Sandman's Journal

I came across this website of a very dear friend of mine who moved to Los Angeles a few years ago to follow her dream of film-making. It's so great to see that she's doing it so excellently! I met Ms. Yolanda Cruz in 1994 when she was twenty-yrs-old. She and her two sisters organized a convoy of five or six trucks which were packed with aid (sewing machines, food, medical equipment, etc.) to help support the Zapatista struggle in Mexico and I was talked into going as their representative troubador. We raised money along the way by playing benefits but we were eventually stopped at the Juarez border and not allowed to pass without paying exorbitant taxes on the goods we were carrying. After three weeks of smuggling everything across on the foot-bridge, piece by piece, we drove as far as Mexico City just in time for the big 1994 presidential election. I was invited to play in front of a group of thousands of Zapatistas and their supporters. It was a huge honor that I'll never forget. The real point of this journal entry, though, is that Yolanda rocks-- Viva Oaxaca!