Weekend Protests, Vigil, Speakers, Music and Art
October 7, 2016
Today through Sunday, the SOA Watch will hold events on both sides of the border in Nogales, to include marches, workshops, speakers, music and art at the border wall that separates the cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
The SOA Watch is dedicated to closing the School of the Americas, which trains Latin American soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia. This year SOA Watch has relocated its annual protest event that is usually held at the gates of Fort Benning to Nogales, to also protest border militarization.
Events will begin with a welcome celebration at the Nogales Museum of Art from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. this evening.
On Saturday, a veteran-led march will begin at 8:30 a.m. on both sides of the border. After both groups meet, they will hold a rally at the border wall at 9:45 a.m. The group will hold workshops in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora that afternoon.
A march to remember slain Nogales teen Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez will begin at 4:00 p.m. at Plaza de las Palomas in Nogales, Sonora. Participants will walk to the site on Calle Internacional where Jose Antonio was gunned down by a Border Patrol officer.
A mass for Jose Antonio will be celebrated by Nogales Bishop José Leopoldo González González at 5:00 p.m. at the Parroquia de la Purísima Concepción church, located one block south of the international border.
An interfaith ceremony and candlelight vigil will be held at the border wall from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., followed by a cross-border concert at the border wall from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
On Sunday, activities will conclude with protests, music and art at the border wall from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
To see the schedule and more details, visit the SOA Watch website.
