Winter 2001-2002 Bulletin

Gifts from the River - Día del Río 2001

Día del Río or “River Day” was created to celebrate the Río Grande/Río Bravo, the United States’ fifth longest river. Every year more than 25,000 people participate in Día del Río events from the headwaters in Colorado to where the Río Grande joins the Gulf of Mexico. The goal of the event is to raise awareness about the grave condition of the region’s greatest river and related water resources through direct public involvement, as well as to honor the gifts that the river brings to our lives. The Taos area event, sponsored by Amigos Bravos, the Bureau of Land Management and the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps began on October 20 with an early morning river-cleanup. Volunteers wandered in the brisk autumn air through stands of blazing fall cottonwoods and along the banks of the river collecting trash, a morning grooming ritual of sorts. When the sun had warmed the air over 50 participants gathered around a large cottonwood and turned their attention to poet Judyth Hill who performed a collection of poems. Then, Gerald Nailor, of Picuris Pueblo, informed the group about the recent struggle against a mica mine located near the Pueblo. Students from a UNM Taos English class particpated by reading poems they had written about the river. Danza Azteca de Anahuac then took center stage and led the group in a beautiful river blessing. Meanwhile, Albuquerque’s Día del Río took place on the Old Alameda Bridge over the Río Grande with over 20 display tables and numerous cultural performances and presentations throughout the day. Amigos Bravos made its presence known with an Albuquerque office history and photograph board and organizational brochures, strategic plans, T-shirts, 2001 Gus Foster Calendar/Posters of the Río Grande Headwaters and penny candy for the young and the restless (a very big hit). When not handing out materials to the public, four members of Amigos Bravos’ Youth River Campaign held a planning meeting, then spontaneously “spit poetry” for the audience. This was Amigos Bravos’ first time at the Albuquerque Día del Río, the best attended in the event’s history. The Día del Río celebrations and blessings provided a reaffirmation of why we work to protect the great river. One of the dangers of working on environmental and social justice issues, with all the horrible facts and figures of threats to our ecosystems and cultures, is that we can become disconnected from the joy and community that the things we are trying to preserve can provide. To avoid this danger and promote meaningful change we must remember to take the time to nurture our empathy and connection with the non-human world as well as with the many diverse cultures and traditions of our watershed. Día del Río 2001 was a wonderful opportunity to create and tend to these connections.

 

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