Rupa & the April Fishes: Tijuana border

We made it Tijuana yesterday and spent the end of the day at the beach, talking with people who were preparing to cross the border and taking photos of the place where the US-Mexico border enters the water. It was amazing to talk with this one man who was waiting for night to fall before he and his wife tried to cross along the beach. She is 6 months pregnant and they have 3 other children who were born and live in the US who they were trying to rejoin after having been deported. The openness of the people we spoke to was wonderful. They felt it was important to simply tell their stories and it felt good to receive them with open minds.

Last night we slept at the Casa del Migrante, a respite home for migrants, where we have been several times over the past two years. On our bunk beds, I think the band had its most restful sleep in two months. We woke up this morning and headed out to explore the wall and talk to folks living alongside the walls that have been erected by the US in the past 15 years. Because there's a documentary film crew with us, it made it kind of hard to have a down to earth discussion with some people. I felt overwhelmed by the cameras which are not my favorite thing anyway. So we're trying to balance the documentary crew getting what they need and the band getting the experience we feel is important which is a softer kind of face to face interaction with people.

Now we are done with soundcheck and getting ready to play at El Lugar del Nopal, one of our favorite places to play. It's an intimate listening place here in Tijuana with an awesome pair of hosts, these two artists Jose Pastor and Adelaida. This is our fourth time here and every time here it's super sweet. Tomorrow I will be interviewing some men who have been crossing through the desert into the US and have been deported several times. We will play a concert all unplugged at the Casa del Migrante for the 80 men who are there and the volunteers who help them. Then get in the car and drive to Calexico for some more interviews.

Busy beautiful times.

Desde la frontera...las historias...

Rupa

Read more about Rupa & the April Fishes here and follow along this blog as they take their journey along the US-Mexico border