Eye on Texas: Fiesta Protesta

The Voices From Both Sides festival commemorates the 2002 closure of the border crossing between Lajitas and its Mexican sister city, Paso Lajitas.

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A version of this story ran in the August 2018 issue.

Jennifer Boomer

In May, I traveled to Lajitas to document the sixth annual Voices From Both Sides festival (also called Fiesta Protesta). The daylong event commemorates the 2002 closure of the border crossing between Lajitas and its Mexican sister city, Paso Lajitas, as well as serving as a kind of binational family reunion. More than 1,000 people cooled off in the Rio Grande, gathered for a picnic lunch and took in music and ballet folklórico performances.

Jennifer Boomer

 

Jennifer Boomer

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