David Bowery

This was a little adventure and probably one of the most fun days in my life!! I can hardly describe such amazing energy of true camaraderie we had for the hole day. Of course, the biggest snow storm of the decade, on that day, was part of it 😊

This was all the fault of Alexia in Barcelona, who kept urging me every day to go do some sort of celebration on January 26th to Washington Square Park, to honor the 100th anniversary of the Arch Conspirators!!

“And so, on a frigid, lightly snowing night in late January 1917 — exactly 80 years ago this week — Marcel Duchamp, John Sloan, and four other tipsy Villagers climbed to the top of Washington Square Arch and declared Greenwich Village a free and independent republic.” (Village Voice, 1997)

Alexia wanted us to climb the Arch… She said there was a door. Door there was… But closed. Also she keeps saying in her old book it says it was 1916, but the Village Voice says it was 1917. So, we might have gotten a year earlier to the 100th anniversary.

And so, on a frigid heavy storming day, in late January 2016 – exactly 99 or 100 years after – Alexia Sinoble (in spirit), Adrian Wilson, Mr. Olson and Cristina Guadalupe together with other tipsy Villagers didn´t climb, but stood at the foot (where we hanged our banner precisely) of Washington Square Arch and declared (again) the whole downtown a free and independent republic.

We drank illegal Cuban rum and smoked illegal drugs with the Villagers gathering despite the storm, and on our way back home, filled with the utmost beautiful energy of friendship, camaraderie and naughtiness we concocted a second adventure as we were crossing the Bowery walking Houston towards the LES.

Adrian, who is English, told us how his brother said he couldn´t understand why nobody had written DAVID on the Bowery Street sign yet. David Bowie had passed just one week before, on January 13th, and he lived just up the block when in New York.

I started yelling “It´s amazing!” Adrian said, “you know, I have a very long ladder” and it was probably in unison that we said “LET´S DO IT !!”  😊

So up we went back to his studio, to pick up the indeed incredibly long ladder, stored in the back yard, and back to Houston still with the storm going… This was more fun than going skiing let me tell you 😊

And by pure magic, the storm ceased as we arrived on site, so Adrian could climb with less hassle. I think David Bowie together with Marcel were approving and turning down the knob´s storm up there in the sky control: “Ground control to Major Snow!” 😊

And so we gathered a little group of people -- 2 or 3 Asian young men who were passing by and Mike, a New York Jewish guy – and together we hold up the ladder for Adrian the trapezist, bucket of white paint attached to his belt, to go up without a net !!

The after party was at Mike´s house 😊 With liquor for all and plenty of fun… The city loved our little artistic homage and left it up for a whole week!!! It was so cool to go see it… Finally the Department of Transportation changed to sign, but they kept it as a souvenir !! I know it because the following I went out the subway on the Bowery and what was my surprised to see it there blown up for the Bowie´s show at the Brooklyn Museum!! Americans do know how to make an ad campaign 😊

Anyway, here for the wonderful story of that amazing day. I have rarely felt so alive and energized in my whole life. We really celebrated and honored the Arch Conspirators I think, Alexia 😊

(The 100 pictures I have uploaded need no words really, but I can´t help myself)