MAPA DE RUTA
The incessant search for horizons
the curiosity of not yet lived landscapes
perhaps imagined
under a vast, open, boundless sky.
Mapa de Ruta is a collection of poems in Spanish that trace a journey of places traveled in Australia.
Between May and July 2022, with my dear friends Ollie and Marianne, and my partner Silvi, we traveled from Melbourne to the Dampier Peninsula, going through the Kimberley and driving the route that bisects Australia, from Port Augusta to Darwin. Around 12,000 kilometers on paved and gravel roads, from the cold of the South to the warmth of the North. These poems and photographs are the result of that journey. They were written before, during, and after this adventure, when it was already part of our collective memory.
Blurred movements
impressions of life
passing to the sides,
mounds of earth and sand
a clear, cloudless sky,
fragments, ruins of buildings,
built who knows by whom or for what.
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK:
Mapa de Ruta
This introductory poem is included in addition to the book's contents and is provided here in full for you.
I hope you enjoy it.
Listen to the whole poem below:
16°25’S, 123°01’E
memoria, universo
El calor amarillo del fuego
resalta las nostalgias de la noche
profunda de galaxias, de constelaciones,
de otros paisajes, de otras urbes,
el recuerdo de personas no presentes.
Innato fluir del tiempo
cruzando ríos mansos,
ríos torrentosos,
ríos vertiginosos,
ríos quietos,
ríos secos.
Memorias grabadas en nuestra memoria
referencias circulares de nosotros mismos
creciendo, cambiando, evolucionando,
recreando,
renaciendo,
¿era yo o era otro en la niebla densa del pasado?
Memorias formadas por nuestras memorias,
imaginados espejos rodeándonos en la oscuridad,
centrándose en nuestra respiración,
en nuestra inmensa soledad,
miro a las estrellas, desaparezco en ellas.
16°25’S, 123°01’E
memory, universe
The yellow heat of fire
the nostalgia of the night
deep of galaxies, of constellations,
from other landscapes, from other cities,
the memory of people not present.
Innate flow of time
crossing gentle rivers,
torrential rivers,
vertiginous rivers,
still rivers,
dry rivers.
Memories etched in our memory
circular references of ourselves
growing, changing, evolving,
recreating,
rebirthing.
Was it me or someone else in the dense fog of the past?
Memories formed by our memories,
imagined mirrors surrounding us in the darkness,
focusing on our breathing,
in our immense loneliness,
I look at the stars, disappear in them.
Buying the book:
Hard copies and downloadable eBook versions are available from this site. All major credit cards are accepted.
It can also be purhased from A Voz Limpia via Bandcamp from this link.
eBooks are emailed to you immediately upon purchase. You can download the book by clicking on the button in the email. If you have any issues please get in touch.
What other people say:
The words of this poet-geographer always echo the soul's thoughts when confronted with the majesty of nature. Beneath his words, time dissolves between the contours of the earth and the clouds pierced by the sun's rays. Each verse of these poems is subtle, intuitive, and detailed. Paths that weave feelings, questions, and desires. Intricate paths that shape the new person that the adventurer becomes when he dares to delve into himself, when he immerses himself in the land that welcomes him, that makes him dream.
(Translated from Spanish)
Maria Jose Herrera
Images from the book:
All photographs contained in the book, as well as on this site, were taken by me and are available for individual purchase from the shop.
If you like what you see I would love a review!
Publishing information:
Published by A Voz Limpia
First published 2025
Text design and typesetting Daniel Sacchero and Mariano Imbrioscia
Cover photo: The map by Daniel Sacchero
All photographs by Daniel Sacchero except p. 8 by Silvi Glattauer
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Printed in Australia
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia
ISBN 978-0-6453588-6-5