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.