Caminos al Paraíso = Paths to paradise

'Caminos al Paraíso' (Paths to Paradise) is a story in three parts. It narrates all the adrenaline, fear, and insecurities experienced by immigrants when traveling from Mexico to the U.S.A. They are victims of the greed and violence from people who impose undignified and humiliating acts on them. These victimizers are different organized gangs; the 'coyotes' who take undocumented emigrants across the U.S.A. border; and the police who make millions off of illegal emigrants. Immigrants lose their dignities as human beings because they are treated like animals and violated by others along the way. Both women and men are abducted, raped, or murdered by criminals to extort their families who live in the United States - and when some immigrants fight for their human rights, they are killed. This piece is a cry for help and solidarity by the Mexicans living in the United States under unfair immigration policies, and a message about the harsh reality implied in the act of crossing borders. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics

Teatro Jornalero Sin Fronteras /Day Laborers Theater Without Borders (TJSF) is a Los Angeles-based ensemble theater company comprised of day laborers. Founded in 2008 by Cornerstone Theater Company in conjunction with the National Day Labor Organizing Network, their mission is to improve the lives of day laborers by creating plays by and for the day labor community. Responding to an often degrading and hostile work environment and an increasingly anti-immigrant climate nationally, the troupe uses theater, music, and dialogue to educate and inform immigrant workers about their legal rights; to empower the community by reflecting their stories in their own voices; to humanize the immigration debate for the broader community; and to build a troupe of theater artists that make insightful, entertaining and smart theater for their audiences. Each year TJSF performs in over 50 locations for more than 3,000 day laborers, public school and college students, and diverse organizations, institutions, and agencies. They have received coverage in local, national and international media outlets, including La Opinion, LA Times, BBC World, Christian Science Monitor, and National Public Radio. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics