Today, at 4 pm (PST) an estimated one million people in over 350 locations in 60 countries will unite in a Prayer For Peace, as part of the 11th annual global Earthdance event. Los Angeles band Ozomatli, are co-headlining the three-day hub event in Laytonville, CA, playing their blend of Latin, hip-hip, funk and dub music on the main stage tomorrow night (Sunday, September 16th). We asked the multi-cultural band, who have championed progressive causes for the past 12 years, for their own prayer for peace.
"I pray for the peace our children need to survive through all generations to come. To make the home we live in better for their sake, and their children. I pray for the biggest disease, known as ignorance, to be cured, and for humanity to show courage to first change on the inside, in order to change the rest of the mess many generations have made in the past. I pray for the strength I need to spread this word, and to continue this spec of fool's hope -- but hope none the less -- that I have for positive, proactive change."
Asdru Sierra, Ozomatli
Ozomatli was born out of a fight for social change in downtown Los Angles back in 1995, when original band members Wil-Dog Abers and Anton Morales (who is no longer with the group), along with 30 coworkers, sought to improve their working conditions by supporting action to unionize their workplace. Ultimately they lost their jobs, but, after squatting in the building for a month, Wil-Dog & Co. won the right to retain the premises, founding the Peace and Justice Center of Los Angeles there. To support the new community center, Wil-Dog and friends began playing shows each weekend. Twelve years and several Grammys on, the band are still going strong, releasing their fourth studio album, Don't Mess With The Dragon, earlier this year.
The group made headlines again in July, when they toured the Middle East as U.S. Cultural Ambassadors. The trip was sponsored by the U.S. State Department in the hope that it would spread "a global message of peace and understanding through diversity in music."
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