Un Canto por Africa: Charity with a Little Help from Reggae Steven P. Nichols Jr. - The News
go to original March 23, 2012

MEXICO CITY - In 2011 and 2012, droughts in the northern regions of Mexico and in Africa have devastated entire societies – the lack of rain in these areas has caused less than sufficient crop volumes and has led to the starvation of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people.

Governments do their part to help, mainly through aid distribution and vocational education programs, but at the end of the day, the biggest factor in these communities’ survival is not government aid, but private aid – donations from openhanded individuals from all around the world.

Unfortunately, in part due to the Great Recession, many people simply don’t have the money to donate to these causes and their efficacy suffers. Luckily, innovative individuals like Edgar Estrada, a producer at Panthertainment, a reggae music production company, have generated solutions to his problem.

The solution: music. Estrada, with the help of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Red Cross, have created the event “Un Canto por África,” an all-day long Reggae-music concert on Saturday, April 24, which will donate 100% of the proceeds to helping starving communities.

The idea for the concert, which will feature nine reggae artists from all around the world, including Andrew Tosh from Jamaica and Quique Neira from Chile, came about after the director of Panthertainment, Belinda González, became aware of the situation in the Horn of Africa, where, according to the UN, more than 13.3 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.

“She initially found about the situation after reading a report from the UN published in July of 2011,” Estrada said. “As a promoter of reggae music, naturally she and the foundation have a strong link with Africa, where the genre has its roots, and she felt an innate desire to help. As reggae musicians, we talk about Africa, we use their colors, we adopt their culture and now I think it’s time that we give something back.”

According to Estrada, the money collected from ticket sales at the concert won’t simply go to “handouts,” but will help the people of the region foment a more advanced system of agriculture that can withstand the effects of droughts like the one they are currently experiencing, the worst in over 50 years.

“The way in which the FAO distributes its aid is really an innovative concept,” Estrada said. “They don’t distribute food, like many humanitarian organizations do, but they help them to create more sustainable forms of agriculture and take advantage of the few natural resources that they have at their disposal. If there is no rain and the ground is not fertile, they will have other resources at their disposal such as water collection systems – without this help, if their crops aren’t productive, they don’t eat.”

According to Estrada, the event doesn’t just help the badly-hit areas of Africa, but also the Tarahumara people of the state of Chihuahua who have been severely affected by the relentless drought in northern Mexico and, because of their remote location, have not benefited from government aid as much as other communities.

“Our goal is to provide at least 10 tons of aid to the Tarahumara people, which would be enough to feed about 5,000 people,” Estrada said. “We want to show that Mexico is a country that generates partnerships with other countries, not matter whether they’re classified as first-world or third-world countries, to promote one simple cause: save lives.”

Estrada acknowledged the difficult economic times many Mexicans find themselves in, but said that the event’s organizers made every effort to ensure that the concert, was affordable and accessible to the most sectors of the population.

“We know that it is difficult (to pay this amount) for people living in Mexico City and other states in the country,” Estrada said. “The prices are actually very competitive, a ticket for just one show at another venue would cost at least twice as much, and with this concert you have the opportunity to see nine different bands from eight countries.”

Estrada added that since beginning work on the event in September of last year, Un Canto por África has received an outpouring of support from local and international communities.

“Every day we are finding more and more websites talking about Un Canto por África,” Estrada said. “Not only have we received support from countries including The Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, but we’ve also received feedback from people from states all around the country asking us why we’re not doing other similar events in their areas. Unfortunately, we can only concentrate on one goal right now, which is providing immediate help to these communities.”

He added that the event, which is free for children 12 and under, is not only for reggae-music enthusiasts, but appropriate for people of all ages and families.

“This is truly a family event,” Estrada said. “I don’t think there is anyone who could say that reggae is a violent musical genre¨ The event will be held at Alameda Poniente located in Santa Fe district of the city – pre-sale tickets can be purchased for 220 pesos at www.smarticket.com or for 250 pesos at the door. All event-goers are asked take at least two kilograms of rice, beans, corn, lentils or condensed milk.

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