The Rally, Sat 11/17/01

The week leading up to the protest the scenario kept changing because the city was trying to block it and the SOA Watch was suing for the right to march. On the Friday before, the same judge that had previously sentenced 26 SOA Watch protesters to prison, ruled that the city had no right to block the protest and that it would be permitted. It was a pretty amazing ruling. I think that an awful lot of people were going to march anyway.

Saturday ended up being a rally that took place in a baseball stadium. Everyone's bags were searched coming into the stadium and afterwards I saw police snipers coming down from cherry pickers. Yeesh.

Hundreds of volunteers were trained to participate in the pageant right before it happened. They were taught cues, sounds and movements. The weather was gorgeous - warm and sunny.

The Story of the Quetzel

The Quetzel is a mythical bird of Guatemala. The legend is that the Quetzel had lost its voice due to the oppression of the people, but one day the people would be liberated and the Quetzel would sing again. The performance begins with two stiltwalker birds dancing - one plays the accordian. They are beautiful. A spoken word piece is read about the Quetzel.

There is a terrible sound and the "System" Dragon emerges followed by the corporate suits. Painted on the dragon are the words "Top Down Power System", "Terror", "Violence". The dragon and the suits are confronted by groups of workers and families. Suits demand profits and the families demand food, justice and liberation. The suits solve this problem by introducing a cardboard building with the letters SOA. From behind the SOA come military personnel who drop a painted fabric "wall of terror" which causes the families to perish. The suits say "ha ha ha" and shake hands. The military personel retreat and the school flips around and the words "CIA Terror Training" are revealed. The wall of terror re-emerges - puppets representing the WTC and more people perish. Players approach the audience and ask, "IS ANOTHER WORLD POSSIBLE?" And of course the audience gives a passionate YES!

Large liberation movement puppets emerge singing. They represented Liberation Farm Workers, RAWA, Mothers of the Disappeared, Zapatistas and many others. They resurrect the dead families and a chant ensues "Close Down the SOA, We Don't Need it Anyway". Red and blue freedom birds on tall bamboo poles swoop in and circle the spectacle, throwing a blue tarp (representing water from the tears of victims) over the system dragon. The corporate powers flee. Finally, the second large puppet enters, a giant Quetzel bird with the words peace, liberation & justice on its head and "Another world is possible" on its chest. The whole pageant sings "we are rising up and our spirits are on fire, brothers and sisters spread your wings and fly higher".

I had seen the pageant rehearsed several times, but I was really shocked by the power of it when presented in front of an audience. I was almost crying several times throught the performance. You may be thinking that that's no big feat, to make me cry... but a couple of other puppetistas who were observing said that they had the same experience.

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