## Carlos Castaneda Interviews and Articles

### Arizona Republic - Jun 1998

Saturday, June 20, 1998, Copyright The Arizona Republic
Carlos Castaneda a mystery in life, death.
By Thomas Ropp
The Arizona Republic
Carlos Castaneda died April 27. Or did he?
The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the bestselling author and self proclaimed "sorcerer" -- died at his home in Los Angeles of liver cancer, that he was cremated immediately and that his ashes were spirited away to Mexico, according to the Culver City, California, mortuary that handled his remains. But a spokesman in the office of Castaneda's Los Angeles literary agent, Tracy Kramer, said it is Kramer's opinion and the opinion of others who worked closely with Castaneda that the author evanesced disappeared like mist from this world in much the same way Castaneda believed his teacher Don Juan and his group did in 1973.
"He had to officially die in order for his will to be executed," the spokesman said.
"We expect a statement on Dr. Castaneda's Cleargreen Web page stating that Carlos Castaneda left this world in the tradition of the Mexican sorcerers of antiquity in his lineage." The Web address is http://www.castaneda.org. Cleargreen is a Los Angeles company set up by Castaneda to market and handle publicity for his books, seminars and workshops.
If Castaneda didn't vanish into thin air, he may as well have. It's doubtful there's ever been a cult personage shrouded in more mystery.
He did not allow himself to be photographed, have his voice recorded or grant many interviews.
No one knows when he was born, where, or even his real name.
One of his autobiographical accounts reports that Carlos Ce'sar Arana Castaneda immigrated to the United States in 1951. He reportedly was born Christmas Day 1925, in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
"Much of the Castaneda mystique is based on the fact that even his closest friends aren't sure who he is," wrote his ex-wife, Margaret Runyan Castaneda, in a 1997 memoir that Castaneda tried to keep from being published.
Castaneda denied being married. Whoever he was or in whatever manner he "moved on," there's no denying Castaneda's legacy.
His 10 bestselling books on the teachings of Yaqui shaman Don Juan's worlds of non-ordinary reality galvanized a generation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many viewed him as America's godfather of the New Age movement.
His books were subsequently translated into 17 languages, adding millions more to his fan base. While his popularity has waned in this country, his works are just now being discovered and revered in places such as Germany and Italy. Castaneda's adventures began in 1960, when he met Don Juan Matus in Nogales, Arizona. He was an anthropology student at UCLA, collecting information for a doctorate on the use of hallucinogenic peyote cactus by indigenous peoples. He was told by a mutual friend that Matus was an expert on peyote. Castaneda thought he was studying the elderly Yaqui Indian, but Juan Matus was studying him. Castaneda became his apprentice. Encouraged by Don Juan, Castaneda wrote about his indoctrination and participation in the world of seers, witches and beings from "unfathomable" worlds. Castaneda's thesis, published in 1968 by the University of California Press, became an international bestseller, "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge."
He continued publishing over the next 30 years. "The Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts about Life, Death and the Universe" is scheduled to be released in two weeks.
A spokeswoman for Castaneda's Cleargreen Corp. said that his works will continue to be published and that there are "things written down that have not yet come out." She regards Castaneda's company as the carrier of his legacy... "We believe that if people want to reach infinity, the tools are available," the spokeswoman said.
I met Carlos Castaneda last summer in a Cuban restaurant near West Hollywood. The interview came about because of a workshop sponsored by Castaneda that was coming to Phoenix. He did not notice me when I first walked in. He was looking down at his table, elbows propped, head between his palms like a sleepy kid in study hall. He did not look well then. He was very thin.
But when he looked up, my eyes met the eyes of the most famous sorcerer in the world. These were sober eyes, steady eyes that reeled in my awareness and held it with unbending intent. As if reading my mind, he said: "There is nothing to Carlos Castaneda. Personality is a pretense. Fame? Success? Who gives a (expletive)? If we weren't so involved in ourselves, we wouldn't do such barbaric things to ourselves." He then smiled mischievously, and I joined him for a long, pleasant lunch.
As for who Carlos Castaneda really was, you'll have to decide for yourself. For me, he was the real thing.
Copyright 1998 by The Arizona Republic