Todos Agua III ~ Water Calls Us to Remember

From March 21–28, we gather in San Antonio, Texas, for conversations where art, memory, and water justice meet. Elders, artists, organizers, and community voices come together through dialogue, song, and reflection to honor water as life and shared responsibility.This year’s gathering includes:

• Community conversations on Texas waters
• Ancestral perspectives on water shared by elders and community leaders rooted in their lands
• Song and poesía offerings
• Online dialogues and workshops
• A closing gathering by the river with plant walks, writing, and collective song

Locations:

• Esperanza Peace & Justice Center
• Brackenridge Park (Joske Pavilion)
• Online gatherings

Day 1 – Water, Territory and Memory Opening Gathering and Community Forum Saturday, March 21, 6-9 PM Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

We begin by standing within the history of waters in Texas, the springs that sustained Indigenous peoples and early communities, the urbanization that redirected them, and the environmental battles that continue today. From the ancient springs of this region to present struggles over aquifers and industrial expansion, we ask how water carries memory of land, displacement, race, and resistance. The evening features a conversation with Juan Mancias, Tribal Chair of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, and Christopher Basaldú, PhD., tribal member and co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, whose combined decades of work defending sacred sites and waterways in South Texas ground this dialogue in the living realities of this region.

The gathering unfolds through an activist talk, community dialogue, and concludes with canto/poesia offering a closing reflection.

Day 2 – Water, Urbanization and Environmental Justice Community Forum on Environmental Justice Sunday, March 22, 3-6 PM Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

We continue by confronting how drought, privatization, contamination, and unchecked development reshape access to water across Texas. Working-class communities and communities of color often face the first and deepest impacts. This gathering brings focus to the rapid expansion of large-scale data centers and industrial development, and their strain on regional water systems. We are joined by members of the Data Center Action Coalition, a community-based group in San Marcos organizing to protect water, land, and people. Locally and across the region, DC/AC works to build a broad and diverse movement defending the right of communities to decide their own future. The afternoon unfolds through activist reflection, moderated dialogue, and closes with a canto/poesía offering.

Day 3 – Imox: Water, Oceanic Mind and Vision Online Dialogue Tuesday, March 24, 7 PM Via Zoom In the Mayan calendar, water is reflected through the energy of Imox, the oceanic mind, intuition, and the world of dreams. Through dialogue, we explore water not merely as a resource but as origin, movement, and living presence, reflecting on what it teaches about memory, adaptation, and clarity in times of collective pressure featuring Tata Kajkan Felipe Mejia Sepet, and Excy Guardado.

Day 4 – Vivir Cantando II Workshop & Plática with Julián Herreros Rivera Thursday, March 26, 7 PM Via Zoom Vivir Cantando returns as an invitation to explore singing not only as art but also as a relationship to territory and community. Through reflective conversation, we consider how song carries memory, builds presence, and strengthens our capacity to listen deeply to ourselves and one another.

Day 5 – Song, Memory & Living Water Online Concert with Julián Herreros Rivera Friday, March 27, 7 PM Via Zoom An evening of traditional and contemporary song rooted in territory, memory, and ancestral lineage. Through music that honors living waters and cultural continuity, we gather across distances to listen, reflect, and reconnect with the currents that sustain collective life.

Day 6 – Returning to the Water Closing Ceremony and Outdoor Gathering Saturday, March 28, 11 AM Brackenridge Park’s Joske Pavilion We gather on the land to close the week in relationship. A guided walk invites us to learn about local plants and Coahuiltecan–Pakahua traditions of this region. Through writing, chant, and embodied reflection, we offer back what we have learned. The gathering concludes in a collective movement by the river with danzantes.

Artwork by: @redsbodyart Design by: Carmen Vidal

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