I'm in San Diego, on my way to the border with Mexico during a time of heated
debates about president Trump's proposed border wall. But today, I'm joining a
group of musicians from both countries who are coming together to play a
cross-border concert in a show of major solidarity.
The U.S.–Mexico border is a heavily militarized area with permanent
surveillance and enforcement. But on this day, there are also drums, cymbals and
flutes. Percussionists on both sides brought music out of the concert hall
and into one of the most politically charged zones in the country. The U.S.-based
musicians are students and members of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
Before the concert, some of them held rehearsals with the Mexican percussionists on the other side.
Today, though, the glaring wall dividing them was hard to ignore.
This is a really unique part of the border right now
called Friendship Circle. And every weekend, the U.S. opens that first gate
over there for four hours to allow people from the U.S. side to come speak to
their loved ones and talk to them on the Mexico side, which you can see right there.
People on either side of the border travel for hours in order to have
this rare opportunity to talk to each other and to touch each other's hands, if possible.
The circle is within an area called "Friendship Park," which was
established in 1971 by first lady Pat Nixon as a symbol of friendship between
the U.S. and Mexico. Nixon said at the time that she hoped the fence wouldn't be
there for long. It was the idea of friendship across borders that inspired
conductor Stephen Schick to organize the concert.
Well, sound is this great unifying factor, right? And it is, for me, the interconnectedness of human beings
is what makes us human. And so the fact that we can't really see through the
border fence, but we can hear through the border fence, and we can play with our
friends. The fact that we can play and communicate through sound, no matter what
anybody else in some other city in the world decides, is the great message.
While watching, I wondered what the experience felt like on the other side.
Musicians from all over Mexico came to take part in the concert, the first ever of its kind.
There are currently barriers along the U.S.–Mexico border that stretch for 653 miles.
Trump is still pushing for money to fortify the border and build a 722-mile barrier.
He's said that any immigration deal must guarantee funding for the wall, and is asking for $18 billion.
Meanwhile, in a desert outside San Diego, US Customs and Border Protection is testing
wall prototypes created by private companies to see how well they can
withstand attempts to climb, smash or tunnel under. If Trump gets the money
he's requested, the agency will award contracts for construction to the best designs.
Any changes to the wall will likely be felt here at Friendship Park, a
place Adriana Jasso comes to regularly. She's part of an immigrant-rights
advocacy group that tries to ensure access for families to meet.
Are you worried that, everything going on with the Trump administration right now,
we're only gonna see a bigger wall and more fortification along this border?
It is concerning this is a political context never seen before. At the same time, I
think that what you witnessed today and what we saw today is also a manifestation of hope.
And it's also opening the hearts and the minds of people who never thought about it.
Billions of dollars go into making this fence a reality, enforcing
immigration law, but also, I think today was a manifestation of those San Diegans
that perhaps haven't thought about that there is a fence and the fence divides families.
For some of the musicians, like Daniel Chavarin, today’s concert was personal.
Do you have a message to the Mexicans on that side
who weren't able to cross over and see the full performance here?
I'm Mexican myself, and you know I have family on the other side as well, and I
just wish that they could experience the other side.
Do you think President Trump needs some more music in his life?
Oh, I think so. I think so. Something to keep him calm.
Hey guys, it's Dena and I'm on the U.S.–Mexico border.
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