Al Dios No Conocido: A Eulogy To Olneyville Diy
Words: Angelina Rios-Galindo
December 8, 2023
“Al Dios Conocido” means “To The Unknown God.” Despite the plurality of its faces and names, our Unknown God brought us together at one doorstep, with a second entrance around the side.
It was both public and private, a place for “everyone” saddled on the outskirts of the many. A place for first dates, frequent show-going, and on November 26, final goodbyes.
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We gathered in requiem of Al Dios in its entirety: to remember the holes in its ceiling, once patched up but immediately re-punctured; to bury the babies and toys and plastic skeletal parts that littered the perimeter of its interior; to, for the last time, glance at our reflections in the bathroom mirror. We always look different on the way out than we did as we ducked our way in; sweatier, with wider smiles, and boasting the letters that stared back at us across our faces. “WHERE THERE IS AUTHORITY, THERE IS NO FREEDOM,” we’re reminded, as Providence police cut our mourning short.
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We gathered in requiem of Al Dios in its entirety: to remember the holes in its ceiling, once patched up but immediately re-punctured; to bury the babies and toys and plastic skeletal parts that littered the perimeter of its interior; to, for the last time, glance at our reflections in the bathroom mirror. We always look different on the way out than we did as we ducked our way in; sweatier, with wider smiles, and boasting the letters that stared back at us across our faces. “WHERE THERE IS AUTHORITY, THERE IS NO FREEDOM,” we’re reminded, as Providence police cut our mourning short.
