TV and the Internet are such a powerful tools… They’re eternal companions that bring the whole world to our feet, for us to see, to know, to love and hate, to scrutinize, to analyze, but mainly to enjoy…
And that’s exactly what Anthony Bourdain did with his show…
Food was just an excuse, was the easy part, the means to a goal that was more profound, more broad, almost spiritual, even if Bourdain would always state that he didn’t believe in a Higher Power… But he did believe in Humanity and in all its components and showed it to us in its most exquisite way, through FOOD…
Tony Bourdain would come every week to our homes bringing PARTS UNKNOWN that would always teach us something, that would move us, that would take us out of our comfort zone, that would even shift our paradigms and preconceptions about certain religions, nationalities, people that we consider so removed from us and our culture…
Bourdain had a special thing about him that would connect the entire world and its people with each other and he did it brilliantly through one of the most powerful aspects of society and culture, and that was through dishes, flavors, spices and tastes…
A great and exquisite folkloric plate of food with great wine or just beer, no matter if in a fancy restaurant or in a very humble one – where real people eat during their lunch break — was for Tony the perfect moment to discuss the world around his hosts and natives of that region, life and politics in their countries, in their cities, in their towns, and villages…
Meanwhile people enjoy their food and share it with others , they also share so many aspects of their society, their culture, the politics of their nation and mainly their quality of life…
Anthony Bourdain brought all this intimacy, this social and cultural knowledge from individual societies and countries to make us understand that bottom line we’re ALL the same and we want from life and for our children also the same things… Mostly we long for Peace and be able to make a living…
In a divided America, where now-a-days racism and bigotry – as a consequence of a discourse of hatred and social resentment — as well as xenophobia and repudiation for all those that don’t think, talk, look, walk and pray like the group that holds the political power prevails, the refreshing stories of Anthony Bourdain about all those unknown places show us the beauty of each faith, each nationality, and culture from all the countries that he has visited…
Bourdain has brought down social barriers that only divides and separates humanity because we’re fearful of each other…
With his shows he made us aware that in each religion and in each nation there is so much to love, learn and respect, he also helped us understand that the only way to real and everlasting Peace it’s through Unity and Tolerance of our Diversity…
One of his finest and most memorable moments is when Anthony Bourdain was in Israel in a restaurant owned by a couple where the husband is Muslim-Palestinian and the wife Jewish-Isaeli… They share higher moral and spiritual values that allow them to respect who they are, taking advantage of their different cultures and mainly exploit it in their cuisine by combining both culinary flavors for the delight of their customers… Love conquers all, as well as the smart choice of embracing our differences…
In Bourdain it all starts with his curiosity and it develops into joy and passion of embracing the unknown… Done in such a way, with so much love, respect, with so much ease and so naturally and spontaneously that he makes us feel like we’re traveling with him, sitting with him at his hosts table, and without even realizing how or when, Tony has also become part of our family, penetrated our homes, came out of the bi-dimensional screen and has become one more of us…
We can feel Tony’s warmth, his mischievous kindness and his humanity, his authenticity, and we want to be like him, and be open like him to the world around us, and be able to embrace all these cultures, and all these people like one of our own…
We are going to miss you a lot, my friend… Now more than ever is when we need people like you in the world, that unites us, that shows us our similarities and accept graciously our differences…
WHY…??? WHEN YOU HAD IT ALL YOU GAVE IT AWAY… YOU LEFT THAT IMMENSE HOLE IN OUR HEARTS AND OUR LIVES… WHY??? WHAT WASN’T ENOUGH ABOUT YOU AND YOUR “WONDERFUL” LIFE THAT COULDN’T BE STRONGER THAN YOUR DEMONS…??? HOW COULD YOU LEAVE US WITH ALL THAT PAIN AND CONFUSION WITHOUT REALLY ALLOWING US KNOW WHY, WHY, WHY…??? YOU SEEMED TO HAVE THE PERFECT LIFE… WHAT’S IT ABOUT THAT LIFE, ABOUT YOU, THAT WE NEVER EXPECTED YOU TO GO IN THE WAY YOU DID… WHY…???
Sitting in Vietnam – the country that Anthony Bourdain loved so much — in a working class restaurant, in a middle class neighborhood with President Obama, enjoying a typical Vietnamese noodle dish – talking about everything and anything — years after the horrible Vietnam war of the 60’s and 70’s, and see what this country has become today, a democratic country fighting for its place in the global trading and industrial universe, it’s just a historical miracle… And Anthony brought it to us in the most simple way, the Bourdain way, where all events as unique and extraordinary that they can be he presents them with a spontaneity and graciousness, with a sense of unforgettable wisdom, truthfulness, and even humor…
A poet is someone that can take the most simple act or aspect of life and turn it into and extraordinary moment of beauty even if suffering and pain is involved… That makes Tony a poet…
A genius is someone who can perfectly connect two things or events that are so far apart and that have nothing to do with each other… That makes Tony a genius because he took food and converted it in a socio-political shared event, in which his hosts would openly comment about the real situation in their countries without being preoccupied for speaking up, even if their regimes could come after them, like Iran did with Jason Rezaian after appearing at Bourdain’s show…
A visionary is whoever can foresee the future and acts or prepares him/herself for that yet to come moment in time… Therefore, Anthony Bourdain was a visionary… He definitely tapped – without even mentioning or preaching about it– into what us – in America — and in the world need the most, remembering that under the eyes of the Universe we are all the same, that we want the same for ourselves and our families, that we’re ONE under the sun of this magnificent planet and it’s in our hands to continually make it grow and make it better, or we can destroy it…
Anthony Bourdain through the typical cuisines of each nation he visited he found his way to peep into the soul of their people, to bring the best they could offer, to show the world how relatable we’re to each other even though we might not agree on so many things and our point of views and cultures might be so different…
ANTHONY BOURDAIN definitely wasn’t our usual and conventional guy… The natural order of things and mainly of society and the world weren’t part of his every day point of view, or even natural make up… He was far beyond all that, and far beyond in time… He was more part of the world’s future even if he lived the present so intensely, so passionately, and that’s why he could humanely project himself so easily into the social and political changes the world needs so desperately to survive…