About the Collaboration:
In October of 2010, organizers from NDLON/Alto Arizona campaign met with Manu Chao to explain the crisis of anti-immigrant legislation sweeping across the country. The fight in Arizona was highlighted and an invitation was extended for Manu to come to Arizona. Manu heard stories of the organizing work against SB1070 and about the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Manu agreed to create artwork and to come to Arizona and present a free show and meet with the affected communities. True to his word, Manu Chao came through with all of his promises. The recent Festival of Resistance performance and this "Alto Arizona" poster is the result of that meeting. Stay tuned for a video release of Manu Chao "Clandestino" in front of Arpaio's Tent City Jail in Phoenix, AZ.
About the Shirt:
Artist Ernesto Yerena, pulling from a previous print done for Manu Chao, created a poster for the Festival of Resistance (featured on the FB event page). The poster was redesigned with the help of NDLON for this t-shirt for the Festival of Resistance and features a backdrop of Arpaio's Tent City Jail with an outline of the "Peace Migrates" dove design inside of Arizona. The design is intended to visually stamp out the anti-immigrant sentiment represented by Arpaio's "S.M.A.R.T." tents, where inmates face upwards of 120° temperatures in the summer, are fed $0.40 meals and frequently are paraded in front of media in chain-gangs in striped suits and pink underwear.
About MANWOZ:
MANWOZ is a collaboration between Manu Chao & Artist Jacek Wozniak. It was after a drawing by Wozniak appeared in Le Monde that Ramon Chao (father of Manu) came into contact with the designer. Wozniak was first proposed to illustrate some of Manu's texts with the idea of using them to decorate his website. Not stopping there, the idea quickly took the form of a book/CD, "If Siberia Could Talk," (edition Mille Glitter) which is published in France in two versions; the first, a simpler form of 48 pages and a CD with 6 songs, and the second, a final 148-page CD with 21 tracks. Their successful collaboration has also taken the form of a series of animated video clips, including some made for each new album of Manu Chao "La Radiolina". Recently, they created a series of paintings under the pseudonym "Manwoz." Paintings exhibited in 2007 in Barcelona and Perpignan.