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Are we ready? Are we ready?
Are we ready on that side? YES!
Alright, well let's get started
Everyone here's ready to go and in tune, right?
Well, good morning to everyone,
It honestly is a great pleasure and it is such an indescribable feeling
to be back here again all together.
I want to welcome everyone that came in from out of town to support this event
This event would not exist without all of you.
And that's the reality of the fandango. It's where we all come together
It's the musical celebration that makes us forget about these barriers that try to divide us
But we're here present, standing firm as we continue to play this music
and this thanks to son jarocho that brings us all together
Thank you for making this fandango happen again
Welcome, let's have this celebration begin as it should,
to the rhythm of son jarocho
And it's a great pleasure to have here the Baxin brothers
who have come to join us from Veracruz
to carry out this fandango as it should be carried out,
with order and a respect for the farmworker community in the region of Los Tuxtlas
It is also a great honor to have someone like Andres Flores
who came from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz
and Carolina Castellanos, of course!!
Although born in Veracruz, I am made of tunas and olives
In the desert I am tuna, made of Kiliwa and Cochimí
This fence has brought me here; the musician wanted it so
My jarana, made of chamizo, resists the fire of wisdom
With this verse at the border of the Fandango Fronterizo
The musician's border, asking for a crossing without violence
The shadow of impatience is the voice of the jaranero
Telling the outsider, and screaming out to the passageway
Remove this slipknot, as my voice struggles
to sing to the lands of the Fandango Fronterizo.
I wish to be like the wind, strong like a cyclone
To travel the whole world, and cross the whole country
To make a discovery, as did Christopher Columbus
I shoot you a rhyme, and I do it suddenly
I speak clearly, my friends, and I tell you cordially,
that the Baxins have arrived to liven up this place.
The Fandango Fronterizo is a musical event that happens
at the border between Tijuana and San Diego
to demonstrate that, although there are man-made barriers in the world,
there are things like music, friendship, and community
that don't have any borders.
For me, this is completely a political event
Son jarocho makes this a cultural event
but the act is a political one.
For me, this shows that we don't agree
with this division
We can have fandangos anywhere any day,
and for many different reasons,
but we chose this location
because of its social, cultural, and political significance.
It's very important to retain this space
being at the border
I believe it's a silent demand saying,
"We do not want this anymore!"
If we go somewhere else, it isn't so evident anymore
that a border is keeping us separated.
It could appear as though we're all able to come together more easily now,
but it isn't true.
Because here we see a physical division
It's visible proof of all those other things that can separate us.
It's a type of resistance.
You know, we're coming back every year
despite everything that is done in an attempt
to impede the realization of the fandango,
to impede communication between the communities.
It's a symbol of the determination of the people, I believe.
For me, this is a very powerful event because . . .
it attempts to deconstruct
our conception of what a border is
and vice-versa.
In this case, through the music
we can break down this border
and it's very political to say
that although there are borders we are still united
as a community and family.
I feel that events like the Fandango Fronterizo are very important
because it's a way to be connected,
to be connected with Tijuana.
I grew up here in San Diego,
I feel that you can live in San Diego,
and still feel very far from Tijuana, Mexico.
It's so interesting because Tijuana is such a close city to us,
you can even see Tijuana from San Diego.
I feel that the border and its politics create a distance.
Between Tijuana and San Diego, where the border boastfully stands
The thunder of the jarana is a song of no tranquility.
Strength, a restless conjuration,
of awareness and commitment.
It's a migrating spell converted into a strong wind,
crossing through the ritual of the Fandango Fronterizo.
Between the sand and the white foam,
The new moon passes by singing.
The migrating verse crossed time and the border,
with a lively jarana and a vibrant vihuela.
The verse is a constant, A reason, a notice
Announcing its commitment to plant the heart
at the sixth Rebellion of the Fandango Fronterizo.
It's moving when you see these people trying to come together
but there's a barrier there that prevents this.
The more you are here, the more it moves you.
You start noticing people getting closer to the fence
Typically the fandango is a full circle without anything in the middle
or it's a semicircle
but here, isn't not like that.
I cry.
This is the second time I come,
and honestly, tears come out my eyes.
I think sometimes tears can say what we struggle to say with words.
It's like a feeling of sadness and joy combined.
that's what I would call it.
Sadness to see something so eminent dividing us.
It's something strong, strong like iron.
and at the same time, it's a gathering.
Despite all that, you're still able to feel the closeness of the people on the other side.
We're people on both sides, here and there.
It's a mixture of things.
It makes me sad because
we could come together, touch each other,
more than just hear each other.
It's sad to see that because of a wall, we are like this, divided.
It's horrific.
It's the symbol of a fear so big that I can't even imagine it.
The only thing that can cross this wall is music,
and that's why we're here.
Although we may be divided by the border,
the music and the desire to be together
make it possible for us to share a moment like this one.
It's very political to be able to break down the border through music.
Migration has always been a constant, and I believe it's a human right.
It's a human right to search a for new life for your family.
Commerce doesn't have borders,
but for human beings, there's more every day.
It's a world out of balance.
It's a broken world.
We're living a situation that gets worse every day.
I don't mean to be negative.
We need to have many actions like this one,
to resist and to tell those in power, "NO!"
To say that we are present and we want to communicate with each other.
We want open access.
This type of action that we are having here today
is the strongest act we can do
in the face of power out of our control.
It seems as though this won't be make a difference,
but I think it will--
with time and with people's dedication.
The border is seen as an obstacle; it's something that limits you.
It's a reason why so many die crossing searching for a better life.
Hardworking people who want to survive will find a way to cross.
The border only creates more dangerous situations to cross.
"Silence!"
Thank you! I'd like to extend an acknowledgement . . .
. . . to the organizers of this event.
It's truly impressive and unprecedented to see so many people on the U.S. side.
It's the work of the organizing team on the other side: Francisco, Adrian, Roxana, Carolina,
and everyone that got involved. Thank you! It was incredible!
And a thanks the organizers on the Tijuana side, to Gabo and Lacho! A round of applause for them!
Let the fandango continue on, and let borders come to an end!
It seemed to me quite rare
Makes me think... Everyone has their own path.
But their laws are their laws
and ours is more concious I think.
They enforce with the motive to keep us away from them
But through music we are already united.
[ARE YOU BY MY SIDE?]
It was beautiful.
The only thing that divided us was that wall.
They crossed over to this side, and now we can play together.
What are we to do now?
We know each other, and we've played together.
Now we need to come together in the fandango.
We're not going to say, "Get out of here! Why are you putting up a fence here?"
We have to welcome them. As Mexicans, we're always conscious of this.
Our music is not vengeful.
The music that we bring, the music of our parents,
perhaps it has done us good to learn how to play
this traditional music from Veracruz,
so that we could enjoy it since we were children.
But after experiencing this event,
sometimes you can be surprised.
You can be surprised by the division that was there.
We saw something different here.
I don't know how they felt.
I'd like to ask someone who played on the other side,
"How did they feel?"
I'm going to investigate that.
How do you think the people on the other side saw it?
I think they were just as impressed as we were.
Look where my friends are, and I cannot even greet them.
I could just stick my finger through.
I've come from Veracruz, for a week's length.
Eight days later I returned, only to find one of my sister missing.
Instead of gaining something, I lost something.
and my momma sure did scold me!
In my opinion, this is a very unique event.
I don't think there's another country where this happens,
a simultaneous event, where you can sing, respond, and dance with your partner crossing a fence,
where this dynamic occurs.
We've created a space for the fandango, far from Veracruz,
but with the spirit of Veracruz instilled in it.
Honestly, when we held the first Fandango Fronterizo
the idea was simply to have a fandango.
To have a fandango that would allow us to be together,
people from Tijuana and people from San Diego.
But we didn't have any idea what expected us there.
When we got there, and we started feeling what we felt.
My legs started shaking, seeing what was happening.
I realized this was much more profound.
The idea of getting together was already there.
But this is something much bigger, more profound.
We all kept talking, and we'd say the same thing,
"This is something much bigger."
And we'd all say, "Hopefully this never ends."
I don't think anyone can stop this now! It's incredible!