On Sunday, May 26, the day before Memorial Day, we are inviting folks near and far to join us on the banks of the Rio Grande at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas to memorialize the river that we could lose if the federal government walls it off from our South Texas communities and from the rest of the United States.
In 2018 and 2019 appropriations bills, Congress allocated the funds to build more than 90 more miles of border walls, enough to wall off most of the rest of the Rio Grande Valley from the river. In addition to losing access to the river that gave life to our communities, these walls go up, people will lose their homes and farms, wildlife habitat will be destroyed, and more migrants and asylum seekers could be pushed into crossing through hostile desert areas where so many have died.
The day will be filled with art, music, and poetry, all expressions of our grief at the losses we face due to the border wall and militarization and of our hope that together we will triumph over the forces of fear and hatred and restore the borderlands and our border communities to health and wholeness.
We will gather at the National Butterfly Center at 4:00 pm for an invocation chant and an opening poem. Then we’ll carry our artworks together to the river as we sing from a prepared songsheet accompanied by musical instruments. Once on the river bank we will work collectively to decorate the altar with our artistic offerings. Music and poetry readings will follow as people enjoy the art and contemplate the Rio Grande.
Everyone is asked to make and bring artworks to carry on procession and to place on an ofrenda or altar next to the river. See our Call for Artists English and Call for Artists Spanish. We will also be hosting public art builds throughout the month of May, so that the members of the community can make their own art.
Children are welcome, and there will be children’s activities at the river.
Camping will be available at the National Butterfly Center on Saturday and Sunday evenings, May 25 and 26, for this special event, so that folks from out of town will have a place to stay, and so that everyone has the unique experience of spending the night next to the beautiful Rio Grande.
For updated information sign up on the In Memoriam Rio Grande Facebook page.
On Sunday, August 12 from 9 am to 2 pm people will gather on the banks of the Rio Grande at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas to celebrate the river which made our communities possible. Despite its iconic status as a meeting point between two cultures or the fact that is the region’s only source of fresh water and the anchor of a burgeoning nature tourism and recreation industry, the Trump administration intends to wall off the Rio Grande entirely. And this Spring Congress voted to pay for his wall here with Democratic support.
Of the three candidates running for the Texas House District 37 primary race, only one is opposed to the proposed Port of Brownsville LNG export terminals. Arturo Alonzo recognizes that the massive industrial facilities could be a blow to our tourism and real estate industries because they depend on clean air and clean water. He understands that the unsightly tanks and flares and the unhealthy pollution that the LNG companies will bring to our coastline could actually cost us jobs and decrease property values.
