- Dulcinea's History -


717 E. Colfax Denver, Colorado (Next To Sancho's)

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
T.S. Eliot

This is how the story ends and this is how it will begin--with monkeys. This monkey business began with a monkey--yes, one big mother fuckin' heavy stone monkey (carved out of pure granite by a guy named Phil Sanguidoce that I never met, it might have as well have been placed there by God Himself for all I know). This monkey sat in our house quietly contemplating the world that swirls about around him with misunderstandings and misgivings. It was always there it seemed and it was always a curiosity to me. "It's just a fuckin' monkey," I muttered, but I knew it would not be so easily dismissed. There was something about that monkey which held my attention. It sat there stoically and stone-faced contemplating what, I don't know, but it kept doing what it was doing even as I changed and got bigger and it got smaller. It was, shall we say, insistent and this insistence was disturbing. Something had to be done for this monkey was unrelenting in its insistence. Well, what happened is what so often happens with things of this sort, the monkey was passed on to the next generation as a symbol of power and became a theoretical hot potato that no one really wanted to possess.
So then the monkey was made to disappear, sitting in limbo, quietly shelved to avoid arguments, disappointment and resentment. Out of sight and out of mind as they say to comfort you, but we all knew it was far from gone. It weighed heavy in our thoughts. We recognized it as something very powerful and meaningful, but we also saw it as a burden. You see the monkey was thinking and that made us think about the infinite struggles, conflicts and injustices of humanity. As things weighed heavier in the outside world, it could no longer be suppressed. It was summoned by us to resurface. No matter what happened this monkey was stone-faced and resolute. It was not changing and suddenly we realized its secret: this monkey was heavy, but not heavy with a burden, but heavy as a concept for this monkey represented peace and understanding. It was never thinking of anything else. It never could belong to anyone or be swayed by anyone because greed and possession are inconsistent with its central tenets. The only way to experience the full power of the monkey is to relinquish the power of it and allow its peaceful nature to grow within each of us.
But this is only one monkey, albeit a very wise and stoic monkey. One monkey cannot change the world, but it can be the seed from which a new world and vision grows. Quixote's True Blue is one more monkey and Sancho's Broken Arrow is another, but they lack the feminine touch. Quixote and Sancho are expecting a sister monkey on the way and she will be filling them in on a thing or two. They are full of sound and fury, signifying an overwhelming absence that cannot be filled. They overcompensate, speaking too much when they can answer with a powerful silence. The absence of a voice reveals once again a determined insistence. This silence is replete with meaning. It is pregnant with possibilities. It is here where Dulcinea steps into the picture. Dulcinea is a breed apart lacking nothing in taste or decorum. She has acquired a lounge which she wishes to be called Dulcinea's 100th Monkey. She has a penchant for acid jazz and she is bold enough to create the first non-smoking bar on Colfax. Imagine! This bold sister has gotten the name from a Jerry Garcia interview in which he talks about the power of change enacted by the 100th Monkey. The 100th monkey is the point at which society reaches a critical mass of people believing the same thing. When it reaches this point, the possibility for rapid change to occur happens and it spreads into all aspects of society even to the point of teaching old dogs new tricks. Yes, this lounge allows reversals and transmogrifications. This lounge that Dulcinea envisions is a comfortable one, incorporating the balance of nature and the tenets of Yin-Yang. It is balanced. It is all a state of mind for Dulcinea herself was the old hag that Don Quixote envisioned as the beautiful maiden--so she has been transformed. The primary tenet of Dulcinea's 100th Monkey is transformation--from evil comes good and from ugliness comes beauty. It is our intention to use the weight of the world that was thrust upon us to our advantage and to redirect our energies against each other into one of peace. So, in essence, Dulcinea's 100th Monkey is a peaceful place and it is our space to leave your worries behind. This is home.
So, yes, I say yes, you can go home again. You can feel youthful and let your fears fade away. The monkey will sit in this peaceful room/womb absorbing anger and fear and it will become lighter in this world as we imagine a world without greed, strife and fear. It is a supreme alchemist. It will take the load off us and carry the weight of the world, but it will transform it into peace. If the world decides to get angrier and angrier, it will remain steadfast and true. But suddenly, someday, without warning peace will happen. Peace will break out and spread like a calming, cool wave over a sun-dried beach. Because in the end we will all be tired of fighting. Because in the end all we really want is to be back where we started in those idyllic fields of green and know that we need not leave again. . .

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
T.S. Eliot

So let the monkey business begin. . .

This lounge is dedicated to our mother--the real 100th monkey--who is able to absorb all the weight of a family torn apart and always radiate sunshine, to our mother who has Parkinson's but still manages a smile everyday, to our mother who loves each of us equally and differently.

Thanks Mom,
Your children

An idea is a treasure ruined by the word.
It's all a state of mind.
Words are the source of so much misunderstanding.
I who believed so much in words.