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For the caged bird, for the fish in the pond, for my friend in prison for saying what he thinks, for the flowers that have been pulled up, for the plants that have been stepped on, for the pruned trees, for the tortured bodies…I name you, liberty. 

Thousands of ants make a tunnel. They mine gold and silver. Then the fly comes and takes possession of it. Thousands of ants build a train. They build bridges and lay a rail.

Like immigrants of the past, we are still building this powerful nation with our sweat and our tears.

In the year of 1960, our union is born. Even when we receive threats while organizing the masses of urban and farm workers, we face our destiny.

I always try to measure the extent to which people’s hearts are broken every day. 

Listen to our petition. We all have a heart. We are oppressed, and humiliated in this nation. 

Washington Fruit is a powerful company that doesn’t respect rights, not even of night and day. 

Workers of the united class, we have entered into serious commitments: to liberate the oppressed and struggling people, and the vast homeland of Latin America.

I’ll sing you the story of a brave man who goes by the name of Pedro. The tyrants that terrorize the town are scared of Don Pedro, and their henchmen say he has magical powers. Pedro Animales. 

Music has been part of every liberation movement throughout history. You know the songs—“We Shall Overcome.” “De Colores.” “Joe Hill.” The songs on this CD are labor and immigration songs, written by workers in the Mexican and U.S. low-wage labor movements. They tell the stories of factory workers and immigrants - stories of strength, courage, and resistance. These are the voices of our movement, and Our Voices Will Rise For Justice.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. 1980. Betty Robles, a young factory worker, is forbidden from talking on the job. Nevertheless, she organizes a victorious wildcat strike by singing labor songs to her co-workers in the factory, the maquiladora. Today, still singing, Betty is the leader of the maquiladora workers’ movement in Coahuila, Mexico, and is the inspiration for this CD.

Ciudad Aguilares, El Salvador. 1977. Jesús (Lolo) Rivas, a rural campesino and young musician, commits his life and music to the struggles of the working poor. In 1983 he joins the seminal nueva cancion (new song) band Cutumay Camones, tours internationally, and records four albums. In 1990 Lolo immigrates to Los Angeles and begins work as a day laborer. He cofounds the popular day laborer band Los Jornaleros Del Norte before moving to Portland, Oregon, where he composes and plays music and continues to participate in the movement for immigrant and worker rights.

Hemet Valley, California. 1965. Peter Cervantes-Gautschi becomes active in the labor movement as a young farm worker, working 15-hour days in the sun, picking marigold petals for a penny a pound. In 1997, still fighting for justice for low-wage workers, Peter brings together international labor organizers to found Enlace, a collaboration of U.S. and Mexican labor organizations that build trans-national campaigns to fight trans-national corporations. Enlace affiliates seek to change the balance of power between the rich and the working poor - in other words, to create a more just world. The songs on this CD, with the exception of Libertad, are written by and about Enlace’s affiliate organizations.

The Musicians

Jesús (Lolo) Rivas - acoustic guitar, bihuela, electric bass, guitarrón, ukulele, Venezuelan cuatro, vocals

Ramiro Alejo Bracamontes Ayala - acoustic guitar, electric bass, lead guitar, mandolin, ukulele, vocals

Michael Bard - quena, tenor sax

Reinhardt Melz - drums, percussion

Josh Millman - bihuela

Betty Robles - vocals

Carlos Segovia - acoustic guitar, vocals

Wayne Thompson - accordion, piano

The Artistic Team

Musical Director: Jesús (Lolo) Rivas

Recording and engineering: Michael Bard and Josh Millman, Newton Bard

Music and Sound Producers: Michael Bard and Josh Millman

Executive Producer and Project Director: Jenny Levison, Tango Meydl Productions

Graphic design and layout: Jeff Boyce Design

English translations: Sarah Marble and Jenny Levison

Music has been part of every liberation movement throughout history. You know the songs—“We Shall Overcome.” “De Colores.” “Joe Hill.” The songs on this CD are labor and immigration songs, written by workers in the Mexican and U.S. low-wage labor movements. They tell the stories of factory workers and immigrants - stories of strength, courage, and resistance. These are the voices of our movement, and Our Voices Will Rise For Justice.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. 1980. Betty Robles, a young factory worker, is forbidden from talking on the job. Nevertheless, she organizes a victorious wildcat strike by singing labor songs to her co-workers in the factory, the maquiladora. Today, still singing, Betty is the leader of the maquiladora workers’ movement in Coahuila, Mexico, and is the inspiration for this CD.

Ciudad Aguilares, El Salvador. 1977. Jesús (Lolo) Rivas, a rural campesino and young musician, commits his life and music to the struggles of the working poor. In 1983 he joins the seminal nueva cancion (new song) band Cutumay Camones, tours internationally, and records four albums. In 1990 Lolo immigrates to Los Angeles and begins work as a day laborer. He cofounds the popular day laborer band Los Jornaleros Del Norte before moving to Portland, Oregon, where he composes and plays music and continues to participate in the movement for immigrant and worker rights.

Hemet Valley, California. 1965. Peter Cervantes-Gautschi becomes active in the labor movement as a young farm worker, working 15-hour days in the sun, picking marigold petals for a penny a pound. In 1997, still fighting for justice for low-wage workers, Peter brings together international labor organizers to found Enlace, a collaboration of U.S. and Mexican labor organizations that build trans-national campaigns to fight trans-national corporations. Enlace affiliates seek to change the balance of power between the rich and the working poor - in other words, to create a more just world. The songs on this CD, with the exception of Libertad, are written by and about Enlace’s affiliate organizations.

Enlace is pleased to announce the release of a new CD—“Our Voices Will Rise for Justice/ Nuestras Voces Se Levantan Para La Justicia”. Written by low-wage workers in the U.S. and Mexico, the songs tell the stories of immigrants and factory workers, of day laborers and domestic workers, of workers in food processing plants and kitchens - they tell of courage, strength and resistance. Songs such as these are usually written to commemorate specific events or acts of courage; they are seldom recorded and are often lost to history.

01/24/03

Telling Betty Robles not to talk seems to have backfired. She began singing instead, and truly found her voice—not so much as a musician but as a labor organizer who understands the power of songs to unite workers in pursuit of better conditions and justice.