Immigrant Rights, March 21, 2010, D.C.

One of my immigrant rights photos got published in today's Socialist Worker:

http://socialistworker.org/2010/03/25/renewed-fight-for-our-rights

And some other photos from last weekend will be published in Monday's paper edition of the Socialist Worker. So, if you get a chance, pick one up. :)

My Immigrant Rights set on Flickr from the March 21, 2010 demonstration in DC can be viewed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157623677035784/show

Weekend in DC -- Summer Teaser

This past weekend I traveled up to DC for the March on Washington, the annual anti war march organized by the ANSWER Coalition. I ended up attending 2 other events - and took a shitload of photos. :)

I'm still working on the March 20th photographs - I have to sift through about 800 of them (trigger happy). The demonstration was amazing, although a bit short (I'm comparing it to last year's march, where we marched to Crystal City and it took forever). There was an estimate of 10,000 people at the march. I had a severe headache the entire march so I wasn't too happy with the blazing sun. It was nearly 80 degrees out.


The picture above is of an AIPAC conference participant giving the finger to a protestor who...really hates Jews. Doesn't help at all considering we're protesting AIPAC as well, but with sound arguments. I hope they don't put us in the same category of crazy, LMAO.

Although the AIPAC protest was small, it was visually quite stunning. Code Pink had a strong visual presence and their pink banners and outfits really contrasted well against the gray Convention Center. You can see the whole set here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157623674056522/show

After the AIPAC protest, I shot the Immigrant Rights rally at the National Mall where over 500,000+ immigrant rights activists camped out from 1-4:30PM. Around 4:30, everyone began leaving and marching passed the Capitol and Supreme Court. It was a powerful experience walking with so many people, many of them with their families.

Set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157623677035784/show

JUSTICE FOR KENNY LAZO - April 3rd @ the Brecht Forum

We're throwing a Police Brutality awareness / fundraiser event for Kenny Lazo on Saturday, April 3rd, 2010, at the Brecht Forum from 6:30-10:30PM. The event will be featuring several speakers including Jennifer Gonzalez (partner of Kenny Lazo), Juanita Young (mother of Malcolm Ferguson), William Bell (father of Sean Bell), Kathie Cheng of the October 22 Coalition, Monica Ruiz of the ANSWER Coalition, and several artist performances including, Badsportt, Peggy Robles Alvarado, Raul K Rios, featuring DJ Oja, and hosted by Majesty. We will also be showcasing photography by myself, artwork by Kenny Chan-Cruz, and showing ANSWER's Eddie Pages' 30 minute documentary short, "Police Terror: The Murder of Kenny Lazo."

There will be food and art to bid on, so bring your cash. We are raising money to pay for transportation from the city to Long Island the day of the 10th (Saturday, April 10th) so that city dwellers can support the people of Suffolk County, who are brutalized and antagonized by the racist Suffolk County cops on a day by day basis.

The above is the official flyer - please print and distribute, repost, twitter, facebook, etc....Thank you :)

2010, Haiti, Chile, Hawaii....

This first quarter of 2010 is rough. First Haiti, now Chile, and Hawaii preparing for the aftereffect tsunami.... The above is a photo of Chileans walking away from a bridge destroyed by the earthquake in Santiago, provided by Getty Images (sadly they did not credit the photographer). Here's the link to some other photos covering the aftermath of the quakes in Chile: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2010/02/world/gallery.large.chile/index.html

I ask myself, like many others, why natural disasters often hit the indigenous people of the world, and why is it that we suffer the most, in our impoverished conditions, with our cultures exploited.

I've been inundated with work these past few weeks, and I've wanted to post but have been reserved to post about ongoing projects. Sometimes I think just seeing the finished project without seeing the steps to completing can be more compelling.

I'm getting geared up to go to DC to march in ANSWER's annual March on the Pentagon on March 20th. I'll be organizing with other photographers so that we can achieve as much visibility as this movement needs. If you're interested in coming along and shooting, send me a message or drop a comment.

Peace.