Where there other bands or musicians playing at the border when your were there?

Castillo: There were other people playing music, but not brass music. There were people playing ukuleles and guitars, along with some other kinds of performers.

Gibson: The family of José Antonio had a vigil at the site where he was killed, and we were able to play a significant role in that. And we thought, okay, this is how we see our role in the movement. We provide music, we do this thing. How can we appropriately integrate that into the events and the things that make people feel connected.

“The program is going to focus on the humanity of black and brown youth.”

Pittonkatonk is a coming up on May 11. What can the audience expect to hear from the May Day Marching Band, especially with this partnership with Casa San José?

Castillo: The program is going to focus on the humanity of black and brown youth. The humanity that is stripped from our children is the same humanity that this program is striving to remind the kids of. We’ll sing Spanish songs of migration, African songs of welcoming each other, and English songs of silliness and laughter. One of the core values of this program the youth have set is that we need to show up for each other. We need to protect and celebrate each other. We need to be proud of each other and the communities we build.

Gibson: I think that’s the big thing. It’ll be a snapshot of the progress we’ve made to connect our marching band more deeply in the movements we’re working with. We’re open and can bring in as many people as we want, so this is a significant project for us to have youth be a part of the band, to learn instruments, to participate. By May, we’ll be able to display a snapshot of where we’re going.

Castillo: Every Saturday, the youth are able to learn in non-traditional ways that are outside the education system; and believe me, they learn quicker when they are able to learn the way they want to. They create their space, set the boundaries, and direct almost every aspect of the program. It’s a beautiful thing to see. We hope this program can serve as an example that solidarity for youth doesn’t always have to be in the streets. It should be in the streets, but also in their neighborhoods and homes. As a group, we’ve talked about what solidarity means and how we can act on it with this program. For us, it means to love and support each other everywhere we are, and to never forget that we are all worthy of that love, of life, and of joy. We’re excited to share that with folks at Pittonkatonk this year.

What do you see as the value of Pittonkatonk in Pittsburgh. Why does it matter to Pittsburgh and the issues the city is facing?

Gibson: I wish I had a day to think about that. One thing I value in is accessibility. I have to make the caveat that, as a white person, Pittonkatonk feels very accessible to me. It’s free and doesn’t have any corporate sponsors. I think the mission Pete [Spynda] has to broaden that accessibility into other marginalized cultures, and emphasize the movement aspect is super applaudable. I think the direction he’s trying to take this is good. I hope it continues to radicalize.

Castillo: One of the things I’m excited about is the bands that are performing; it feels very international and borderless. It taps into this idea that another world is possible, but only if we work towards making it. The work Pete’s doing and the narrative he’s creating is super important work that is amplified during Pittonkatonk, but doesn’t stop there.

What else do you want people to know about Pittonkatonk and your role in it?

Gibson: Pete picked this time of year because he wanted to throw something else into the mix of these things we’ve traditionally organized around, which is May Day. The May Day Marching Band has its origins in the Polish Hill neighborhood, in the immigrant march. Pittonkatonk is another part of that tradition. I look at it as my festive holiday period of the year. Maybe Mardi Gras is the best parallel because there are a lot things that celebrate our community in different ways. Pittonkatonk is part of that for me.

Castillo: The ability for these kids to be on stage, to be the focus in a crowd of thousands of people, yelling and singing, “Migration is movement and movement is human.” Or about how they want to heal the land, open the borders and set a lot of people free. It’s about singing about welcoming folks, and creating communities that grow and change in a beautiful way, not a hurtful way. The ability for them to do that at such a young age feels like an important piece of this program and Pittonkatonk itself. It shows how much things have changed for kids to be able to do that and for a crowd to listen, and maybe catch on, too. It feels heavy.

Gibson: It feels like future leadership.

Castillo: For sure.