Today I spoke on Radio Pulso del Barrio (radiopulsodebarrio.org), on “El Daily Justice”, a radio a show that takes place once a week at 5:30 pm every Monday with Mark Lane and Vanessa Ceceña, which talks about global issues and movements not only within our community but globally as well.

Radio Pulso de Barrio, the community powered radio station out of Barrio Logan in the historic Bread and Salt building, came to life in 2014 through an art grant by the James Irvin Foundation and the San Diego Museum of Art’s open spaces project, and is literally making waves, bringing an amplified voice to many topics from community members of Barrio Logan and San Diego.

In a conversation with Aleida Lomeli, who grew up in the Barrio, and works for Radio Pulso del Barrio, had some seriously important points to bring up about it…for one, she has noticed that this community with a long and historic track record of culture, resistance, and people organizing for greater good, that NOW people are finally beginning to listen. Something that she adds that I think many can agree with is that Radio Pulso del Barrio is shedding light on many topics from here in the community to a worldwide audience that needs to be talked about from a separate point of view than the mainstream media. As Aleida points out, “asserts the relevant Chicano viewpoint”.

Radio Pulso is a place to discuss a lot of issues unique to us as San Diegans, a border town, where issues, traditions, art, and families, in Mexico are intertwined with ours here in the states… which were visibly in two of the art shows on Logan Avenue this past weekend, at Border X, we had “the angel show”, with a diverse group of artists and styles, myself included, from classic low-rider style airbrush, to 3D mix media, with our own personal interpretation of angels, and across street, the HEM crew show, “El Don de Aguila” that just went down at La Bodega the same night.

HEM (Hecho en Mexico) is a graffiti crew from Tijuana formed in the 80s through self-expression and grown into a global collective. Beautiful art pieces, clearly evolved from graffiti and muralism to multi-media and canvas filled the walls with artists from San Diego, Tijuana, Spain and more, and despite the different origins, with it’s amazing colors and lines, all made so much sense together, going back to one of the principles of the crew, unity. They also unveiled their collective mural on the backside of La Bodega, equally as impressive, all in all, a breathing example of the beauty of community cross-border connections.

The inevitably intertwined culture of art and struggle in the Barrio is clearly rising again, and in spirit of cross border relations, I’m going to close out for the week by taking it back to our discussion on the American initiative “Plan Merida” (aka Plan Mexico) on ”el daily justice” today, an initiative by the US administration that is not only militarizing our border, but pumping millions of dollars of artillary into the hands of the highly corrupted Mexican police and military under the name of “modernizing our border and stopping the operational capability of organized crime” (which in reality is doing the exact opposite).

The in-depth discussion can be heard in the archives on radiopulsodelbarrio.org, but since Friday July 26th marks 9 months since that fateful night in Ayotzinapa, it’s a necessary mention.

Taking part in international movements, organizing and participating across borders and thousands of miles, can be a challenge. It does come into question, how can we be effective here, with a physical distance from the particular repression we are fighting against, off of our own turf. We’re not always able to use the same means as we would in movements centered more locally, however there are things we can ask of the US Administration that can make change, such as educating ourselves and speaking out against such policies. The horrific things done by Merida to hurt indigenous communities, border communities, north and south and everywhere in between, including Ayotzinapa, to the inhumane incarceration and separation of women and children detained by ICE, who left to flee the violence fueled by Merida in their homelands, only to face violence and fear of another kind here, under these same administrative initiatives.

So I leave you, asking one favor this week. Read up on the outcome, the damage to families, land, resources. Write the American administration, your congressional representatives. Because 43 is also symbolic for the 23,000+ missing people of Mexico, nearly 2800 cases of military torture with a 95% impunity rate. Plan Merida is not only perpetuating this violence but arming it, and from Mexico to the Barrio and beyond, it takes a toll on all of us.