By Claudia Guzmán and Mirna Borrego
We like visualizing a ship to describe our experience in the 3rd Bird Festival of the past Saturday, December 9 of 2017, in La Chorera, San Quintin. And like any other boat trip, to fulfil its purpose we need two elements: destination and crew.
DESTINATION
The community La Chorera in San Quintin was our event location, this magical place privileged by nature whose inhabitants live together with migratory shorebirds on a daily basis, this is where we offered the Bird Festival for the third time.
Setting a destination help us a lot to not feel adrift and to not lose sight of our objectives, that will give us the strength to create an unforgettable festival and that would accomplish the task of connecting us with the natural that is the beauty and complexity of birds that live and visit the San Quintin Bay.
Before arriving to our destination, like any other explorer, we announced the trip. Before the festival, we went from door to door to invite different schools, community groups and families, so they will join us at the festival to celebrate, learn, and see birds from other perspective. A celebration where the main attraction is thanking the chance of living in such a privileged place and to express our interest and compromise to protect what belongs to all of us.
THE CREW
It was a short but intense ride. Two months of preparation, where new faces and proposals appeared. We introduce you the crew that made the 3rd Bird Festival possible:
- Antonio and Nichelle from the duet Sur y Norte Moviendo el Son. Like a heat wave, they brought the happiness to the festival to the rhythm of “¿Qué pajarito es aquel que canta en aquella lima, que canta en aquella lima ¿qué pajarito es aquel”. These rhymes talked about the relationship of man and nature, the beauty of birds, the sea, and the celebration of life, the festivities and joy. Before the farewell, with open wings and ready to fly Antonio and Nichelle sang “Se mira una mancha negra en medio del mar profundo, se está muriendo la tierra, vamos destruyendo al mundo”.
- Ernesto Salmerón and Damián Martínez from the organization Contacto Salvaje. Their performance has become a tradition in our Bird Festivals and this time they presented an informative stand and a brilliant exhibition with more than six birds of prey that captivated the feelings and hearts of all attendants.
- Ixchel López from Escuela de la Madre Tierra. The female wisdom made itself noticeable with the proposal of a wall of biodegradable products and medicinal plants. Without a doubt, this stand brought a holistic view of conservation to the festival.
- Vicente Rodríguez from CONABIO. Are birds really dinosaurs? Citizen science? We learned this and a lot of other discoveries after the very interesting lecture of “Birds in Mexico and my community”.
- Telesecundaria #59. Eight pairs of eyes showing the beauty that surrounds us were part of the photographic exhibition named “The privileges of my community”, this was the result of the art class held in the Telesecundaria #59 at La Chorera by the teacher Lamberto Hernández.
- Darlene Boza and Paúl Marrón from Nu Haus. This couple of creative people offered an embroidery workshop, and the clock stopped ticking. Without a doubt, art heals, shapes and gives things a new meaning. Darlene is an expert on needlework who guided 30 people for four hours, all the participants went deeper into the world of conservation but with arrows, tread and needle.
- Lulú González, representative of Cuenta con Nosotros and Lectura en Espiral. Moving full speed ahead, our imagination and tailwind for a smooth trip with the story of Yanka Yanka. Shy but curious, child by child, teenagers and some adults came closer with a smile on their faces. A narration that took us to the South Pole and to learn more about the emperor penguin and its habitat. At the end of the day, Lulú bid farewell by reading the tale My beautiful birds, a deep and touching story about a refugee child and his bird friends that helped him to face difficult times.
- Dual Hem from Ortiz Guevara Institute. A white wall has become a royal tern full of color, with the gaze fixed on the horizon but kind enough to coexist with those around. More than a painted wall, we hope that it becomes a symbol of identity to the communities and for the more of thirty students that participated on this painting with Dual, that it is now part of the school at La Chorera.
- Louise Aceves and Enah Fonseca. For this artistic expression, we had the help of our dear friend Louise, she is an illustrator that managed to inspire the participants to create wings in a tiny space no bigger than 9×9 feet where a rain or color, brushes and details took place. After finishing their wings, the children took off and flew at the festival.
- Lupe, Ceci, Yenny, Judith, Johanna and Erik are the names of our volunteers, our eyes, our hands, our ears. Once again, thank you all for your energy, time and commitment.
- Olga, Guti, Mary, Gris, Bertha, Mariela, Alejandra, Aracely, Irene and Marcos. The communities of La Chorera and Chapala gave the festival flavor with their local meals prepared with fresh seafood. More than one will not be able to forget the taste of the fish tacos, seafood stew, ceviche, clams au gratin and oysters, but overall the warmth with which they attended children, teens and adults on lines that seemed to never end.
STAFF MEMBERS OF TERRA PENINSULAR
We consider that the 3rd Bird Festival was a success, largely thanks to teamwork: from the welcome and registration, the previous organization, the support of our park rangers, the informative stand, the photos and videos, the advertising, the discovering of our master of ceremonies, the bird watching tours, the bird marathon, and the colleagues that supports us from the office. Each and every one contributed to make this event a reality.
The crew was completed with the arriving of the 300 attendants that joined us. We saw whole families, neighbors, students and teachers of CBTA, CETMAR, UABC, Oasis After School Program, Jaime Torres Bodet elementary school, Telesecundaria #59 and friends that traveled from Ensenada.
We have reached the moment to go back home and get ready for the fourth trip. With more activities, more experiences and more people that want to join the crew. All that is left is to keep the course and speed. See you next year!
