Recently, I transitioned to the role of Executive Director at RuralOrganizing.org. One of the first projects we’re working on is challenging media stereotypes about rural Americans. A huge piece of this work is making sure undocumented folks in rural America get recognized for their valued places in our families and communities.

So, we’re working with Che Apalache, a bluegrass band with strong ties to North Carolina, Mexico, and South America, and Moisés Serrano, an openly undocumented and queer DACA recipient and rural community leader from North Carolina.

Che Apalache and Moisés Serrano recently collaborated on a beautiful music video highlighting undocumented youth in rural America. We’re helping to make sure their video makes a big splash on social media this week.

Matt Hildreth hildreth.matt@gmail.com

We’re holding a launch party on November 11, 2019 in Sioux Center, Iowa. Join us for some free pizza and a short reception between 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM.

The concert—featuring Che Apalache and The Ruralists—starts at 6 PM and will go until 8 PM or so.

This is a FREE event but registration is required because space is limited. https://www.actionnetwork.org/events/ruralorganizingorg-launch-party

This Bluegrass Music Video Highlights the Struggle of Rural Undocumented Youth

Che Apalache is a bluegrass band that knows what rural America is all about.

The band, featuring three powerhouse Latin American musicians (Franco Martino on guitar and Martin Bobrik on mandolin are from Argentina. Banjoist, Pau Barjau, is from Mexico.) and North Carolina native, Joe Troop, looks more like the true rural America than the simple cliches too often portrayed in the media.

Their most recent single from their latest album, “Rearrange My Heart,” (produced by famed banjo player and cross-genre trailblazer Béla Fleck) features the story of Moisés Serrano, an openly undocumented and queer DACA recipient and community leader from North Carolina and weaves in elements of true stories of undocumented families in across the state who have been torn apart by deportation.

Since coming out as undocumented in 2010, Serrano has relentlessly pursued equality for his community through the sharing of his story. His advocacy has been filmed in the feature length documentary, Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America.

Serrano wrote the script and crafted the story for the music video based on real life experiences. The video was shot in and around Hillsborough, North Carolina.

“The song, “The Dreamer”, is for the over one million undocumented youth and DACA recipients who have had to grow up learning how to live and love in a country that is actively trying to deport them,” Serrano said. “The music video, The Dreamer is for the millions of undocumented and immigrant families affected by our racist immigration laws.”

http://ruralorganizing.org/blog/bluegrass-music-video-highlights-struggle-rural-undocumented-youth