About the lives that matter and the ones that matter less; about those who die slowly and those who die very quickly, depending on their context, their bodies, and their ideologies. About the constant presence of death in our lives, and the ways in which we face it.

Accompanied by the cuplé Fumando espero, performed by Sara Montiel, and La Verdolaga, performed by Totó la Momposina, I invoke the memory of my grandmother, who died slowly of lung cancer in a country where many people are dying very quickly—people being killed by others who are also dying quickly, while protecting the interests of a few who die very slowly, and who, throughout their long deaths, carry countless other lives on their backs.