Funding for Colores was provided in part by: New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation New Mexico Arts a Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts and Viewers like You On the forefront of the sanctuary movement since the mid 1980s.

Poet and Journalist Demetria Martinez reflects on how her reporting in 1988, during the sanctuary movement and trial that followed, shaped her belief in poetry, [Martinez reads] Educational, engaging, singable and fun.

The Baton Environmental Education Initiative delivers exciting environmental messages through songs that encourage kids to connect with nature.

It's all ahead on Colores!

POERTY IN DANGEROUS TIMES >>Martinez: These women who were fleeing -- >>Faith: Demetria, thank you for joining today on Colors to talk about your poetry and your new book, Poetry in Dangerous Times So where did the focus on immigration issues in your poetry come from?

>>Martinez: Yes, I've always been interested in the plight of immigrants.

My grandma, Maria Jesusita, came to the United States in the wake of the Mexican Revolution and when I was covering religion for the Albuquerque Journal and The National Catholic Reporter, the big religion story, at that time, was something called the Sanctuary Movement.

What happened was that people of faith were helping refugees who were fleeing Central American countries.

They were fleeing U.S.

funded civil wars and crossing the border into the United States.

And so you had -- people of faith, their allies, etcetera -- helped bring refugees over the border and aided them clandestinely here in the United States.

Help them apply for political asylum and so forth.

This was known as the Underground Railroad, and often they ended up in -- Canada, which was more refugee friendly.

So, this is -- being a reporter is what really, solidified, my interest in what was happening with refugees.

>>Faith: And so your poem, Nativity for Two Salvadoran Women in your new book, Poetry in Dangerous Times.

Can you tell me a little bit about that poem?

>>Martinez: Sure.

Let me give you the context.

I wrote that poem -- It was inspired by an event that happened, a Lutheran minister as part of the Sanctuary Movement, invited me to go with him to the US-Mexico border, with two other churchmen where he planned to bring two Salvadoran women, who are fleeing El Salvador into the United States, into New Mexico.

He thought that it might make a good religion story.

Sanctuary Movement -- I was covering religion for the Albuquerque Journal.

The National Catholic Reporter was interested in what was -- happening in El Salvador -- the church there -- people being persecuted.

All the reasons they would come North.

So, you know, I was a young, you know, reporter and eager to get a good story.

And it was a good story.

I went with the minister.

I had never before seen the smuggling of so-called illegal aliens into the United States.

So it was, research.

I ended up writing, Nativity For Two Salvadoran Women.

And the United States government -- Somehow was able to obtain that as evidence in their efforts to lock me up for 25 years.

I went to trial with the Lutheran Minister.

I was accused of conspiracy against the United States government and allegedly helping refugees North.

And then -- inducing -- encouraging their entry.

So, I took the trip with the minister in 1986.

In 1987, the indictment came down.

I found out, you know, about the charges against me and the minister, too.

And then in ‘88 we went to trial.

I was ultimately acquitted on First Amendment grounds.

I was a reporter.

And so my activities researching the Movement, were protected by the First Amendment.

The Lutheran Minister, Glen Remer-Thamert was found not guilty for a very interesting -- reason.

Then Governor, Tony Anaya had declared New Mexico a Sanctuary State, for Central American refugees.

So the judge said that, that proclamation, protected the Lutheran Minister.

So, that's kind of an overview.

But, yeah, the government did attempt to use Nativity -- against me, and failed.

[Martinez reads] Nativity for Two Salvadoran Women 1986-1987.

[Martinez reads] Your eyes, large as Canada welcomed this stranger.

[Martinez reads] dresses stained where breasts leak panties in purses tagged “hecho in El Salvador” [Martinez continues reading] Your belts like equators mark North from South [Martinez reads] Hear the symphony of the unborn.

Finger forth infants to light wipe after birth.

Cut cords.

[Martinez continues reading] You tell me it is impossible to raise a child in that country.

[Martinez reads] Squat in a forest, peeing on pine needles, [Martinez reads] Tell me, “¿Por qué están aquí?” How did you cross over?

[Martinez reads] It is impossible to raise a child in that country a North American reporter I smile, [Martinez reads] [Matinez continues reading] I shut my notebook.

Watch your car rock through the Gila wilderness.

[Martinez reads] >>Faith: Can you take us back to the time when you went across the border with these two Salvadoran women?

What was that experience like?

And what did you learn about them?

>>Martinez: Well, it was very moving.

We drove through the Gila wilderness.

I carried my little skinny reporter's notebooks that they used to give away in the Albuquerque Journal.

And -- so we crossed into the Juarez, and the women were waiting there.

They were then brought over the river, by a young 15 year old woman -- someone we would know as a Coyote.

And she brought them over, and we met them on this side [United States] in El Paso.

And then they traveled up, through the -- through the Gila wilderness and back to Albuquerque.

And so I took notes along the way.

And, it was very moving.

They had been raped by Salvadoran soldiers.

And again, this was a civil war that the United States funded in the name of fighting so-called communism.

I still get very emotional about it because I see so many refugees now fleeing, you know, danger, in their own countries.

And now they're being, you know, whisked away by masked men, masked armed men.

So pardon my detour there, but it is -- it's still difficult for me to talk about in a lot of ways but the poem is my testimony.

>>Faith: So in your poem you write, "Pen and notebook, the tools of my tribe distance us."

How do you navigate the tension between being a reporter, documenting events, and being a human bearing witness to suffering?

>>Martinez: Well, there should be no tension.

In other words, the job of reporters -- we've got a duty to cover stories that often -- tug, you know, at our hearts as human beings.

And if you are there, you're committed to -- talking about what's going on, to writing articles.

You know, objectivity requires that you lay out the facts.

Here's what was happening in El Salvador.

Here's what these two women were going through.

You know, I don't see that as particularly problematic as a reporter.

I mean, we're trained to do that.

As a poet -- that distance doesn't really apply anymore.

As a poet, I can throw my whole heart into -- writing about the plight of people who are suffering and so in that sense, poetry can kind of -- collapse into activism.

It becomes something else.

And that's why so many poets throughout the world and particularly in Latin America, have -- played a role, as witnesses to injustice and also as inspiration, as a call to resist injustice.

>>Faith: Yeah, and poetry is so effective for that, right?

The line, “it's impossible to raise a child in that country” appears twice in the poem.

Why was it so important for you to emphasize that?

>>Martinez: Yeah, I think -- I think what came to me, I mean, you know, you kind of write poetry in a trance.

You don't necessarily map out what you're going to -- you know, include in each stanza.

But, you know, it's impossible to raise a child in that country.

I think that was the bottom line for, you know, these women who were fleeing, El Salvador, they were fleeing a country where a tiny percentage of people own most of the land where people were fleeing death squads, and -- funded by the United States.

And so it was just important, I thought, that the poem emphasize the nature of the suffering of these women.

And in that sense, every refugee who is fleeing danger.

>>Faith: The title, Nativity for two Salvadoran Women Why did you give the poem that title?

>>Martinez: Well, I'm Catholic, and so, Catholic metaphors and so forth, Scripture, etc.

kind of second nature to me.

And the women were both pregnant and due to give birth in December.

So, that's how I conjured up the name.

The other thing I loved about the Sanctuary Movement, which is still, in its own way, going on, is that it was very much rooted in Scripture, “you were once strangers in the land of Egypt, therefore you must welcome the stranger.” “Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” I mean, it's all there, and I'm really -- excited to see so many faith-based people, who are now on the frontline of opposing what's going on in this country with ICE.

>>Faith: So how did the trial affect you, as a writer and an activist?

>>Martinez: It was very traumatic.

I was facing a potential 25 years in prison.

I don't think I would have gotten that.

I think it would have been more like you can't leave the country for 15 years or something.

But it did traumatize me.

But God gave me this opportunity, if you will, to go around the country speaking at colleges and so forth, about, what was happening in Central America, U.S.

complicity you know it, etcetera, etcetera.

What happened after my trial, too, is that I was inspired to write a novel called, Mother Tongue, which has been translated into a number of languages.

And it set in the Sanctuary Movement, in New Mexico.

And so this became another kind of educational tool, if you will, for people who wanted to know about, you know, what was going on during that period, especially now because so many people, you included, you know, weren't born [Laughs] yet.

You know, you weren't born at the time of -- the Sanctuary Movement and all the other aspects that were part of that.

>>Faith: What advice would you give to poets and writers now that are writing about these issues?

>>Martinez: Well, my book, which is I co-authored with the poet, Susan Sherman.

I think the book and our journey as poets is really rooted in a common belief that poetry is an act of of resistance.

I hope our work inspires people to move beyond despair, cynicism, paralysis, to be able to act.

In that sense, poetry is also, spiritual practice.

We undertake it to nourish our souls and spirits.

As you know, as activists, as poets.

And I would say to activists and poets, you know, read, read poetry, write it, keep a journal, stay connected to what's going on inside because of what's going on out there is really scary.

And it would be easy to just throw up your hands.

We're in a situation now that's life or death for a lot of people.

And I'm only focusing on one issue that's immigration.

But there are people who are, you know, being deported to Uganda, El Salvador, you know, God knows where.

You know, there are people losing their medication for AIDS, you know, in -- to fight AIDS in Africa.

There's people here, you know, suddenly losing jobs are federal workers are servants.

I mean, these are truly, truly -- I'm repeating myself, dangerous times.

It is a matter of life and death, what we're living through.

And we need to rise to the occasion.

A CALLING OF MAGIC [Kids singing] Get up.

[Kids singing] Get out, [Kids singing] and get outside.

[Griffin singing] Outside my door.

[Griffin singing] There's a world of adventure.

[Griffin singing] So many tiny wonders [Griffin singing] to see and feel.

>>Zents: It was really important that the first song specifically be a real -- just get up off the couch and get out there and enjoy what's happening in nature every day.

If you don't get out there, you're missing out.

[Singing] The power of nature is real.

>>Callahan: The Baton Environmental Education Initiative, is WHRO's Project, funded by Jane Batten, a local philanthropist, to create a number of educational products related to the environment including segments like Greenbeats.

[Kids singing] Get Up, Get Out and Get Outside.

[Singing] Aim for bottles and cans.

>> Zents: Everything from recycling, minimizing the use of straws.

[Singing] and skip the straw >>Zents: Taking care of cleaning up after your dogs.

[Singing] You know you've got to [Singing] scoop that poop.

>>Zents: When you're writing an educational song.

It's a slightly different creative process.

It's as important that your language is not as poetic, but more a straightforward, spelled out way that kids can digest and understand.

[Kids singing] Get up, get out and get outside.

>>Zents: Educational, engaging, singable, and fun.

That's how you deliver a message through music for kids.

You have to make it fun.

[Griffin singing] The magic will pass me by.

[Zents singing] Out there where it's cozy -- >>Zents: If I'm going to write a song about “Get Outside” and make it authentic, then I need to get outside and just sit down and listen for the symphony of nature and figure out, like what -- what are those things?

One of the reasons to have an instrument along with me is just so that if I'm getting ideas for lines, I can see whether or not the line will fit.

Once I have a sufficient personal demo in place, then I send it to my very favorite engineer and producer in the area, Jackie Paolella, with Tap Tap Recordings >>Paolella: This guy actually had a few things going on the song already, so, once we get our scratch track down, usually we've got some bass.

Maybe we have some keys.

The song is already there.

I feel like sometimes I get to come in on the fun part, which is to kind of like decorate it and make it pretty.

Every instrument kind of has its own little vibe.

>>Zents: We invited BJ Griffin to be a part of the project.

He's got an amazing voice, ridiculous skills on the cello.

The song needed to be very vibrant, catchy and engaging.

BJ's voice was perfect for that.

>>Griffin: I was really excited to be a part of a project that brought music and kind of a call-to-action to bring kids outside.

That's my dream, is to use my music to affect people.

And once I heard the song and it was kind of sultry and had some really cool harmonies and it -- I just knew it was for me and all magic from there.

[Griffin singing] Out there with the blooms [Griffin singing] and the bugs and the smells [Griffin singing] and the sounds of this world [Griffin singing] that we love [Griffin singing] out there where it's cozy and green.

[Griffin singing] The magic is calling me.

>>Paolella: BJ, how's your mix, do you need anything -- >>Griffin: Oh, yeah -- >>Paolella: Louder or softer -- >>Zents: Jackie, she's usually at the helm and cross fading things, figuring out what pieces we need to do over.

>>Paolella: Just weeding out little errors or being like, can we listen to it again, take this out, put that back in, and let's move this around.

>>Griffin: It's pretty nerve wracking sometimes, but it was really nice to have Skye and Jackie out here.

It's really important to be open to collaboration.

[Kids singing] Get up, get out.

>>Paolella: Having kids in the studio is different.

>>Zents: Having their voices be apart is going to help encourage that kid listening, “Oh, this is where I'm supposed to sing.” [Kids singing] Magic is calling me.

>>Paolella: We try to let them, kind of, riff a little bit and just like, have fun kind of walk into it on their own.

>>Zents: Writing for education is one thing, but then when you know that you're writing a song that is also going to be animated, things need to pop out that will then inspire the animator and create things that happen visually on the screen that kind of get triggered by these lyrics.

[Upbeat music] >>Nishimoto: Even while Skye is working on the song, she'll send me drafts of the lyrics and I'll look them over and explore the possibilities of what story can be accompanied with that song.

My role is really to make it pretty and fun.

[Upbeat music] The way BJ sings this song, there's so much soul to it that I really felt there needs to be a character first thing that I see, aside from a bird, when I step outside, are squirrels.

I really wanted him to be BJ.

Great smile, great facial expressions.

And that hair -- animator's dream.

>>Griffin: This is my first time being animated, I believe, and I know we might have to change it to blond now, right?

[Laughs] >>Nishimoto: Animation is in a way, a form of acting.

You're not just taking an inanimate object and making it move, but you're making it come alive.

[Upbeat music] I like to change up where I work -- coffee shops, they're just good places to draw.

Sketching them out.

[Upbeat music] Once I have a full storyboard, I'll edit them into what's called an animatic, a shot by shot layout to show the producers what the concept is and they can ask for whatever changes.

So once that gets approved, then I'll start animating.

[Upbeat music] >>Zents: At some point, he sends me a first demo, like a very rough cut of a video idea.

Jackie and I can pull that up on screen in studio and start seeing -- Okay, at this point in the video he's got three little drops of water we should create a sound with like, with a bell sound that actually sound like [Boing, boing, boing] [Chimes and Griffin singing] I can help make the flowers grow >>Paolella: Kind of neat to be able to actually tailor the music a little bit to some of the video.

>>Zents: The producer of the whole project will then add sound effects.

[Producer speaking] Definitely on his feet.

[Producer speaking] It also adds a little -- >>Zents: It really is such a collaborative experience.

It's very quilt like.

I bring the flavor of my song, the vocalist brings the flavor of their voice, and then the engineer brings the flavor of her vision.

The animator creates characters, and the producer of the project adds in extra sweetening to make this whole project that hopefully kids feel really excited and inspired by.

>>Callahan: The best way to create really strong environmental stewards of the future is to instill good environmental habits.

Early.

>>Griffin: It was such a cool environment.

I knew it was going to turn out really well.

>>Paolella: We have some kind of mind-meld going where we get a lot of stuff done and we have a lot of fun.

>>Nishimoto: We all watch the final piece and take a breath.

[Laughs] >>Zents: The natural, organic effervescence that everyone has for the project is so contagious and exciting.

It's impossible not to walk away from a day of work on this project and not feel like you're actually making a positive impact on the world.

[Griffin singing] The magic is calling me.

The Award Winning Arts and Culture series, Colores is now available on the PBS app, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and at NMPBS.org From classic episodes to brand new shows Colores is everywhere!

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Funding for Colores was provided in part by: New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation New Mexico Arts a Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts and Viewers like You