Rebel Music Americas tour a big success Productions Multi-Monde and its partners have just completed a very successful Rebel Music Americas cultural-political solidarity tour of twelve cities in Quebec and Ontario (Canada). Hundreds of people attended screenings of the feature-length documentary, Rebel
Music Americas (Músicas Rebeldes Américas) by Marie Boti and Malcolm Guy. They also participated in panels featuring some of the activists and musicians featured in the film and musical concerts involving artists from Argentina and Colombia along with local singers and bands. It was informative, but also great fun, with the dancing often continuing into the wee hours of the morning.
Stops in Quebec included Montreal, St-Remi, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres, Ste-Foy, Quebec City, Rimouski and Gatineau. In Ontario we visited Ottawa, Guelph, Peterborough and Toronto. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the individuals, groups and organizations that helped make the tour a success. Your generosity, warmth and organizing skills were a wonder to behold. Your comments are very welcome by e-mail at films@pmm.qc.ca or call +1 514 842-4047.
::Parole Citoyenne
Thanks to the folks at Parole Citoyenne and the Office national du film du Canada (National Film Board of Canada) you can enjoy on-line news and images from the tour as it unfolds (with regular updates), as well as video clips and information about the films Rebel Music Québec and Rebel Music Americas by Productions Multi-Monde. Aysegul Koc is shooting a short film about the tour that will be on-line by November 1, 2005.
::Engrenage noir
Engrenage noir has recently come on board as an important partner of the Rebel Music Americas Tour. They describe their mission as follows :
Individuals and communities alike are becoming increasingly aware of the heightened challenges associated with being responsible for each other and Planet Earth. As a project committed to progressive change, LEVIER aims to facilitate relationships between artistic practice and community groups on the one hand, and between artistic practice and humanistic activism on the other. This venture is guided by the desire to support individuals and collaborative teams who wish to participate in the civic arena as engaged citizen artists.
Creative projects that question the current dynamics and imbalances of power and that support the creation of spaces within which individuals can strengthen their personal and political voice (whether resistant or celebratory) will be supported. http://www.engrenagenoir.ca/
:: The Canadian
Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is a strong and democratic union committed to improving the quality of life for workers in Canada.
Women and men working together to form local unions built CUPE. They
did so to have a stronger voice – a collective voice – in
their workplace and in society as a whole.
:: The Canadian Catholic
Organization for DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is a democratic movement for international
solidarity that supports partners in the Global South in the pursuit of
alternatives to unjust social, political and economic structures. It
educates the Canadian population about the causes of impoverishment
of peoples and mobilizes actions for change. In the struggle for human
dignity, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE associates with social change groups
in the North and South.
:: The PASC and CCDHAL play active role in the Rebel Music Americas Tour. The PASC (Accompaniment and
Solidarity Colombia Project) is an independent organization based
in Montreal using information and accompaniment to build direct solidarity
networks with peasant populations resisting forced displacement in Colombia.
The PASC works with Justicia y Paz Inter Ecclesiastical Commission to
provide an international presence within the Afro-Colombian communities
who are working for peace and a stop to human rights violations resulting
from forced displacement principally by the national Armed forces and
paramilitary groups .
The
CCDHAL (Christian Committee for Human Rights in Latin America), established
in 1976, is an independent organization that participates in the struggles
for social justice in Latin America through human rights advocacy, by
supporting social movements, and by disseminating information about
the social and political situation in Latin America and finally, by
publicly denouncing human rights violations by the States or private
corporations. We pursue our mission in three ways: urgent action networks,
mobilizing and speaking out through our magazine Caminando and our radio
ads. In 2005-2006, the CCDHAL is organizing an awareness campaign about
natural resource extraction in the Andes, and the consequences on the
right to self-determination of local communities. To get involved, contact
us! 387-2541 Ext. 238. info@ccdhal.com
Representatives of the two organizations were among guest panelists
at our events.
(See Partners
for a complete list of partners and supporters).
Tribute
to Renato Pavez
This tour is dedicated to the memory of Renato Pavez, musician with
the Montreal-based group Acalanto, who died July 25, 2005 in Montreal.
Acalanto is one of the groups featured in Rebel
Music Quebec (Musiques rebelles Québec). Acalanto follow
Chile's grand tradition of socially engaged music.They sing Violette
Parra, Victor Jara, and put Pablo Neruda's poetry to music. Acalanto
use traditional zamponas, quena, charangos and other instruments to
fortify the fabric of social solidarity in Quebec.
