LA CARGA (Burden)

My notion of what it is to be a man is inspired, as for many others, by my paternal referent. My father’s character sculpted my conception of masculinity, and it crystallized in the man I am today. It took me many years to come to terms with a certain emotional self-censorship, which appeared by fear of being identified with attributes as weak or fragile, attributes that do not “correspond” to the values of masculinity.

During years I have come upon other heterosexual me like me that also do not agree with the predominant masculine role. Men with whom to share conflicts, contradictions and empathize despite the differences; not only from reason, but also connected to emotions.

Paternity has entailed an opportunity to rethink myself as a man, my role, my sensibility, the values I pass on to my kid.

A few years ago I met Rai Crespí, an anthropologist and therapist that has been working for over a decade the matter of masculinity. Rai told me about the workshops where he accompanies other men to stop, listen and initiate self-discovery processes. I was interested in the cathartic and cinematographic aspects of his stories, but also because his job was born from his personal crisis, his own search and methodology are from a practical approach rather than a theoretical distance.