Earth Day at 50 Teach-Out

Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra performs Llanto de Tepuyes (Tepuyes’ Tears) as part of a collection of performances called “Global Rings.” Below is a brief description of this performance:

Marielba Núñez is a Venezuelan investigative journalist who reveals government corruption, censorship, economic and refugee crises, starvation, and violence via poetry and music. In “Tepuyes’ Tears”, Núñez depicts the breathtakingly beautiful Canaima region of the Pemón people of Venezuela. In the music, we hear waterfalls glissando over rocks, children singing, birds chirping, jaguars stealthily walking, insects buzzing, and leaves blowing in the breeze. Suddenly, we hear the low, loud hums of earth-moving excavators, which are destroying the Canaima National Park in favor of mining for gold. Due to the mining, the Pemón people are displaced, trees are mowed down, waters are dirtied, and birds and animals are losing their habitats. The Tepuyes Mountains weep for the living beings who cannot thrive or survive under the oppression and destruction. Thus, “Tepuyes’ Tears”.

Marielba Núñez writes about the piece below.

In 2016, the Venezuelan government approved the decree Arco Minero del Orinoco, (Orinoco Mining Arc), a law that promotes the exploitation of the mineral resources, especially gold, in an area of more than 100,000 kilometers (more than 62,000 miles) on the southern side of the Orinoco River. Since then, the destruction of an important part of this territory, including lands of the National Park of Canaima, has advanced quickly, threatening a fragile and unique ecosystem. The mining activity has brought also violence and epidemics and has forced the migration of indigenous people that traditionally inhabit the region. This insatiable ambition continues wounding one of the most beautiful and serene lungs on the planet.

Listen to the full performance here.