With a focus on the life-giving Rio Grande, Border Is Beautiful organizers are sharing a message of unity between the two sister cities to create deeper cultural awareness and highlight local talent.
Event organizers include: the Rio Grande International Study Center, Laredo Cultural Arts District, Laredo Center for the Arts, Laredo Main Street, Laredo Film Society, Laredo Music Scene, Pura Vida Nuevo Laredo, and Red de Agentes Cultural Comunitarios de Tamaulipas.
“The Border is Beautiful street festival celebrates our people and our culture,” said Laredo Film Society board member Gabriela Treviño. “It’s also a teachable moment. We are resisting other labels that have been put on us, and using this as a moment to reflect on the significance of our natural border – the Rio Grande. We see it as part of our everyday lives, but the festival really invites us to pause and realize its power and importance.”
The family-friendly festival is set for Saturday, April 22, 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, outside the Laredo Center for the Arts at 500 San Agustin Ave.
Festival entertainment will include a live art installation, street performers from Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, outdoor vendor market, local bites, drinks and more. Inside the Laredo Center for the Arts, attendees can view the extraordinary “Art As Medicine” exhibit featuring renowned San Ygnacio artist Dr. Eric Avery in partnership with Sue Coe, internationally famous for her social protest art.
Headlining the festival is Grammy-winning Grupo Fantasma, a nine-piece collective based in Austin whose founding members include Laredo native Beto Martinez. This festival marks the first time in years that the band performs in Laredo. Their return is much anticipated.
“Grupo Fantasma is a great representation of the mixture of diversity of sounds and the joy of being and living on the border,” said Funky Gallo, a Nuevo Laredo artist and member of artist collective Red de Agentes Culturales Comunitarios de Tamaulipas.
Praised as one of the most important independent acts in the Latin genre, Grupo Fantasma has created one of the most unique musical voices to come out of the U.S. in the 21st century. They won a Grammy in 2011 for their self-produced El Existential on Nat Geo music (their second such nomination) which The Wall Street Journal called “Latin music both new and traditional…vibrant fusions that transcend easy classification.”
“We wanted a platform in which we are physically present and engaged in culture, simultaneously experiencing art, music, and nature,” said Telissa Molano, executive director of the Laredo Cultural Arts District “These festivals can shine a light on importance of participation of citizens and organizations, ongoing needs in our community such as protection of our environment and a return to working and being together and celebrating our cultural identity,” she said.
Roque Haynes, president of Laredo Main Street, agreed: “We believe in promoting an environmentally sustainable future, and we’re grateful that organizers chose to host this event in beautiful downtown Laredo.”
“What better way to celebrate Earth Day and its 2023 theme “Invest in Our Planet” than with a street festival on the South Texas border, in celebration of our river and the biodiversity that it sustains. We are blessed,” said Tricia Cortez, Rio Grande International Study Center executive director.
Early Bird tickets are on sale now: https://riograndeisc.ticketleap.com/border-is-beautiful-fest/ for $10 ($15 at the door). Free entrance for children 12 and under.
For sponsorship opportunities, contact Luisa Villarreal at luisa@rgisc.org.
Founded in 1994, RGISC is a 501c3 research and advocacy environmental nonprofit based in Laredo, dedicated to protecting and preserving our only source of drinking water, the Rio Grande, and our local environment for present lives and future generations.
Website: RGISC.orgFacebookInstagram
