An O, Miami poetry festival event this weekend aims to bring attention to immigration.
Saturday's event, called "The beach is a border," invites participants to walk on the shore wearing 'poetry flip flops' that leave imprints of poems in Spanish, English and Creole on the sand.
“We’re asking people to join us and have this peaceful protest down Lummus Park all the way to South Point Park," said O, Miami’s managing director, Melody Santiago Cummings. "This project aims to make visible the injustices of anti-migration measures through a poetic action."
Organizers say Florida's coastal shoreline is a point of illegal entry into the United States.
The idea was presented by artist Sandra March, from Spain. "I think it has to be a lot of people to make a stand about this topic and to say something about it and to make people aware about immigration because people are dying," March said. "We need to do something even if it's a small initiative, poetic initiative or peaceful event."
As participants walk the beach Saturday, poets will recite their works on the topic of migration and immigration.
Tickets to the event are $5 and include a pair of poetry flip flops and a bottle of water. Patrons are asked to arrive at 7:30 a.m. to begin at 8 am.
