Juan Farías Álvarez was born on the 28th day of October, 1972, in the city of Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán, México. He grew up under the tutelage of his mother, María Álvarez Urenda, and the constant encouragement of his father, Teodoro Farías Guerrero. Juan was raised in a loving and caring environment. He traveled with his family to different cities in the Republic of Mexico, and beyond to the United States in 1974 before returning to his home town six months later.
He still retains happy childhood memories of when he would travel at night with his family down some highway; in vain he would try to cup the cold and slippery wind in the palm of his hand. And watching the deep and starry sky beyond his window, Juan would listen to the song of crickets and other night creatures playing to the full and majestic October moon that nurtured his soul. In the distance, seeing the tranquility and the mystery of the mountains in shadow, embossed with the dark of night… This is how Juan, with his innate sensibilities, would continually pass the time, ever fascinated by the miracles of nocturnal life.
Wrapped in the silence of that darkness filled with wisdom, Juan never thought he could express in writing that which his creativity and sensibilities would bring to his mind fully hatched from his imagination on those long, nocturnal meditations. Nevertheless, each night would envelop him completely, leaving in him a shadowy feeling that would compel him to elicit the dance of seduction between paper and ink, in this case, pure and white; inviting it to cross the wide and black expanse, leaving on it a tattoo of intimate feelings, the holiest of secrets, and the most forbidden experiences. —All of this, so that the reader, apart from the enjoyment of reading the “free verses” may judge his third creation and see if this book deserves the title he gave it.
Juan Farías Álvarez assures you, with a twinkle in his eye, that The Nocturnal View was born at midnight on a Thursday, as he danced under the stars, incited by an impassioned urgency to live out the most extreme sins as he danced. That is how this book came into being, because of Juan’s need to share with you, esteemed reader, the beauty of a moonlit view through the trees in the forest or on the hills; or to show you through his writings, a universe of majesty, permeated by the humid scent of the night. So, you may also experience this just by closing your eyes slightly and affirming, as does the author with a certain sense of rapture, “I’ve truly just emerged from a waking dream.”