Help Casa Mariposa and Mariposas Sin Fronteras Find a New Home!

Casa Mariposa and Mariposas Sin Fronteras serve vital roles in providing support to migrants and refugees in the Eloy and Florence detention centers through visits, letters, bond support, advocacy and even hospitality, if they need a place to stay upon release from detention. For more than 7 years, many members of the groups have relied on the hospitality of Casa Mariposa. The owner of Casa Mariposa has decided to sell the house, meaning that as of September 2017, members of Mariposas will no longer have stable housing and the organizations will not be able to provide hospitality to those leaving detention.

In order to continue providing as much support to migrants as possible, including LGBTQ+ migrants, we need a new home. Join us in fundraising for a new home by coming to some of our events this summer and sharing our online campaign with family and friends to continue supporting our struggle here on the US-Mexico border.

Come out to one of our solidarity dinners, sponsored by local groups and organizations and stay tuned for more events to come.

Help Reunite the Ortega Family

Dear Friends,

Last Friday we attended the bond hearing for Edvin Vega-Galvan, the husband and father of the Ortega family who lived with us this past Fall. Edvin received a bond of $9,000 from the judge. With your support we hope to raise these funds so Edvin can be released as soon as possible to be reunited with his family. In addition, the sooner he is released the better it will be for his asylum hearing the beginning of June.

Edvin told us this morning that he has been feeling sad because he has never been separated from his family this long.  He said, “I have been inside now half a year and I want to be with my family so I can support them. I want to be a father to my children. Please do me this favor and help if you are able.  Thank you and God bless you.”

On behalf of the Ortega family thank you for any support you able to give to Edvin’s bond. No amount is too small. You can donate through our website, our Paypal link below or by sending a check made out to the Restoration Project, Florence and mailed to Casa Mariposa, 127 N. Palomas Avenue, Tucson, AZ  85745. Please write Edvin bond support in the memo.

Thank you again for your support of this family on their journey and your support of the work of Casa Mariposa to accompany those who currently are or have been imprisoned by our immigration system. 

Support Edvin’s bond here

Join us for a Spring House Concert

We hope you can join us for a Spring house concert featuring  folk singer Natalia Serna. Natalia will sing songs from her recent CD, Corazon Norte, on Thursday, April 28th at 7pm at Casa Mariposa located at 127 N. Palomas Avenue in Menlo Park.

Natalia spent a year listening to the stories of immigrants during her time at the Comedor in Nogales, Sonora.  From those conversations she wrote the songs that became the compilation in Corazon Norte. For more information about Natalia and to listen to her music go to her Facebook page at   www.facebook.com/lamunamusic

 Light refreshments will be provided. Hope to see you there!

March Gatherings at Casa Mariposa

On Monday, March 14th from 7:00pm until 8:30pm we will have our final Monday night Lenten gathering.  Jim Marx will share ideas and rituals around the spring equinox in the Celtic tradition and how it connects with the Easter tradition. Light snacks provided.

On Friday, March 25th join us for a Good Friday Way of the Cross through downtown Tucson. Meet at 11:30 at the El Tiradito Shrine at Cushing and Main Avenue. Procession begins at 12:00pm and is expected to last about 2 hours.

Enacted on Good Friday, the Way of the Cross relates Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross to current day suffering due to militarism, structural economic injustice and other forms of oppression.  We will start at El Tiradito Shrine and process to such places as the Greyhound Station, the Federal Courthouse and Veinte de Agosto park ending at the Tucson Police Headquarters at Stone and Cushing. 

Lenten Reflections at Casa Mariposa

Join us for one or both of the upcoming Lenten Reflections at Casa Mariposa, 127 N. Palomas Avenue, Menlo Park. Light snacks provided.

Monday, February 22nd -7pm-8:30pm – Come and listen to Tina Schlabach, a member of the Casa Mariposa Detention Visitation Group, share what she has learned from the women she has visited over the years at the Eloy Detention Center.

Monday, March  14th – 7pm-8:30pm – Come and learn about ideas and rituals around the spring equinox in the Celtic tradition and how it connects with the Easter tradition.

Upcoming Events at Casa Mariposa

Friends –

On behalf of everyone in the house we wish everyone a joyous and blessed New Year. As we all get back into the rhythm of work, school and life in general we want to invite you take some time this winter to reflect with us especially during this upcoming Lenten Season.

This season we offer these thoughts to reflect on with us.  Following The Way of Jesus is filled with both joy and sorrow and many times leads to the Cross itself.  As part of the struggle for justice here in the borderlands, how do we honor and find balance between the sorrow of  Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday?  Perhaps the answer lies in finding both in our daily “Saturday” work.

We hope you can join us for some of the following Monday evenings at Casa Mariposa, 127 N. Palomas Avenue in Menlo Park. Light snacks provided.

Monday, February 8th – 7:30pm-9pm – Earlier in January Paula spent 10 days in Washington, DC with the group Witness Against Torture. The group fasted for 7 days in solidarity with our Muslim brothers detained in Guantanamo Bay and created and carried out direct actions to demand the closure of the prison, an end to torture and an end to indefinite detention.  Come hear about her experience in DC, the work of Witness Against Torture and the connections to our work in the borderlands.

Monday, February 22nd -7pm-8:30pm – Come and listen to Tina Schlabach, a member of the Casa Mariposa Detention Visitation Group, share what she has learned from the women she has visited over the years at the Eloy Detention Center.

Monday, March  14th – 7pm-8:30pm – Come and learn about ideas and rituals around the spring equinox in the Celtic tradition and how it connects with the Easter tradition

Advent and Winter Solstice

3rd Sunday of Advent, December 13th,  7pm to 8:30pm,  Casa Mariposa, 127 N. Palomas, Menlo Park

ADVENT AND THE WINTER SOLSTICE
Come celebrate the ancient wisdom of Celtic pre-Christian and Christian mythology as we
advance to and through the darkest time of the year and re-emerge renewed into the Light
of the SUN/SON.

Celtic spirituality is deeply grounded in Nature. The winter solstice is one
of eight seasonal festivals in the Celtic spiritual tradition, known as the “wheel of the year.”
The “wheel” is an important symbol in Celtic mythology that symbolizes the constant change
of the universe and the infinite cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Join us for this evening of Celtic inspired ritual, music, poetry, conversation, food, drink and hospitality.

Guatemalan Fundraising Dinner

Local ingredients, international flavor fundraiser     

Saturday, Dec 12, 6:30pm, Casa Mariposa, 127 N. Palomas Ave.

Support Guatemalan family of 8 in next steps from Casa Mariposa!

The Ortega family, a family of 8 who have been living in Casa Mariposa since October invite you for a Guatemalan dinner.  They are raising money to start their lives upon moving on from Casa Mariposa.  Sulma and her family appreciate your support and ensure you that you will love the food!

Menu:
Pepian, hearty chicken stew with vegetables and seasoned with seeds and nuts
Rice
Beans
Salad with greens grown in Las Milpitas Garden
Vegetable stew with same sauce as Pepian

Suggested donation $15.  More if you can, less if you can’t.

A Musical 2nd Sunday of Advent

Second Sunday of Advent

Sunday, Dec. 6th  from 7pm to 8:30pm – Light refreshments provided

Casa Mariposa, 127 N. Palomas Avenue, Menlo Park

The song and music of Advent. Meredith Little will bring her talents on the piano and lead us in a musical night during this 2nd week of Advent. Bilingual program – please bring any songs in Spanish you would like to hear and share!

Upcoming Events at Casa Mariposa

First Sunday of Advent

Sunday, Nov. 29th  from 7pm to 8:30pm – Light refreshments provided

The season bends toward shadow and solstice and a wealth of holy and holidays. Advent is one lens into the season between times. Though primarily Christian in its current context, history tells a much wider story. Our ancestors held this time with a kind of awe which predates written language, let alone dogma.

Sunday, Nov. 29th –  What does Advent mean to you?  Bring a poem, story, song, or just your thoughts to share about what the time of Advent means to you personally.

Education in the Brazilian Landless Worker Movement

 A Conversation with Alessandro, National Leader of the MST Education Sector                 

                            Saturday, December 5th                              

7 PM

Location: Casa Mariposa – 127 N. Palomas Ave. Tucson, AZ

The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST), one of the largest social movements in Latin America, is internationally famous for its success occupying large unproductive land estates and pressuring the government to redistribute this land to over 1 million landless farmers. Less well known are the movement’s educational initiatives. Over the past three decades, MST leaders have drawn on diverse educational theories to develop a set of pedagogical practices for schools that encourage youth to stay in the countryside, foster collective forms of work, and participate in political struggle. Activists engage in contentious actions to support their educational ideas, while facilitating community discussions, organizing teacher trainings, and writing curricula with state actors. In the state of Paraná, the MST administers 11 public schools that are currently functioning within MST land occupations. MST leader Alessandro, one of the state coordinators of the education sector in Paraná, will talk about these educational experiences and how the MST has succeeded in both occupying land and occupying the Brazilian school system.