Storytellers share tales about border with Mexico
President Trump’s promise fueled an unprecedented election: We will build the wall.
Suddenly, questions long-discussed in Texas and the Southwest, were getting national attention: Could a wall, not just a fence, really be built? What would it accomplish? What would be gained? What would be lost?
To help you understand the answers, we are hosting a night of true, first-person storytelling at 7 p.m. Tuesday at First Studio in downtown Phoenix. This night is not about politics, but rather it’s about personal, lived experiences.
The Phoenix show is one of three across the Southwest produced by the USA TODAY NETWORK, all of them focused on intimacy and authenticity. This event will bring out stories from people in the Valley with compelling insights into the region’s relationship to the border and Mexico.
These are the unexpected stories — some charming, some harrowing, some funny — from the men and women of the Southwest, the ones who make our community distinct, and who have insights worth sharing to help us all better understand what is at stake in the conversation around the border wall.
We will hear from playwright and New Carpa Theater Company founder James Garcia, Republic reporters Laura Gomez-Rodriguez and Rafael Carranza, Colibri Center for Human Rights co-founder Robin Reineke and retired Army Colonel Rob White.
This night of live storytelling is part of a larger series of stories, videos and interactive experiences being produced by the USA TODAY NETWORK. This summer, journalists from California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas set out on a massive reporting project. We examined every foot of the U.S.-Mexico border — that’s nearly 2,000 miles — in a single journey, by foot, car and helicopter.
Reporters met the people along the border and brought back sometimessurprising and always-heartfelt stories about their lives and how the wall might change things.
The result is “The Wall,” journalism that presents the border in a rarely seen, intimate way. It includes more than a dozen documentary videos, an interactive border map, even a virtual reality experience.
The idea of a wall is controversial, divisive. But we’re not here to take sides. We’re here to help you understand how such a structure could affect all of us, whether we live close to the border, or on the other side of the country.
That’s why we’re proud to present the stories you’ll hear as part of this show. The people on stage are here to share insights about working and living on the border, and about caring for the people affected by the issues caused by it. They share these stories to invite you to think, to ask questions and to see the world through another’s eyes.
We hope you find something new, here and when you visit thewall.usatoday.com.
Details: Doors at 6, show at 7 p.m. Tuesday. First Studio at 631 N 1st Ave., Phoenix. $5 and $10 at tickets.usato day.com.
Megan Finnerty is director of the USA TODAY NETWORK Storytellers Project. She can be reached at megan.finnerty@gannett.com.