04.08.2013 – Washington, DC.

 

This morning, Latin Grammy nominated Los Angeles-based band, La Santa Cecilia, released the timely video for “El Hielo” (ICE), in which the band chronicles the daily fear facing many Latin American immigrants in the US seeking a better life. The video for the first single from the band’s upcoming album “TREINTA DIAS” (to be released on April 30, 2013) is a collaboration between leading immigrant rights group the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the abc* (Americas Business Council) Foundation’s Healing Power of Music Initiative.

The video brings together director Alex Rivera and a nearly all undocumented cast portraying their real-life experiences mirrored in the lyrics of the song. The music and the making of the video combine to create a commentary on the state of immigration, the great lengths people will go to in order to provide for their family and loved ones, and the ever-present threat of removal that haunts today’s immigrant communities.

Debuting at the same time as new Congressional deliberations are being brought on the issue, the video portrays the urgency for relief for those facing the threat of deportation.

For the band’s accordion player, Jose Carlos, who has decided to reveal his previously undocumented status, for Isaac Barrera who spent weeks in a detention center, and for the Andiola and Figueroa families featured in the video, the topic hits very close to home. Erika Andiola is a national leader in the Dreamer movement whose mother was taken away when their home was raided by ICE. Katherine Figueroa witnessed her own parents’ detention live on television at age 9.

As the nation grapples with the immigration debate, La Santa Cecilia’s “El Hielo” offers a moving perspective on what happens when ‘one person stays here and the other over there. All just for going to work.’

The National Day Laborer Organizing Network is made up of more than 40 organizations across the country working to improve the lives of day laborers.

The Healing Power of Music is an initiative of the Americas Business Council (abc*) Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports high-impact, innovative, social and environmental organizations working to sustainably advance the Americas.

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