EVENT: Peace As A Universal Right! The 7th Chasky this Sunday!

El Chasky (Quecha word for messenger of the Incas) is an event organized to empower our community, respond to the policies of the moment, and more important to teach, or pass our history from a perspective other than the official. The Chasky is organized around Indigenous values: the rescue of historic memory, Earth as mother, self-determination, and respect for our differences, among others.

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Contact: Trish at challengetheworld [at] yahoo.com

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1pm Meet at Mission Playground (3555 19th St.
between Valencia & Guerrero)
1:30pm **Procession begins**
2-6pm Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
(2868 Mission St. between 24th & 25th St.)
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Procession with the message of Peace as a Universal Right

On Sunday October 20th, 2002, Horizons Unlimited of San Francisco, Inc, in collaboration with Casa de los Jovenes and Instituto Familiar de la Raza, will sponsor the 7th Chasky. The theme for this year is “Peace as a Universal Right.” The blessing of this year’s Chasky ceremony will start at 1pm at Mission Playground (3555 19th St. between Valencia & Guerrero). We will then march, collectively as a group, at 1:30pm over to the Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts (2868 Mission St. between 24th & 25th Sts.) where the event will end at 6pm. There we will have poetry, an open ritual, musical, dance, and theatrical performances. This year’s 7th Chasky will encompass a strong presence of young people at all levels.

More than a march, the Chasky is made up of spiritual ceremonies that honor the peoples’ struggle to live in a world that values community, diversity, dignity, self-determination, peace, and justice. This year’s Chasky celebrates our aspirations for global peace and the disarmament of First World domination. Now more than ever there is a need to resolve conflicts peacefully rather than needlessly create more wars, displacement, hatred, and resentment among our brothers and sisters throughout the world.

Ten years ago a group of artists and community organizers created the 1st Chasky as a response to the celebrations of the 500 years of the so-called discovery of the Americas. The Committee got together to question both the false presentations that hid indigenous struggles and the U.S. system, which at that moment (1990) was integrating neo-liberal policies in Latin America and supporting wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua, neglecting the fate of the people. From 1990-1994, collaborations of artists and organizations formed to produce the event in October around different themes. Each Chasky was an entirely volunteer run, community-centered activity to acknowledge resistance and the creation of new alternatives (political, philosophical, cultural, economical and spiritual) to the actual system.

This year’s 7th Chasky will continue this spirit with new expressions.
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Performers: Opening ritual by Gina Pacaldo, Theatre & dance groups from Instituto Familiar de la Raza & Horizons Unlimited, Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco, Aspernas Con Alma, Mixtizo Hip-Hop Dance Group, Omulu Capoeira, Sistahs of the Underground (hip-hop dance group), Thelma Flores (spoken word poet), DJ Epic