Don Antonio Tizapa and don Miguelito in Randall's Island, June 2020. Photo by Erik Almeida
TU HIJO ES MI HIJO / YOUR SON IS MY SON
Running for Ayotzinapa 43
Opening: Saturday, September 12, 2020 @4:00 - 8:00pm.
Duration: September 5 - 30, 2020, by appointment only
TU HIJO ES MI HIJO / YOUR SON IS MY SON: Running for Ayotzinapa 43 Is a group show for and about Running for Ayotzinapa 43. It is an international community of athletes based in NYC and founded by Antonio Tizapa, father of Jorge Antonio Tizapa Legideño, one of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College. The members of the group run for truth and justice for the Ayotzinapa 43, for the tens of thousands of disappeared in Mexico, and to promote a dialogue and consciousness concerning human rights violations worldwide.
Photo/material contributions:
Alejandro Pérez
Ana Oropeza
Antonio Tizapa
Carlos Morales
Cruz Lopes
Daisy Bugarin
Erik Almeida
Erik Flores Pérez
Gustavo Martinez
Igor Moreno
Jackie Leduc
Juan Sandoval
Laura Alvarado
Marina Pérez
Marycarmen Montes
Nicky Enright
Pamela Subizar
PICA-High School students
Renee Reyes
Roselvia Vargas
Silvia García
Vicente Soriano
"In the face of such horror, in times when many others would have been incapacitated by grief, Mr. Antonio Tizapa instead chose life, sports and creating awareness through sports. He started running in representation of Ayotzinapa in the famous New York City Marathon, wearing a photograph of his missing son, and persuaded other runners to join his cause, Running for Ayotzinapa 43, to make the invisible visible during the biggest marathon in the world.
Photos of the marathon runners started spreading on social media. One by one, through his patience and persistence, Antonio started creating awareness among runners until solidarity became a habit, to the point where the Mexican flag became the Ayotzinapa flag: to run for students and for all the victims of Mexico's narco-government meant running for Mexico. Now, more than 400 athletes pound their hearts and their feet until the 43 are found and there is justice in our abused nation. Running for Ayotzinapa 43 is no longer a club or a group, but rather an international cry in the world of sports, for a life with justice and dignity."
— Malú Huacuja del Toro, New York, September 2020 - Six years after the forced disappearance of the students
— (Excerpt/translation to English by David Sweet-Cordero, from the original Spanish text by Malú Huacuja del Toro)
See full texts in English and in Spanish, below...
TU HIJO ES MI HIJO / YOUR SON IS MY SON: Running for Ayotzinapa 43
Mr. Antonio Tizapa, father of Jorge Antonio Tizapa Legideño, is the victim of the Mexican narco-government on two fronts: as an economic exile, due to the neoliberal policies imposed by the first Free Trade Agreement, which has caused the exodus of millions of Mexicans and benefited only a few big capitalists, like Carlos Slim; and as collateral damage from organized crime that has been sheltered by the government at every level of our victimized nation. In the first instance, -economic exile- he works hard in a country that is not his own, in order to be able to send money back to his family, burdened by the fact that his children have had to be raised in his absence, and all that that entails. In the second instance, he is the father of one of the 43 students training to become educators that were kidnapped and disappeared from Ayotzinapa on September 26, 2014, simply because they were traveling to Iguala on a bus that, unbeknownst to them, was carrying tons of heroin destined for their sale in the city of Chicago, all under the cover of the Mexican army.
To this day, the contemptible subhuman individuals who gave the order to have the students kidnapped in order to recover the stash and sell it in Chicago have yet to be punished. The only member of law enforcement that ended in jail, the mayor of the city of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, hasn't even been sentenced for this reason, but rather for having previously foretold and later committed the murder of social activist Arturo Hernández Cardona, along with his companions Félix Rafael Bander Román and Ángel Román Ramírez. In fact, Abarca may be released soon, which further extends the impunity that has persisted during the four years of the Enrique Peña Nieto regime and the two years of current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
In the face of such horror, in times when many others would have been incapacitated by grief, Mr. Antonio Tizapa instead chose life, sports and creating awareness through sports. He started running in representation of Ayotzinapa in the famous New York City Marathon, wearing a photograph of his missing son, and persuaded other runners to join his cause, Running for Ayotzinapa 43, to make the invisible visible during the biggest marathon in the world. Photos of the marathon runners started spreading on social media. One by one, through his patience and persistence, Antonio started creating awareness among runners until solidarity became a habit, to the point where the Mexican flag became the Ayotzinapa flag: to run for students and for all the victims of Mexico's narco-government meant running for Mexico. Now, more than 400 athletes pound their hearts and their feet until the 43 are found and there is justice in our abused nation. Running for Ayotzinapa 43 is no longer a club or a group, but rather an international cry in the world of sports, for a life with justice and dignity.
— Malú Huacuja del Toro (wiki, blog), New York, September 2020 - Six years after the forced disappearance of the students
(Translation to English by David Sweet-Cordero)
TU HIJO ES MI HIJO / YOUR SON IS MY SON: Running for Ayotzinapa 43
Don Antonio Tizapa, padre de Jorge Antonio Tizapa Legideño, es víctima del narcogobierno mexicano por doble partida: como expulsado económico tras las políticas neoliberales impuestas por el primer Tratado de Libre Comercio —que generaron el éxodo de millones de mexicanos y que beneficiaron sólo a los acaparadores del gran capital, como Carlos Slim—, y como uno de los "daños colaterales" del crimen organizado protegido por el gobierno a todos los niveles en nuestra martirizada nación. Como lo primero —exiliado económico—, trabaja duramente en un país que no es suyo para poder mandar dinero a sus familiares, teniendo que soportar el hecho de que sus hijos se hayan criado con su ausencia, no con su presencia, y todo lo que eso implica. Como lo segundo, es padre de uno de los 43 estudiantes normalistas de Ayotzinapa secuestrados y desaparecidos el 26 de septiembre de 2014 por haber viajado rumbo a la ciudad de Iguala en un camión que, sin ellos saberlo, escondía toneladas de heroína para su venta en la ciudad de Chicago, bajo el amparo, incluso, del Ejército Mexicano.
Hasta la fecha, no se ha castigado a los miserables subhumanos que dieron las órdenes de secuestrar a los estudiantes para rescatar su mercancía y venderla en Estados Unidos. La única autoridad responsable que fue a dar a la cárcel, el alcalde de la ciudad de Iguala, José Luis Abarca, ni siquiera sigue sentenciado por tal motivo, sino por una orden de asesinato cometido y anunciado anteriormente, que dio muerte al luchador social Arturo Hernández Cardona y a sus acompañantes Félix Rafael Bandera Román y Ángel Román Ramírez. Además, Abarca puede ser liberado pronto, lo que abona a la impunidad que se ha perpetuado durante cuatro años bajo el mandato de Enrique Peña Nieto y dos años de presidencia de Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Ante tanto horror, en momentos en los que tantos otros se habrían enfermado de tristeza, don Antonio Tizapa le apostó a la vida, al deporte y a la concientización a través del deporte. Empezó a correr por Ayotzinapa en el icónico maratón de la ciudad de Nueva York portando la fotografía de su hijo desaparecido, y a convencer a otros corredores de que se unieran a su causa Running for Ayotzinapa 43, para hacer visible lo invisible en el maratón más grande del mundo. Comenzaron a propagarse en redes las fotografías de los maratonistas. Uno a uno, con su paciente persistencia, don Antonio fue concientizando a los corredores hasta que la solidaridad se hizo costumbre, al grado en que la bandera de México se convirtió en la de Ayotzinapa. Correr por los estudiantes y por todas las víctimas del narcogobierno es correr por México. Ahora, son más de 400 los deportistas que ponen el corazón y los pies hasta encontrar a los 43 y que se haga justicia en nuestro sufrido país. Running for Ayotzinapa 43 ya no sólo es un club ni un grupo, sino un clamor internacional en el mundo del deporte, por una vida con justicia y dignidad.
— Malú Huacuja del Toro (wiki, blog), Nueva York, septiembre de 2020, a seis años de la desaparición forzada de los estudiantes
web: RunningforAyotzinapa43.com
Many thanks to Ronny Quevedo for the card design
Health Precautions
Guidelines will be enforced to ensure the health and safety of our visitors. Health and safety are important to us. To ensure that AAA3A can safely remain open, we require that all visitors follow certain guidelines.
- MASKS are REQUIRED. All visitors are required to wear a face covering upon entry. You will not be permitted inside AAA3A without a face covering or mask. Face coverings must be worn for the duration of your visit
- MY BEDROOM USED as COAT/BAG CHECK WILL BE CLOSED. No large bags will be allowed inside AAA3A
- MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING. Visitors should maintain a social distance of at least six feet from others
- REDUCED NUMBER of VISITORS. No more than 8 visitors will be allowed inside the apartment at any time
Be safe and we look forward to welcoming you at AAA3A!
Photos are from the opening day. More photos, artifacts coming up soon...
