Encuentro – EL MOVIMIENTO
The Body that Crosses: Migration Stories and Possibilities
In July 2021, we came together for a week of intimate, multidisciplinary and multicultural conversation to further understand and reflect on the current migratory movement between Oaxaca and the United States. Our hope is to propose a more dignified and free vision for migratory movement at the personal as well as social level.
Migratory movement in Oaxaca
Oaxaca has one of the highest rates of emigration and, at the same time, one of the highest rates of foreign tourism in México. This is a result of the commercialization of Oaxacan culture that’s aim is to generate economic resources to attract and satisfy a foreign market. This impacts the local economy, inflating the cost of living to the extent that those who have preserved, developed and defended that culture face the need to leave their communities in order to survive. This paradox creates impacts within the social ecosystems of Oaxaca: entire towns in which the majority of men have migrated, where homes are left abandoned, communities where the mother tongue has been lost. Nevertheless, there are also migratory movements that create ties with other geographies, which can honor and enrich local culture and practices.
One of the primary objectives of this program is to directly contribute to migrants and the local organizations and individuals that support them in Oaxaca. 25% of the program’s cost will go directly to CAMINOS (Centro de Acompañamiento a Migrantes) in Oaxaca. Another 30% is set aside to fairly compensate participants and team members who are migrants or work in migratory movement in their role as artists, advocates, or researchers in Oaxaca.
During each day of the program, there will be a presentation – performance, talk, activity – proposed by selected local artists and activists followed by a meal prepared by local cooks. All meals will be prepared by local cooks who have been influenced by their own experiences with migratory movement. The program will be hosted in POCOAPOCO, an artist residency in Oaxaca’s city center.
This is a first meeting, and our hope is to continue this project through dialogue, support and action locally and transnationally.
Selected participants for the 2021 program here.
Meet our 2021 guests here.