The longest total solar eclipse of the 20th Century – July 11, 1991
Twenty-five years ago today, at high noon, I watched day turn to night in the ancient Aztec village of Ixtlán de las Garzas, Mexico.
For nearly eight minutes (the longest total solar eclipse of the 20th Century) I was bathed in the dark, fleeting shadow of the Moon.
The Sun disappeared. The stars sparkled in the eerie twilight sky at midday as the temperature fell several degrees.
It was an experience so cosmically profound that its mystical echo reverberates through my psyche all these years later.
Within minutes, the Sun emerged from behind the Moon and daytime returned across Mexico.
For human beings to be directly in the shadow of the Moon is a very rare event. You must either find a way into the path of a total solar eclipse or have been one of the 27 Apollo astronauts who circled around the dark side of the Moon in the late Sixties and early Seventies.
While viewing a lunar eclipse (the Moon moving into the Earth’s shadow) or a partial solar eclipse (the Sun not fully obscured by the shadow of the Moon) is relatively common, a total solar eclipse is one of the rarest celestial events to be witnessed from this planet.
This transcendent moment was especially meaningful because I shared it with one of my dearest friends, Henry Iglesias, a singer-songwriter and Renaissance man.
Henry and his family were originally from Mexico, so were watching this eclipse from his native soil.
Henry was my guide into his ancestral homeland and into the shadow of the Moon.
With Henry, hours before the Total Solar Eclipse – July 11, 1991
Those moments in the Moon’s shadow with Henry were among the most magical moments of my life.
In 2007, much too young, Henry left this Earthly existence. He was taken by a brain tumor nine months after his diagnois.
Every July 11th, I think of Henry and I think of those few moments in the shadow of the Moon.
In honor of the Henry and the Eclipse, I offer you two expressions of art. The first is a poem of mine and the second is Henry’s quintessential offering, the last song he wrote and produced before his passing.
First, my poem…
A remembrance of our time in the Moon’s shadow…
With Henry, In The Shadow Of The Moon”
Another time
Another century
Another life.
But the time
And the centuryAnd the life
Were mine.
And his.
Planets were aligning
Celestial spheres inexorably drawn.
Eleventh of July, 1991.
When the heavens offer a gift
You must be present to receive.
He led me into Mexico
The land of his birth
The land would birth me
To transcendence
To bliss
To awe.
I knew he was my friend
I know he was my shaman
Guiding me to the light
And the shadow
Where few have truly been:
Astronauts orbiting the lunar dark side
And fortunate few on the planet
Or dreamers like us
Who seek the shadow.
We arrived on hallowed ground
On ancient Aztec soil
Eyes cast skyward
The shadow rushing toward us
We felt it coming
The animals, birds, insects, trees felt it coming.
All became still
Temperature dropped
Time fell away
And then, oh, so suddenly
It… all… merged…
Sun, Moon, Shadow, Earth
Moon, Earth, Shadow, Sun
Earth, Sun, Shadow, Moon
Sun, Moon, Shadow
Moon, Shadow
Shadow
Shadow
Shadow
Here.
Now.
Day turned to night.
I.
I. See.
I. See. Stars.
I. See. Stars. At. Noon.
Henry, look at the stars!
And the Sun eclipsed by the Moon
Oh!
My!
God!
Rapt.
Bathed in the splendor
Of the cosmic dance of spheres
In holy, holy, holy communion.
Eternal
My friend, my shaman
Thank you for guiding me there
Years fly by.
You find true love
You write and sing
About the Smile of God
And Brothers of The Sky
And then, oh, so suddenly
Your body eclipsed by a brain tumor
Henry, look at the stars!
They shine with you among them.
The shadow lingers
Your spirit lives.
Another time
Another century
Another life.
If I go back
To seek the shadow
Will you meet me there?
Years before Henry died, he told me of a vision for a song titled, “Brothers of The Sky.”
It was about your ultimate brother or guide or guardian angel who will fly you from this world to the next.
The idea resonates with me, having lost my older brother Greg at a young age and more recently, having lost Henry and other dear friends and loved ones.
In the final months of his life, although he was battling a brain tumor and all of the debilitating challenges that come with it, Henry managed to record and produce his farewell song as the final track on his last album.
I see it as the culmination of his life’s work as an artist, a father, a son, a husband and a human being.
Here it is…
“Brothers of The Sky”
Words and Music by Henry Iglesias
I am the voice inside of you
A whispering constant in your life
Everyone fears the letting go
Until they glimpse the other side
I am the voice from far away
I have the ears that hear your prayer
A guardian angel sent to say
Someone out there really cares
I’ll take your hand
When it’s time to walk into the night
Please understand
I am your brother in the sky
Traveling across the Universe
Children of the stars that burn so bright
Voyaging to foreverness
You and I are brothers of the sky
Everyone finds me their own way
In every land and everywhere
Some take a lifetime, some a day
Seeking a piece of Heaven’s share
I am the shining star above
I am the glimmer in the light
I am the power of your love
I am your brother in the sky
Just take my hand
When it’s time for you to say goodnight
And we will fly
A wondrous journey deep into the light
Traveling across eternity
Going to the place we all have been
Going to the place where souls are free
Beyond the timeless stars are friends
Traveling into the other side
The universe is all inside God’s eye
Children of the stars eternally
You and I are brothers of the sky
Do not fear your own mortality
Cause there’s more to life than meets the eye
In the end all of us will be free
Don’t be afraid to say goodbye
I’ll close your eyes
Softly close your eyes
And we will fly
Like brothers of the sky
The Universe
The Universe
The Universe
Is all inside God’s eye
Dedicated to the eternal spirit of Henry Robert Iglesias
My Brother of The Sky