Friendship is the Best Ship
Music as Undocumented Healing
The music Akira and I have created together is first and foremost the result of sacred connection through the undocumented frequency that connected us. I give thanks to the individuals, community, organization, city, and most especially for our ancestors for reconnecting us in this lifetime to lift up this sacred message.
I started organizing with Akira in 2013 and our friendship, artistry, and senses of selves and self-expression has only continued to grow and flourish since.
The fact that we are undocumented and create are that necessitates being seen and heard already goes against the grain of what’s been expected from us in our time - that is a gift and a responsibility we do not take lightly.
Photo by Velle Vell of NOTSRY from the Soultree EP Release at HVAC Pub 5.30.19.
Friendships Transforming Through Time & Evolution
From sharing our stories at my first Coming Out of the Shadows (COOTS) in Chicago on March 2013, to blocking a bus at Broadview Detention Center, then blocking Michigan Avenue to demand Obama sign an Executive Order to Stop Deportations as negotiations for a “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” Bill to pass were underway, our friendship has evolved over time.
There was a period of time where we were seeing each other multiple times a week even though we all lived in different parts of the city to create, plan, strategize, train, organize, protest, and sometimes hang out. We would move through Pilsen, Little Village, sometimes down town or the north side, and we even visited different suburbs to connect with undocumented and oppressed people from all over.
We experienced a profound growth together that continued to transform as we gained more knowledge, skills, and deepened our connection to our life’s purpose. It was an extremely tiring and testing time for us all and we have each taken breaks, steps back, or moved on from this heArt work, while continuing to infuse the lessons and blessings we received in this time in all we do.
These photos were taken through facebook from Vero Castro, Jose Martinez Castro, Undocumented Illinois, and Immigrant Youth Justice League. I was unable to request permission for their use and for that I sincerely apologize and take responsibility.
Our Relationships & Bonds will Heal the World
I will write more soon about the undocuforce, but for now I just want to continue sending healing energy to this vibration that has connected us even though it was through the route of state violence. I truly believe that our relationships will change the world sooner than we could ever imagine. It has been a long time coming, but if my friendship with Akira is testament to anything it’s that you can change your lives a hundred times in a few short years - growing and evolving for the better.
The first below is of us with other undocumented artists gathering to skill share and make our own books. The second is at Buttercup Park in Uptown, healing and practicing through music in an area that has been experiencing a lot of violence and wealth disparities on top of segregation, high policing, and gentrification. The third is from our friends Raven & Beth’s wedding in October 2017. And the last photo is from earlier this week when I called out of the blue and we just connected.
Akira asked me what the first few lyrics on the second verse of Coqui Lullaby meant when I said, “I know we really thought we’d get free like this”… I told him it was dedicated to our organizing days and all the people that we were on the front lines with and he knew from his heart that that’s where it was coming from. That is but an essence of what the undocuforce is - this knowing and shared innerstanding of our worth despite migration, borders, and papers, a deep humxn feeling that transcends words.
Making Meaning & healing out of our struggle
If you care to karaoke with us, here’s a video for that. Or if you’d like to learn the lyric meanings here.
I gratefully lift this up to encourage all people to find meaning in their struggle. Often, we learn and receive the message later on that what we went through was part of how we will support others in healing and getting free, too. And for that I am eternally thankful.