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Sunday, March 25, 2007

Word of Fire by Santiago Sierra

"Word of Fire" is the new project by artist Santiago Sierra. It will be made in a space of around 1500 cubic meters in a field located in ANAPRA, at the western end of the city, and only a few meters away from the U.S. border. This is the area considered in the plans for building a wall which will definitely isolate the First World from the Third. This territory is the point where the states of Chihuahua, New Mexico, and Texas meet, and therefore, the plans for this area also contemplate building an international crossing to New Mexico.

The port of ANAPRA was one of the first and largest irregular settlements in the outskirts of Juarez. It was created back in 1974, when a group of persons guided by teachers invaded an area of around 50 acres. Ever since, the neighbors have struggled to get public services such as electricity, water and paved streets. Nowadays, they don't have a sewer system and families still have to be allocated. Life in this worker's neighborhood has been marked by disintegrating families and very low incomes. A big part of its population consists of immigrants from several parts of Mexico that go there in order to work at the maquilas (assembly plants) or as street vendors. This area is also famous because of the forced interventions by American police forces in Mexican soil, which cross the border to arrest alleged criminals and for the cases of blood poisoning of children with the lead produced by the smelting procedures of the American company ASARCO. According to the health authorities from Cd. Juarez, the population of this zone presents the highest rates of malformations, of anencephaly, and of respiratory diseases in the city's population.

The work "Word of Fire" will take place in this representative area of the city, in front of the Sporting Center which is being built by the State Government and next to a ditch which was broken during the heavy rains of the summer, which left many people homeless and proved the lack of urban infrastructure in the West End of the city.

"Word of Fire" will have a duration of 30 minutes and will be transmitted live from the artist's website (www.santiago-sierra.com) and from www.proyectojuarez.org.

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