Good morning, creatives!
Today I write to you from the Niquía ancestral lands, what was colonially named “Bello, Colombia.” One Niquía family survives today the centuries of genocide inflicted on their territory and community.
This territory is one of many homes for me and my family, who include my wonderful Colombian wife, Silvana, and my two cats, Cumbia and Selva. We spend half of the year in “Colombia” and the other half in “Tijuana, Mexico,” where we live so I can study in “Los Angeles” and be together, since Silvana does not yet have arbitrary permission, AKA a visa, to cross into Gringolandia. I intermittently visit Fort Lauderdale, Perú, Boston, and Mexico City to see family and friends.
As Co-Director of Community Weaving at ACI who inhabits so many different territories in any given year, community and weaving are increasingly important concepts for me. Here are some insights about community weaving I have gained in the past year or so, in no particular order…I hope that some resonate with you:
Community weaving for social justice is not international or transnational, but transfronteriza: trans-borders. A transgression of borders. The nation-state is a colonial fallacy; what holds them together is what upholds imperialism, capitalism, neoliberalism, white supremacy, and the patriarchy. What would a world without borders look like?
De aquí y de allá: From here and there. Sometimes weaving together distinct communities in separate geographies can make me feel like I do not belong anywhere. I’ve been learning, this year, that it is quite the opposite: a bit of my heart lives everywhere I have grown roots and built community.
Context is everything: Sometimes I feel like I’ve learned a Truth, that I’ve figured out an aspect of life. Then, I enter a new environment and find that it remixes that Truth, that there is no Truth without Context to make it real for us. That is why any interventions oriented toward social justice should always begin with context and informed by those closest to their communities’ “truths.”
We all have something to learn (or unlearn) from each other. The most important educational platform we will ever have is our interpersonal relationships. I’ve found that stepping into other contexts and learning from people with perspectives different from mine has enriched my life; connecting different communities to learn from each other almost always enriches the lives of everyone involved.
We are all inextricably interconnected. In the wise words of Lauryn Hill, “Everything is everything.” Even if we do not see it, even if we are not aware of it, our actions have tangible effects on the lives of others. Weaving together communities across borders allows us to see a bigger picture of the interconnectedness of our lives.
Aside from my work at ACI, my time this year has largely been spent on nurturing Selva Records, a project of mine and Silvana’s, that aims to challenge the patriarchal, racist, classist musical industry by creating an intersectional feminist culture through elevating music created by women, trans, and non-binary folk. In our YouTube channel, you can listen to and watch music from artists who write about liberation. Check out the artists’ pages included in each video’s descriptions; each are artist leaders in their communities fighting to make the world better in their own ways.
This upcoming year, I hope to continue my work of community weaving within ACI, Selva Records, and beyond, humbly learning from everyone in my path and moving resources for a more equitable world.
I’m happy to chat with anybody who wants to reach out!
Much joy and many blessings to all <3
Andrea Gordillo
Co-Director of Community Weaving