Juarez: Poetry, Art and Song

As a little warm-up to this month's discussion of Teresa Rodriguez' The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border, take some time out for a poetic treatment of the tragedy of the women of Juarez through the work of Marjorie Agosin. Her poetry collection, Secrets in the Sand: The Young Women of Juarez,

Sometimes
How many times do I talk with my dead?
And the night was a precipice

More of her poems here.

You might also want to check out musical tributes by Lila Downs and Los Tigres del Norte (more on the Los Tigres song from NPR here). I know there has been more than a few artists who have commemorated these young women, but so far I've found only one link. Suggestions welcome.

Sunday Meditation: Women of Juarez

For today's contemplation we suggest an excerpt from Marjorie Agosin's Secrets in the Sand, a poetic tribute to the hundreds of women of Juarez who have been murdered and whose deaths have not been properly investigated so that perptrators are brought to justice. Agosin is well known for her poems about strong women (see Melodious Women). Here's another of her poems.

For further reflection we suggest exploring Amnesty's Bordertown (a forthcoming feature film on the women of Juarez) resources, where among other things you can find mp3 and video downloads and a petition.