We're writing to let you know about an upcoming project that we're really excited about, and hope that you will be too, and to ask for your help. The project is called Fandango Fronterizo Chihuahua, and its a collaboration between Puppet Underground and community groups and cultural organizations in Mexico that will take place in early December.
Check out our video on Kickstarter to hear all about the project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/844027976/fandango-fronterizo-chihuahua-music-and-art-agains
Our fundraising goal on Kickstarter is $1,000 by the end of November. We need a lot more than this amount to cover all the costs of the project, so we're also trying to raise money outside of the Kickstarter page. If you'd rather send a check instead of donating online, email us and we'll give you the info on where to send it. We're also asking people to donate frequent flier miles, to help buy plane tickets for Puppet Underground members and musicians from Veracruz who are coming to the Fandango, so let us know if you can donate some miles.
Thanks as always for all the ways you support our work, and we'll keep you posted about this project!
Gracias!
-Puppet Underground
Fandango Fronterizo Chihuahua is a cultural action on the US-Mexico border between El Paso and Juarez on December 11th. Artists and community groups from the US and Mexico are joining together in a display of cross-border solidarity to open spaces for positive and creative responses to the violence in Northern Mexico. The state of Chihuahua has seen a dramatic increase in violence over the past several years, related to drug trafficking and the militarization of the border region, and fueled by failed economic, drug and immigration policies. Through the Fandango, we hope to draw attention to this reality, while demonstrating the power of art and culture to express ideas and sentiments that we may feel too scared, unsure, or hopeless to communicate with words.
The Fandango Fronterizo Chihuahua was inspired by similar events that have taken place on the border between Tijuana and San Diego. A fandango is the event in which Son Jarocho music, folk music from the state of Veracruz, Mexico, is traditionally played. In the fandango, communities come together around the tarima, a wooden platform for dancing on while the musicians play. The fandango is a participatory celebration, and people of all ages take turns singing, playing, dancing, and watching.
Leading up to the Fandango, we’ll give a series of workshops with our partner organizations where participants work together to create music, movement and puppetry as a way of breaking free from the daily stress of violence in their communities. The objective of the workshops is for participants to learn and explore how to use these creative tools to collectively express their frustrations and ideas, and to prepare for the fandango on the border. After the Fandango we hope to use documentation of the event to spark discussion about the situation on the border and highlight efforts by local communities to develop creative responses.
We need to raise a minimum of $1,000 dollars for this project to help cover transportation for participants, materials for workshops and logistical costs. Our partners in Mexico, Centro Nigan Tonogue in Veracruz and Consultoria Tecnica Comunitaria in Chihuahua, are also working hard to raise needed funds, but your support is crucial to make the Fandango Fronterizo Chihuahua a success. Please help us meet our goal of $1,000 dollars by making a donation and spreading the word about this exciting project. We have to raise all the funds by the end of November, so don’t wait! Donate today!
Thanks for watching our video and for your support. If you want more information about the project and other ways to get involved, send us an email.
Muchisimas gracias y Fandangeamos!
