Soy Paz, Soy Más (part of In Plain Sight)

Soy Paz, Soy Más is one of 80 sky-written compositions that artists released into the air as part of In Plain Sight, a coalition of 80 artists fighting immigrant detention and the culture of incarceration conceived by Cassils and rafa esparza. In partnership with immigrant advocacy organizations, In Plain Sight transmitted sky-written messages above ICE detention centers across the US on July 3-5, 2020. Visual and performance artists Cassils and rafa esparza spearheaded the intervention and invited Gaspar to present a text-based work above the Coastal Bend Detention Center in Robstown, TX. Gaspar chose text based on a song; “Soy Pan, Soy Paz, Soy Más” popularized by  Mercedes Sosa with Piero. The lyrics are written by Luis Ramón Igarzabal. The message was directed to the majority of those incarcerated and living around the facility— Spanish speakers. The lyrics are a message of love, and hold in mind the tenderness of people, migrants, seeking to find some hope but placed in limbo, exploited and traumatized by the US government. In Plain Sight culminated over “Independence Day” weekend in a spectacular performance to expose the detention camps that are hiding in plain sight to the American public. 

For more information on In Plain Sight, visit the website: xmap.us.

In Plain Sight spearheaded by rafa esparza and Cassils is a coalition of 80 artists united to create an artwork dedicated to the abolition of immigrant detention and the United States culture of incarceration. A highly orchestrated mediagenic spectacle and poetic action, this project is conceived in five parts -- a poetic elegy enacted on a national scale, an interactive website, an anthology docuseries, accessible actions for the public to take to join the movement against immigrant detention, and cultural partnerships producing arts-related education and engagement.  Over Independence Day weekend 2020, In Plain Sight launched the nation's skytyping fleets to spell out artist-generated messages in water vapor, legible for miles. These messages were typed in the sky over detention facilities, immigration courts, borders, and other sites of historic relevance. As the planes soared, they made visible in the sky what is too often unseen and unspoken on the ground: the appalling, profoundly immoral, imprisonment of immigrants. In Plain Sight helped break through this wall of secrecy, exposing to public scrutiny the sites of detention centers, paid for with your dollars and operated in your name.  In Plain Sight aims to amplify the voices organizing on the inside and outside of detention centers, bringing together artist interventions and direct support for those urgently working towards immigrant justice. We aim to serve the decades-long movement built by people working, often as volunteers, as part of powerful coalitions, networks, and local organizations supporting the immigrant community. Our team, intersectional in our identities, experiences, and expertise, is dedicated to drawing attention to the calls to action crafted by experts on the ground and in communities, and to uplifting the voices of all those currently detained. We strive to do this in a collaborative and intentional manner. We stand in solidarity with all those working to end immigrant detention and the culture of incarceration. We welcome all comments and suggestions regarding how we can further uplift local voices, and center the voices of those who are directly impacted. See website for more information: xmap.us

Soy Paz, Soy Más (Part of In Plain Sight, a coalition of 80 artists fighting immigrant detention and the culture of incarceration conceived by Cassils and rafa esparza.)
2020
Sky-typed message above Coastal Bend Detention Center (Robstown, TX)
Dimensions Variable

Photo and video documentation: Ronald L. Jones