Print is Dead!

Long Live Print!

How many times has the end of print been declared since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany around 1440? Almost 600 years later ink continues to bleed from the mobile type, now almost a tsunami as each human being in possession of a smart phone is technically in possession of a personal printing press.

The revolutionary invention indirectly unleashed the Catholic Church Reform propelled by fiery German words— harsh, aggressive, written with conviction and passion by catholic dissident monk Martin Luther, and massively reprinted by the invention of his fellow countryman, liberating humanity in the process from the bondage of the priest who was the intermediary between God and me.

The Bible is now read by everybody, printed and reprinted on this German machine, distributed by the thousands; not anynmore slowly written by hand, one by one, and prohibitively expensive and only available to the superrich and educated.

The book, the Holy Word, is now also translated by mavericks that, for example, made the “Vulgata” possible.

Yes, God was not only speaking directly to the people for the first time, but fate had made vulgar words, el Latin Vulgar (Vulgar Latin Language spoken in the urban swamps) the most convenient way to transmit His Spirit.

Much later, St James more formal English version of the Bible came about, same as the Deluxe Varela’s Spanish translation, not much different from the simultaneous French version, the Portuguese, the Italian, plus the Romanian, all former ways of speaking Latin in the provinces of the Roman Empire, now split all over Europe into autonomous nations with their own unique languages helping spread the Scripture like fire all over the old continent and, overseas, spilling over the much more vast America — Central and the Caribbean first, South next and North soon after.

The Spanish language, paired with the Catholic faith, overwhelmingly splashing all over the South, Central, and also North America — Patagonia and Oregón, the 2 distant corners of the new continent, finally united by one language and one creed.

All that dreaming and daring was inspired by the printed word — not by silly videos in YouTube, amateurish podcasts in Spotify, or viral Tik-Tok video clips manipulated from Chinese servers.

All that dreaming and daring was inspired by the printed word — not by silly videos in YouTube, amateurish podcasts in Spotify, or viral Tik-Tok clips manipulated from Chinese servers.

The imagination of the reader, inspired by the craft of the “Escribanos” of the world, “Los Amanuenses del Mismo Espíritu,” as Jorge Luis Borges called all the good writers of this vast universe, was enough to ignite the human imagination and begin the new Miguel de Cervantes's Quixote's adventurous attempt against the windmills, Julius Cesar's new military conquest of Northern Europe in Shakespeare's tragedy, or Herman Melville's Moby Dick's secret sea escape from oneself to chase giant white whales...

The fascination for the audiovisual goes undeterred today among the youth, and delivers shivers to the much older and still powerful TV network leaders. 

The fascination for the audiovisual goes undeterred today among the youth and delivers shivers down the spine about the future of their industry to the much older and still powerful TV network leaders. 

But we should not worry about it. Not at all.

The written word will continue to be essential, as it seems to me it still is God’s favorite way of speaking to his sheep.

The written word, the old printed word, is still in charge and will continue to be essential, as it always has been, as it seems to me it is still God’s favorite way of speaking to his sheep.

Properly created with good scripting, the right images captured by digital video, and proper sound editing, this sort of ecumenical language of the world, called video, film, or simply audiovisual platform, is yet another language with a colorful and colossal vocabulary — one that is, in essence, universal— as it is able to reach the world across futile man-made frontiers, and over wi-fi, from one corner of the globe to the other, from English to Spanish, to Portuguese, to French, to Chinese, to Russian, or back to the ancient Greek or Hebrew.

It is also legible and powerful — much like the Italians imagined their Opera could be when they came up with the disparate idea of mixing all up in a single super artistic production, "full of sound and fury"— women and men screaming on stage, making everybody suddenly and supernaturally cry for no apparent reason.

In the name of God, or San Juan El Bautista, I am going to ask Lin Manuel Miranda.. to come down to this borough of NYC, called Philadelphia next year.

In the name of God, or San Juan El Bautista, I am going to ask Lin Manuel Miranda to come down to this borough of NYC, called Philadelphia, to help us resurrect a very relevant and gracious dead from our forgotten history, much more relevant for the multicultural America of the 21st century than every one of the Founding Fathers of U.S., including Hamilton, with all due respect.

Ambassador Manuel Torres (very common Puerto Rican last name, by the way) was not a Founding Father in the U.S., although he had enough intellectual capacity to be one.  Father, however, with co-conspirators Francisco Miranda and later  Simon Bolivar, of five different nations to the South —Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia— all briefly united by Bolivar's unstoppable determination, under his favorite name for his child Republic: La Gran Colombia, stretching from his native Venezuela all the way down to Bolivia, named after him.

Torres paradoxically represented it briefly, for less than 2 months, 30 years after his solitary exile in Philadelphia, where he finally gave up his spirit— in perfect peace. Perhaps, because he had fulfilled his ultimate secret mission and personal wish:

To make "La Gran Colombia" official by presenting his credentials as an official Ambassador of the new nation to U.S. President James Monroe, who ordered the White House's staff to hastily arrange a ceremony to host "the first official diplomat from Latin America in the early 19th century the United States of America," in Washington D.C., after years of lobbying from Torres and friends, advocates of liberty South of the border— exactly 20 years after the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia ignited revolutions from here all the way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, starting from Bogotá, Colombia, with stops in Caracas, Venezuela, Quito, Ecuador, Lima, Perú, and La Paz, Bolivia.

A month a half later Torres was dead, at age 59, overwhelmed by asthma in his West Philadelphia home.

Dear Lin Manuel: We understand you're mighty busy with 3 movies this time of the year and you had no other choice but to turn down our invitation to join us next week in Philadelphia.

But maybe next year — as I asked your dear Father, Mr. Miranda Jr.—  you may want to meet Ambassador Manuel Torres and discover the fascinating life deeds of this pana of ours, a true American, although born in Córdoba, Spain, one more who emigrated to the U.S. in search of freedom, for him, for his family, for his nation.

Philadelphia was then the "Athens of the Americas," a beehive of intellectuals, writers and mavericks willing to give it all in, in the name of independence from the monarchical and absolute European powers.

He died among us after dedicating his life to the cause that has made America, 250 years later, advance towards his destiny: Freedom for all of us who live in it.

Lin Manuel, your tocayo, Don Manuel Torres, was buried with military honors in St Mary's Church of Old Philadelphia, a day or two after his death on July 15, 1822— exactly 199 years ago.

Lin Manuel, your tocayo, Don Manuel Torres, was buried with military honors in St Mary's Church of Old Philadelphia, a day or two after his death on July 15, 1822— exactly 199 years ago.

Following the funeral procession was writer William Duane, publisher of Aurora, and Richard Meade, father of U.S. Army General, and commander of the Union troops in Gettysburg, Mr. George Meade, born in Cadiz, Spain, not far from Manuel's own birthplace in Córdoba, also in Spain.

Next year —2022— will be exactly 200 years of Manuel's passing, after going to his grave to sleep "el sueño de los justos" and into total historical oblivion.

Until now, when we will do everything in our power to bring him back to life to be a "luz en el camino" to the new generation of leaders, visionaries, artists like you, Lin Manuel.

Mark your calendar with the date of the next Gala in 2022 —the 7th Annual Archetypes Ceremony, on September 23rd, 2022— which could eventually become a unique celebration of America's Hispanic Heritage in our nation's first capital.

We will present then again the Ambassador Manuel Torres Awards to other 10 Americans of Hispanic descent, examples of accomplishment in the Arts, Public Service, Science, Corporate Leadership, and Entrepreneurship, all scheduled next year, again, for September 23rd, 2022.

(¡Contra!: No puedes decir que no te dejamos saber con tiempo, ¿No?..:)

Yours sincerely,

H.G.C.