Buenas Dias from San Miguel! Today...today I was part of a meeting in which one of the most difficult subjects people can discuss was discussed. That would be money; how to get it, who to get it from, how to bedazzle people into parting with their money...how to prove that one's cause was worth reaching for the checkbook and on and on. Talking about money and involvement in what one is giving their money to is also cause for tension. In the conversations today I heard people express how people that have money in the community want to feel connected to projects they are giving money to but it's not clear what form that connection will take. I heard that different proposals appeal to different economic classes of people. I heard that an entire programs proposal and significance should try and be captured in three words on a card in order to reach the most people. Now granted, all of the people at the meeting really do want to help. They do believe in this program. It's just hard to hear so many voices sometimes. Big, big, big sigh here. The complexity of receiving money for a cause is far too extensive to discuss here but it is something that the leaders of Colectivo 41 are deeply concerned with. YES, they need money. But where is that money coming from? Are strings or expectations attached to the "gift" or "donation." Is recognition expected? There is also the question of the source. What if this incredibly worthy program is offered money from a corporation that does not practice fair labor for example? Being a part of this experience has brought to light themes that I have only given cursory thought to most of the time. What I am meditating on right now is the work involved. I, as well as all those that have access to media, am used to seeing what a project looks like when it has achieved recognition in the public eye. If it's a documentary for example, the audience might witness all the struggles, compassion, frustration, --cue music and montages of faces that wrench one's gut--edited and captured into a 90 minute reel. After the film is over, one is possibly left feeling a sense of victory or resolution if a particular struggle has been overcome. There appears to be a begining and an end. That can seem comforting. I am now just beginning to realize what kind of effort it takes to build and sustain a project such as Colectivo 41. gritty. knotted. patience. hours. hours. days. years. LAUGHING. Worth every moment. This morning the promotores and leaders of Colectivo 41 and I watched Milk. It was the first time I had seen it and despite the fact that I knew the story and that it was dubbed in Spanish (making it a bit more difficult to understand) I was clenched in a ball holding back every tear by the end. The struggle for equal rights. It is every day and every moment. What I looked to for comfort at the end of a challenging day was this reality- there have always existed human beings, thousands upon thousands, that have fought for equal rights. As long as they are needed, they will be here. And yes, we just need to work right now.