What to do when everything feels broken | Daniel Alexander Jones

Translator: Anna Suana Reviewer: Josep Maria Agustí

"I've got people in me."

"Porto gent dins meu".

So sang the late Abbey Lincoln.

Això cantava el desaparegut Abbey Lincoln.

I take that lyric as mantra.

Em prenc aquesta lletra com un mantra.

"I've got people in me."

"Porto gent dins meu."

Jomama Jones is the person in me I turn to as a guide.

La Jomama Jones és una d'aquestes persones que tinc com a guia.

She's my alter ego.

És el meu alter ego.

I've been embodying her in performance since 1995,

L'he encarnat en diferents actuacions des del 1995,

and she comes around when she has some insight to offer folks.

i s'apareix quan té alguna idea important a oferir.

At this time of radical change,

En aquests moments de canvi radical,

I'm glad to be the vessel for her message to you.

estic content de ser el seu missatger.

Jomama Jones: What if I told you

Jomama Jones: I si us digués

it's going to be alright ...

que tot anirà bé...

but what if I told you not yet?

però us digués que encara no?

What if I told you there are trials ahead

I si us digués que encara ens queden tràngols

beyond your deepest fears?

que van més enllà del que podríem esperar?

What if I told you will you fall ...

I si us digués que caureu...

down, down, down?

avall, avall, avall?

But what if I told you you will surprise yourself?

Però i si us digués que us sorprendreu de vosaltres mateixos?

What if I told you will be brave enough?

I si us digués que sereu prou valents?

What if I told you

I si us digués...

we won't all make it through?

que no tots ho aconseguirem?

But what if I told you

Però i si us digués

that is as it must be?

que això és com ha de ser?

What if I told you I've seen the future?

I si us digués que he vist el futur?

Do you like my hands?

Us agraden les meves mans?

They're expressive, yeah?

Són expressives, oi?

Now look at your hands -- now go on.

Mireu-vos les mans... va.

There's so much history recorded through their touches

Hi ha tanta història gravada en el seu tacte

and marks of the future sketched on their palms.

i marques del futur dibuixades als palmells.

Sometimes hands grip tight,

De vegades, les mans premen fermament,

sometimes hands let go.

de vegades deixen anar.

What if I told you

I si us digués

it's all going to come undone?

que tot se'ns n'anirà de les mans?

Hm.

Mmmm...

Ladies and gentlemen

Senyores i senyors

and otherwise described,

i altres gèneres,

I am Jomama Jones.

sóc la Jomama Jones.

Some call me a soul sonic superstar,

Alguns m'anomenen una superestrella del soul sònic,

and I agree,

i hi estic d'acord,

though even in my past that was from the future.

però fins i tot en el meu passat això va arribar del futur.

Let me take you back to girlhood.

Deixeu-me que us torni a la infantesa.

Picture this:

Imagineu-vos:

it was Planting Day,

Era el Dia de la Sembra,

which was a holiday I invented

que era un dia festiu que m'havia inventat

for the Black youth community group I founded.

per al grup de joves negres que havia fundat.

I dashed home to put on my gardening ensemble

Vaig córrer cap a casa per posar-me l'equip de jardineria,

when I caught my uncle Freeman red-handed.

quan vaig agafar in fraganti el meu oncle Freeman.

He was standing over my piggy bank with his hammer raised high.

Estava dret al costat de la meva guardiola amb el martell alçat.

He was fixing to steal my coins.

Em volia robar les monedes.

And you see,

I heu de saber

my uncle Freeman was a handyman.

que el meu oncle Freeman era un manetes.

He could fix anything --

Sabia arreglar qualsevol cosa...

a broken chair, a shattered pot --

una cadira trencada, un test esmicolat...

even bring grandmother's plants back to life.

fins i tot fer reviure les plantes de l'àvia.

He had that magic touch with broken things ...

Tenia un toc màgic amb les coses trencades

and broken people.

i amb la gent trencada.

He would take me with him on his jobs

Se m'enportava amb ell

and say, "C'mon Jo,

i em deia "Vinga, Jo,

let's go do something to make this world a better place."

mirem de fer alguna cosa perquè aquest sigui un món millor".

His hands were wide and calloused,

Tenia les mans grosses i plenes de durícies,

and they always reminded me of displaced tree roots.

i sempre em recordaven arrels d'arbres arrencades.

As we worked he would talk with folks

Mentre treballàvem parlava amb la gent

about the change he was sure was just around the corner.

sobre el canvi que estava segur que era a la cantonada.

I saw him mend flagging hopes

El vaig veure reparar esperances que defallien

and leave folks with their heads held high.

i deixar la gent amb el cap ben dret.

His hands stirred the sunshine.

Les seves mans atreien la claror del sol.

And now he was about to break my piggy bank.

I en aquell moment estava a punt de trencar la meva guardiola.

I said "Step back, man, and show me your hands."

Li vaig dir: "Aparta't i ensenya'm les mans".

You know the irony was

Era irònic

he used to give me all the old coins he'd find under floorboards while working.

perquè sempre em donava les monedes velles que trobava feinejant.

And I put them in the piggy bank

Jo les posava a la guardiola

along with the money I earned through my childhood side hustles.

amb els diners que guanyava fent petites feines.

But by the spring of 1970,

Però cap a la primavera del 1970,

Uncle Freeman had lost his touch ...

l'oncle Freeman havia perdut el seu toc...

along with most of his jobs.

i també havia perdut la major part de feines.

He saw a heavy future

Veia als seus palmells un futur molt dur

of civil wrongs and Black power outages in his palms.

d'injustícies i retallades dels drets dels negres.

The last straw had come the previous winter

La gota que feia vessar el got havia arribat l'hivern anterior

when they had gunned down Fred Hampton.

quan van assassinar en Fred Hampton.

Overwhelmed with fear

Aclaparat per la por,

and rage

la ràbia

and grief,

i el dolor,

Uncle Freeman tried to game his future.

l'oncle Freeman estava disposat a jugar-se el futur.

He gripped too tight,

Va perdre el nord,

and he started playing the numbers.

i va començar a fer apostes.

"Well, one of these numbers is gonna hit, little girl.

"Nena, un d'aquests números traurà la grossa.

You got a quarter for your uncle Free -- "

Tens vint cèntims per l'oncle Freeman..."

Now some of y'all have that relative.

Potser teniu algun parent així.

But I knew right then and there I had to do something.

Però jo vaig saber immediatament que havia de fer alguna cosa.

I jumped up and I grabbed that hammer

Vaig saltar, li vaig agafar el martell

and I brought it crashing down on that pig.

i vaig estavellar la guardiola.

And Uncle Freeman started to weep as I gathered up all the coins.

L'oncle Freeman plorava mentre jo anava recollint les monedes.

"We're not buying no lottery ticket, Uncle Freeman.

"No comprarem cap bitllet de loteria, oncle Freeman,

C'mon."

Vinga."

We spent every last cent at the seed store.

Ens vam gastar fins a l'últim cèntim comprant llavors.

You know, the kids in my gardening group?

I els nens del meu grup de jardineria?

They didn't bat an eye when I had Uncle Freeman get down

No es van ni immutar quan vaig fer agenollar l'oncle,

and put his hands in the earth again

posar les mans a la terra,

and start breaking up that soil for our seeds.

i desfer-la per posar-hi les llavors.

And my little friend Taesha even came over and started slapping him on the back

La meva amiga Taesha s'hi va apropar i li va donar uns copets a l'esquena

saying, "Cry it out, Uncle Freeman.

tot dient, "Desfoga't, oncle Freeman,

Cry it out."

desfoga't".

"I can't fix this," he sobbed.

"No ho puc arreglar", va somicar.

It's an ancient-future truism, that.

És un tòpic de sempre, això.

He wasn't the first to feel that way, and he wouldn't be the last.

No era el primer a sentir-se així, i tampoc no seria el darrer.

Right now, it feels as though everything is breaking beyond repair.

Ara mateix, tot sembla que estigui a punt d'ensorrar-se.

It is.

I és així.

But that breaking apart can be a breaking open,

Però aquest ensorrament pot arribar a ser una renovació,

no matter how violent and uncertain

encara que sembli violent, incert,

and fearsome it seems.

i aterrador.

The thing is ...

El que passa és que...

we can't do it alone.

no ho podem fer sols.

Uncle Freeman cried so much that day as we planted our seeds,

L'oncle Freeman va plorar tant aquell dia mentre plantàvem les llavors,

he was our very own irrigation system.

que ens va servir de sistema de rec.

"I don't know who I am anymore, little girl,"

"Ja no sé ni qui sóc, nena!"

he said to me at sundown.

em va dir al capvespre.

"Good, Uncle Freeman.

"Això està bé, oncle Freeman.

Good.

Això està bé.

You're new again,

T'has renovat,

and that's just how we need you."

i així és precisament com et necessitem."