Libby Townsend will hold the second annual Tarahumara Rain Dance at her Ajijic (Seis Esquinas) home on Sunday, July 28 to raise funds for the Tarahumara (Raramiri), who live in the Copper Canyon in northern Mexico.
A focus of the event will be to promote awareness of the plight of some 50,000 traditional Tarahumara, who have suffered from years of drought and poor or non-existent harvests.
Townsend says she will be using elements from various indigenous traditions to call the rain.
“This year we will also be asking for a good rainy season here at Lakeside and for help for the lake. It seems we sent rain up north last year, and they would like us to do it again. Why not, it’s a fun afternoon.”
Over the years, Townsend has regularly taken truck loads of warm clothing and blankets to the Tarahumara. She has also been able to deliver tons of food and medications. These people often live in stone and wood huts throughout the canyon where winter temperatures drop to below freezing.
The Rain Dance event begins at 3 p.m. Tickets cost 100 pesos (includes snacks and open bar) and can be purchased at the Guadalajara Reporter office at Plaza Bugambilias, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by calling 766-1167. If you have any rain inducing objects, you are more than welcome to bring them along. All proceeds will go to the Complejo Asistencial Clinica Santa Teresita (the free Tarahumara hospital and feeding program) in Creel, Chihuahua.
Authentic Raramiri handcrafts will be exhibited and sold at the event.