From the residents of the neighborhood of San Juan Bautista in the town of Santiago Laxopa in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca:

 

The small adobe building in our neighborhood where 33 students currently receive musical instruction is in great need of repair. The physical deterioration has been caused by weather, natural causes such as the recent earthquakes which gravely affected the walls, and the fact that the building is quite old. We worry forthe safety of our children and the young people who gather there daily in order to receive their musical education, and this has forced us to begin construction of a new, safer site for our classes.

 

We are blessed to have a teacher who is keeping our music alive in our beloved Laxopa: Daniel Bautista Zavala, a graduate of the Centro de Integración Social (CIS) #8, who has been teaching our youth the wonderful language of music for the past 3 years.

 

The children’s parents and other community members have been volunteering their labor, and we are using our natural resources such as stone and sand, but there are materials that we have to buy and that is our great challenge; since, as you likely know, the town does not generate any money. For this reason, we are writing to you to ask if you are able to help us with a donation. No matter how small, it will be of great help to us.

 

You will receive a receipt for your donation and a breakdown of all the donations received and how the funds were allocated. We invite you to visit our page where you can see the progress our students are making in their musical education. You can also see some photographs below of the work our parents and volunteers have accomplished so far on the construction.

 

We thank you for taking the time to read this and appreciate your support. Your kindness will help us continue to work with our young community members, who during this time of a universal pandemic have found refuge in music.

 

--

 

Who is Maya?

 

I am a PhD student in linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Along with other students and faculty from my department, I have been working with community members from Santiago Laxopa to record and study Santiago Laxopa Zapotec. I am also a musician who believes that music education is extremely important for young people. I have volunteered to manage this GoFundMe, but I will send all funds directly to Maestra Fe Silva-Robles who will make sure they get to the construction project.