El Paso Firme Music Fest: What you need to know
Maria Cortes Gonzalez
Organizers of the El Paso Firme event are gearing up for 5,000 people to come together in taking a stand against gun violence and white supremacy Saturday. Some will come in buses from places such as Austin and Houston.
They will take a stand with a political music festival that interlaces musical acts with testimonies by people who have claimed abuses by border officials, immigrant families who have been separated and sheltered in Juárez, and victims of the Aug. 3 Walmart gun shooting.
"We see music and the arts as an expression of our anger and courage, an expression of our feelings and expression of the love that we feel toward our community," said Lorena Andrade, director of La Mujer Obrera, one of the supporting organizations of the event.
More:Chicano singer Cuco, La Santa Cecilia to perform at El Paso Firme solidarity event
The festival, which kicks off at 4 p.m. in Ascarate Park, is being organized by the Border Network for Human Rights, Raices, a Texas based immigration legal services nonprofit, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network based in Los Angeles, and supported by other organizations.
Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network, said for the past several years they have been concerned with the direction of the country, and the ideologies of racism, white supremacy and classicism, being infused and infiltrated in U.S. government.
"We saw how militarization of the border and criminalization of immigrants was becoming the priority of this nation," he added. ".... on top of that we have an administration that has embraced racism, white supremacy and xenophobia as the main ideology."
Garcia said therefore it was not surprising that a man embracing that ideology and manifesto drove more than 600 miles to come to El Paso to a Walmart with a large amount of Hispanic customers "to start killing Mexicans".
Garcia said the event will be peaceful with a festive ambiance but also provide a place for families along the border to express what they are experiencing.
"It's important to listen to what is happening in the community," he said.
More:Dozens protest over detained children at Border Patrol Station in Clint, Texas
María Cortés González covers entertainment and trending news in the El Paso area. Support more coverage like this with a subscription.
Make plans
Here is the schedule of events for the El Paso Firme event and call to action Saturday. There also will be food trucks available.
8:30 a.m.: Procession from Centro de Trabajores Agricolas, 1040 N. Oregon, to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 602 S Oregon St. Followed by community assembly.
4 p.m. Start of Festival with DJs at Ascarate Park.
5 p.m. Welcome by organizers
5:15 p.m. Dueto Dos Rosas
5:45 p.m. Testimonies by Mexican refugees in exile
6 p.m. La Santa Cecilia
6:45 p.m. Testimonies by people affected by ICE raids and family separation
7:15 p.m. Los Frontera band from Juarez.
8 p.m. Testimonies of alleged Border Patrol abuses in Sunland Park, N.M.
8:15 p.m. Guatemalan artist Rebeca Lane.
8:45 p.m. Testimonies by Central American refugees in Juárez.
9:15 p.m. Anita Tijoux Band
10 p.m. Testimonies related to violent attack on community.
10:30 p.m. Cuco.