by Mari Gomez

After publishing their 15^th issue on July, 26^th 2009, Border Senses literary magazine continues to be involved in the encouragement and promotion of the literary arts in El Paso.

Established as a nonprofit organization about fifteen years ago, Border Senses takes submissions of poetry, fiction, and visual art both in Spanish and in English, compiling a vast array of work into a tightly woven collection of local artistic expression.  It often deals with border issues and culture through the voices of the people that live it.  The writing and the art work convey the political and social atmosphere of the El Paso/Juarez area.

The magazine usually features local writers, but submissions are accepted nationwide and internationally. Last year, Border Senses worked to get writers such as the well known Chicano writer, Juan Felipe Herrera, Eileen Myles, the native Bostonian and New York poet, and Lila Zemborain, the Argentine poet among many others.

Border Senses also collaborates with the Central Community Program of El Paso Community College to put together a unique collection of poetry and prose written solely by migrant workers in the United States called Memorias del Silencio (Memories of Silence).

“The first book made it clear just how important it is to bring awareness to the condition of migrant workers, as well as the relevance of offering them new academic opportunities,” said Minerva Laveaga, editor of Memorias del Silencio.

Memorias del Silencio will be releasing their 5^th issue, entitled “Footprints of the Borderland,” on September 24^th, 2009 at the El Paso Museum of Art from 6-8 p.m.

The night will feature a production of the play “Silencio No Mas,” written and directed by Elvira Carrizal-Dukes, a graduate of Colombia Institute of Art in New York that came to El Paso in 2007. This is the second year the play has been performed at a release party of the magazine.

“The play has been instrumental in expanding the voices of the migrant workers to a wider audience,” Laveaga said. “It is an exceptional piece of art that helps our communities get closer to the understanding of the complex condition of migrant farm workers in the United States.”

Memorias del Silencio’s objective is to allow migrant workers to create their own space of self expression. The project encourages migrant workers to write their own stories.

“Unfortunately, those who cross the border to work in the fields are more often spectators rather than actors in the writing of their own stories,” Laveaga said.  “From their marginalized corner in society, they read their stories written by others, listen to the echoes of their own voices sung by others.”

Laveaga said there has not been a lack of writing about migrant workers, but they have all been from outside sources.

“In spite of all the attempts, the concept of what a migrant farm worker is, is an incomplete concept, in terms of the true understanding of it by the general population,” Laveaga said.

*Visit Memorias del Silencio’s site, www.memorias.bordersenses.com, to find more information about Memorias del Silencio and the upcoming event.

*Visit Border Senses’ website (www.bordersense.com) for upcoming events, readings, and the opening for submissions for the 16^th issue of the journal which should be coming up this fall.