race – Nefelibata

So, L´Oréal decided to remove words like white, light and fair from its products – all in the aftermath of global anti-racist protests all over the world.

My very first reaction was on the fun side and I eventually read it on some Facebook post: then they should also remove words like bronze, tan, brown, dark, coloured – because that would be appropriation. Just to be on the very safe side and make sure we are all politically correct.

Then I thought that logically speaking, racism – or any other -ism – is not defined by words as semantic categories (parts of speech), but by their use and the significance it is given to them. So, in order to get rid of this nonsensical headache, maybe we should try to not put the cart before the horses: you fight racism with information, education, explanations, communication. Basically, by using your words – not by eliminating them. Language shouldn´t have to adapt to the speech; it´s the complete other way around.

Once upon a sunny day in September a long time ago, in a beautiful German town, and just before I got ready to make my way towards a new beginning, a very dear person from what is now my past told me if I ever got to go to Pamplona, I should drink a cup of coffee at Café Iruña, possibly at the same table Hemingway used to sit. “Imagine you’re drinking it with me”, he said with that certainty of absolute knowledge of the thing that would happen eventually, even though I for one was sure I would never get there. And yet, a couple of years later, way into that new beginning of mine, there I was.

The opportunity showed itself and I simply grasped it. I took a round trip by train thinking I could spend a whole day in Pamplona and then get back to Madrid. I used to love travelling alone, because I didn’t have to depend on anyone or even talk to anyone, if I didn’t feel like it. I got there in the morning, and I took a cab down town. It didn’t take me long to find Café Iruña, but before that, I had some fun and I learned something as well. I couldn’t remember the exact name, so I started asking people who seemed to be locals and a couple of policemen where Hemingway’s cafe was.

Tag: race

This Question of Colours

Have a Cup of Coffee at Café Iruña

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