A big issue in the last month or so, especially for May Day, has been illegal immigration. A new bill has been passed to the senate which would, if passed and then signed by the President, effectively make not having proper immigration papers in this country a felony with the penalty of prompt deportation� this would affect a large segment of the population in California, obviously, but there is a renegade bunch who do not fit the stereotype of �immigrant worker.� For this article I chose to interview a person who lives �off the grid,� squatting, eating dumpstered food and making art at a Tenderloin community center, methodically collaging bits of comic books into masterworks that all sooner or later get stored away in a dusty attic. His name is Silvio Clerica, born in Corsica, France, age 30 years.

Silvio first came to this country for the Oscars 2001 in LA, hoping to catch a glimpse of some Hollywood glamour and maybe make a few valuable friends, because see Silvio is an oddly ambitious character, with dreams of making it big, although he doesn�t seem to care that much about anything anymore. Not able to get in to the big show Silvio left for Corsica after his three month visa expired.

But then he returned for New Years Eve 2002 in New York for a big party, baby. In true form he crashed anything where he could get free booze and schmooze with big shots. But, also, in true form he was periodically beaten up, arrested and harassed by the police, due to his brashness and lack of regard for any authority. The pigs can smell that. So he left New York for LA again, now with thoughts of pitching his gangland movie script that he was in the process of writing. After little success (and much partying) Silvio decided to leave Hollywood behind�the cops were on his royal ass again. �They beat you for fun,� he says.

Next stop: San Francisco and the community center where he still is, cutting and gluing his life perpetually up into pieces then back together again, always beautiful and always different. �I just make art, I have nothing else to do,� Silvio says bluntly.

When I caught up with him he was working on a Batman and Robin collage done on top of a limbless mannequin. After we agreed to the terms of the interview I took out my mini-recorder only to discover that it wasn�t working, so I was going to have to scribble some random notes for this one, which actually worked out pretty well, so well in fact that I decided to print them as is, in the spirit of Silvio and his art.

Silvio Clerica on Immigration and American Society:

the whole world on the street and still attacked
it gets much more difficult

It�s not only Amercia, they work with Europe,
Europe mentality is more barbaric

this country attacks themselves �who makes the dirty jobs�
it�s a game to them �who is still the slave�

and the Mexicans with the flags, I understand them, they have nothing to lose.

people eat each other when they have nothing else to eat.
to be human is to be violent

they were living in harmony before white arrived, primitivism oppressed by stronger nature

Inca, Maya they conquer stuff too.

men is brutally abusive, its fucked up. I think not much about it.

why I waste my time, nothing change. they pay themselves out, make new laws when not happy with themselves.

America is all right.

they didn�t ask the redman to be here now they decide who can come in, stupid idiots.

when they ship me I really get a hate of this country,
everybody has a right to get to different country.

Americans conquer, they want more, more.

American dream: work, work, cut this then I hate it.

They don�t practice democracy, they just comfortable in their limosines.
attack cuba and smoke cuban cigars.

politics is a spectacle always: they study, talk and nobody likes it.
they just have to keep jobs, keep busy or get bored.

people need leaders, like ants (even when they don�t like them)

perfect system, failing still. people fail in all kinds of system, there is no system.

I see towns burn down when people get shot in the street.

no future, future is a mistake.
too much worried when you think about it.
future is the next second

it gets worse, no better no good.

I, Vonne Hoodruffe, am leaving this horrid land in eleven days with my beautiful wife. We are going across the Atlantic to see what our motherland has to offer us, be it good or bad. We are going in hopes of finding bountiful harvests and hospitable peoples� we are setting our dreams on this, so �aurevoir� California!