POSTPONED “Creating Memory is Our Weapon” Photo Exhibition

Friends,

It is with great sadness that we announce the postponement of the “Creating Memory is our Weapon” Show at the Urban Sanctuary Gallery in Boyle Heights. It had always been a dream of ours to have the show in Boyle Heights. Ten years ago we had shown the photographs at the great Frank Sosa’s space on Silverlake Blvd and it was a great honor to be able to bring the photos East, but sadly the local political terrain proved …too complicated for it to happen at this time. Two days ago it was brought to our attention that several local “artivists” had started a campaign online to boycott the show. Apparently there has been some conflict locally with the management of Urban Sanctuary. We have spent the past 48 hours trying to negotiate a settlement that would allow the show to continue – but in the end with threats looming and an extraordinary amount of anger being expressed we decided to postpone the show until we are able to honor the memory of the Marcha in a more clear environment. It was never our intention to inflame local anger, to incite a boycott or indeed to put our constituency on any side of a local conflict.

Zapatismo has plenty to do with local conflicts but not in this way.

Please accept our humblest apologies if this in any way affects your plans for tonight. Let me also take this opportunity to thank Azul 213 and our own Rocio Contreras for the huge amount of work they put into this show.

We will all reap the rewards of this show in a less contentious space at a later date.

B+
March 11th, 2011

“Our most ancient ones taught us that the celebration of memory is also a celebration of tomorrow. They told us that memory is not turning one’s head and heart towards the past. It is not a sterile remembrance which speaks laughter or tears. Memory, they told us, is one of the seven guides which the human heart needs in order to make its journey. The other six are truth, pride, consistency, honesty, respect for oneself and for the other, and love.”
-Subcommandante Marcos, March 24, 2001

The Zapatistas March on Mexico City

– On Feb. 25 2001, the leaders of the insurgent Indian people of Chiapas launched a two-week mass march on Mexico City to remobilize and extend mass support for the demands of those sections of the Mexican population who have suffered most from the world capitalist offensive-the indigenous peoples.

Twenty three commandantes and one sub-commandante left the autonomous mountains of South East Mexico to travel to the Federal District of Mexico City with three demands: 1. To seek approval of the Indigenous Bill of Rights. 2. To seek the withdrawal of seven military bases from indigenous land and 3. To seek the release of all remaining EZLN prisoners.

On the eleventh of March they walked onto a platform in the Zocalo (Mexico City’s picturesque town square) to see one million Mexicans cheer them and offer support and solidarity. Having secured the support of the National Indigenous Council, the Zapatistas took the city with delegates from forty four of Mexico’s fifty seven indigenous nations.