnake-be1ie"8in the "theater oIliteraiilatlon. Moving IICfO"thewastelandofthelaceIhatisM onoeboththe windOwtothe 5OU1!IfId /Is mask. the IiiS\Ofy of the !lead butoftheshocIngfo"flSatory contigUity. Wllat distinguishes yet also connect ssacrifICeandsacrHege Iskow _ thischargedemptiness.themar1o;ofthe53Cfed.ForII with sacrifice it is the emptiness that fulfi lls. withsacrilege it is the Ir,g of thespaoewith theeittfemesthatnot somuchfulfi ll sasspills over Onprolifemtlr,g ca5C8des.. And;nstealing !he sword,as withspiritpossession.anel'lOfmOlJs b\lrdenIs";aced Of!the theater of metonymy. on literalizing metaphor IJj tuNIng !he SWI;lfdper form itsswordneS$ combining.In their extrefn. tty.IOfOf!and word - a task made electrlfylngJy easy by the fact that it ispreciselythefunctionof!heswordof st8letomedl8tebetween fofoe 8flcI W'Ofd.As Hobbes reminds us."Covenant s without the sword a, e but W{)fds." Yetwhen Fayad I lrst grasped II.he was Sdden the sword but he did knowin what part of the city it was.Fayad andhis friends knew the authorities would tor ture himand might wel l Invade and ransac:ll sOnglehouse in that moe to get the sword back.So they had tomoveit. "It wasput iI1toa bot. withvaseHoe.withall the protection giYenby grease.and after that 8layef of plastic and then of pitch.it got bigger andbigger lintil we had to plilCtIItInII huge wooden box.Itlooked li ke a coffin.Itwouldn't frtin the wnk of the Cllr 1100 _had tolet half of itstickout. They tied a red flag to the end of the protrusion. Something added. It gal bfgger and bigger.When will it stop growing this mighty letish-powef In grease and plastic. nowIn8 coffin protfl.ld. logfromac ....windingth.oughthe ghouU$llstreetsof thecapitalto escape the police? TheydecidedtolllkeIIphotoofthemselvestogetherwiththe sword figuring thllt if the knew who they were.they had nothing toloseande'o'8f"ythlngtogaincoming outthisway.Onceagainthey hild to risktheir lives crossing the city.this time tolind II came.lI, only todiscover !halnone ofthemknewhow to useit.Theytried anyway. eachoneIIOsingwiththesword.Butthephotoswereof suchpoor QUality as to be unpublishabie. When'-'eraGrabe.IllsooftheM-19gverrilla.wasImerviewedby rngaBehar. 5he described how as she wasbeing tOl"\u.edby the army one oftheir persistent Queslions was the wtlereabou\sof thesword. ShecouldhearFayadscreamingOnanadj_nt reM.Andhisresis-tance, she said. gave he. strength to hang onBOd!lUll ttvough. The demandsSacrifICe,SQ)'SWaterBenjamin,distlngul5hing J11)'ItlicIromdivineYK>Ience.Thesecondacceptsit.Thefi rstpre-serves law.Thesecond destroys it.Here J11)'Itlic violence dfll matically confrontsthesllCfilegecommittedI7fdivineviolencelorIImustbe recognizedtil,,! duringitsfirs! few )'eatSofoperationtheM-19stood outnotonlyloritscorrmitmoolto theater-suchasthe steali", 01thesword -but loraconvnitment,atlimese)(pllcit.at timesoblique,toa poIil icsthaIwasproloundlyamt>iva!ent about ta!ierre.SocIeJy Aga/nSItheState.trans.ROller!Hurley.New VorIivef5idad de ZultJe,1987. GarclaM!I