For english reading visitors

Citius Altius Fortius

Many years ago I was this kid that loved Star Wars movies, science fiction series like planet of the apes, thunderbirds and space 1999.
But also I used to like horror movies and comics.
This is not an strange profile.
But being Mexican and from a community very conservative or to speak clearly, a very short minded town, I was the strange kid who used to read as many books and magazines that my father used to bring me after his common voyages. To read Famous Monsters, Stephen King Novels, Asimov and Heinlein (in english) was some kind of blasphemy to the people that expected from me to become more interested in playing soccer with the other kids rather to be assembling Battlestar Galactica model kits of spaceships or Star trek Enterprise.



Years passed and I discovered in Tom Savini, Rob Bottin and Dick Smith, the freedom of making a living doing something more inspired than merely being one more goon of the block.
My girlfriends had to understand that friday night's were not made for dancing but for going to the movies and watch Alex Rogan become The Last Starfighter, Bastian Bux, the one who could name the child Emperess in the Neverending story, to see the third Romero installment of his dead series with Day of the dead.
I had this ability to make modelling clay figures, and the local TV reporters made some kind of freakshow at my home presenting a kid who had hundreds of tiny figures of the three Star Wars movies (at the eighties) handmade of no other thing that wood, aluminuim foil and plasticine (or modelling clay).



The time came when finally I had the chance of leave home and make my own way.
I've rented an apartment and made of it my shop for more inspired sculpture work and special FX and make up creation. The kind of visits I received those days were more Museum tour oriented, where friends of my friends, went to satisfy their curiosity and discovered several fake corpses along with creepy images of surrealistic sculpture.



I was 18 and some other visitors were people more interesting that were working against the stream in a city that used to give better prizes to the ignorant and mediocre.
I've found there allies to share books, comics, movies, to spend time giving ideas for projects of videohomes, theater plays, composing music, anything!



I got married and the responsabilities pulled me away from my dreams for seven years. Those seven years I've tryied to be a responsible husband and father, I don't complaint I had interesting jobs at airports and publicity design and video production, but marriage was at crisis along with the feeling that I was not being honest to my vocation.



After divorce I've decided to create a place where young people and children found enough information about arts and be safe away from alcohol and drugs but also safe from ARTIST SUPERSTARS inflexible and unreachable, but smiling and confident flesh and blood mere humans who wanted to share knowledge.



It was not an easy task, I had no resources and my proposal to the government culture department was taken with no interest.

That was on 1997 and I had 28 years.



Today I'm hapilly married again, my wife used to be a anime/manga (japanese art draft style) teacher at CRONOS Tiempo de Todo! ( Time for all! ) the place I kept working for ten years with no other resource that my work giving modelling clay lessons, literature and English language.



One year ago, the people that used to be friends and companions got exhausted and left me alone the debts, some of them even offered to keep helping if they could seize power in the group and change the orientation and policies.
I had not given away ten years of my life to see that a place with a philosophy and aspirations would become only a club for geeks and fat card traders. Because of my decision I have lost friends, support, even some web forums where I used to collaborate.



But I am still on one piece, I work on a non inspired job at a call center during the nights, and take care of my 2 year old kid Roldan while my wife work making photoshop corrections at a photographic studio.

Together we pay for the debts left on trying to keep a phisical place to give classes and to start creative projects such as comics, claymation production and museum art production.



The first time I thougt that life was much more than tortillas, Pedro Infante, mexican cowboy movies and stupid soap operas, I was seven years old and had finished reading Moby Dick.
Thirty two years later, I know that my children have the right of reach anything they want no matter if they are named Sanchez or the community where they live need obedient ignorants for industrial labor.



Because of my unpopular fight against addictions, local media and several corrupted sectors of the government have abandoned me even after obtaining the civic merits medal on 2005.

I'm opening CRONOS Tiempo de Todo! once again in june the fourth.

I 'have developed a serious case of arthritis, the hands that made me become special for almost forty years are betraying me, but I'm stronger than that, and the time I have available to fight pain I will teach a new generation of creators with no restrictions and no fear.



Hope that sharing these words with you, will make you take the risk of giving away anything in order to reach any dream you have!

Aldo Rodrigo Sanchez Tovar
aldocid@hotmail.com