Where: Tatamagouche Centre, Tatamagouche, NS

Registration opens April 23rd.

All are welcome to attend the Annual Gathering of the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network, a human rights solidarity network. The Annual Gathering is an opportunity for inspiration, connecting with BTS members and hearing first-hand about the situation in Guatemala.

We are privileged to have Sandra Morán as our Guatemalan guest. Sandra is the first feminist and openly gay Member of Congress to be elected in Guatemala. She is a member of the Convergence CPO-CRD Party which brings together feminists, students, farmers and Indigenous peoples. As well as sharing her in-depth knowledge and political analysis of the current Guatemalan context, she will share her musical skills as a highly accomplished drummer. She is returning to the Maritimes thirty years after her first visit as a member of the musical group Kin Lalat in 1988. Through music, they denounced state violence and laid the ground work for Guatemalan solidarity in the Maritimes.

Sandra's work is rooted in a history of grassroots activism. Born in 1960, she became involved in social movements in her teens. In 1981 she was forced into exile and lived in Mexico, Nicaragua and Canada. She returned to Guatemala in 1994 to support peace-building efforts and the struggle for gender justice. BTS has worked with Sandra through her role in the Sector de Mujeres, an alliance of 33 women's groups in Guatemala.

And that is not all! 

Eliza Starchild Knockwood is organizing a panel, comparing and connecting Mi'kmaq and Guatemalan history. Eliza will also show her new movie,"The Water Protectors' Journey", a beautiful and inspiring story of Mi'kmaq resistance to Alton Gas. We will also see two new Guatemalan films. We will discuss the formation of a new BTS volunteer/accompaniment project. And of course there will be a fiesta Saturday night!