Here we have Lanessa and Makayla facilitating a panel with Black Mama, Caye Cayejera, Taki Amaru, and Gabriela Sinchy Gomez. These women are discussing how they empower women through their art, what their art means to them, and how they maintain self care. Additionally, they touched on topics such as the right to control one’s body, reproductive rights, patriarchy, and living as a biracial women, and what kind of privileges, disadvantages, and struggles that has presented.

These women all spoke very truthfully about their experiences as advocates for womens rights. It was inspiring to hear about the work that they are doing and the obstacles that they have had to overcome.

After this panel, we had live performances from Black Mama, Caye Cayejera, and Taki Amaru. Though there songs were in spanish, and I could not understand all of what they were singing word for word, they conveyed much of it with stage presence and expression of emotion.

Here is the altar that my group set up before the encuentro. The theme of our altar is commemoration of those who have died as a result police brutality and violence at the border.

We have decorated our altar with flowers, tea light candles, water, and photos of the painfulness at the border, We did not include any photos of victims who have passed, but rather general photos of such events, to respect families who have lost loved ones whom we don’t have permission from to portray.

Other Altars at the event are commemorating similar topics. This is likely because of the movie about the murder victims in Juarez that we saw in class, which showed just how unjust or ineffective the system can be.