Ayuda a Chile/Aid for Chile

In the early hours of Feb. 27, residents of the South American country of Chile were violently awakened by a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

The damage caused by the powerful quake was extensive, and people living in the coastal towns of Chile were hard hit by a second major disaster shortly after the quake. A 33-foot high tsunami, triggered by the quake, slammed into the coast of Chili, killing hundreds of people.

Beatriz Lagos, a Petaluma resident and native of Argentina, is organizing Ayuda a Chile (Aid for Chile), to take place on May 27 at Pelican Art Gallery in an effort to raise funds to help the children and families of Constitucion, a small town particularly hard hit by the quake.

“Constitucion is a fisherman village on the coast of Chile that’s been destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami,” said Lagos. “We are doing this event in order to help the children in Constitucion get whatever they need to recover, which is a lot.”

The bilingual program will feature readings of South American poetry in English and Spanish by local poets Terry Ehret, Lin Marie de Vincent, Chris Giovacchini Ramirez, Francisco Gaona and Lagos.

A world-renowned poet, Lagos was surrounded by poetry at a very young age because her father was a poet. In 1976, widowed with two children, she left Argentina and moved to the United States.

In the late 1980s, Lagos lived out a lifelong dream by moving to Spain. She planned to return after two years, but ended up staying for nine years. Living in Hita, Spain, she continued to write poetry and novels. She also founded the House of Poets, a place for poets to stay and visit when in Hita.

Fluent in both Spanish and English, Lagos writes her poems in each language specifically; she does not translate anything.

Her love for the written word is something she takes joy in sharing and using for good causes, such as Ayuda a Chile.

“This is something I am doing with a lot of love, not only care — love,” said Lagos. “I’m hoping we raise a lot of money for those children in Chile. The funds are going to be directly sent to them through the Project Save a Child program.”

The Ayuda a Chile program will feature South American music performed by guitarist Mark Taylor, an international recording artist and performer specializing in flamenco and Spanish classical music. For Ayuda a Chile, he will be performing traditional music from the various countries of South America.

“Some restaurants are donating some food and wine,” said Lagos. “It’s going to be a very nice, bilingual, multicultural evening. Pelican Art Gallery has been so gracious to let us have the event there.”

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but donations to the cause will be accepted at the door. For information, call Pelican Art Gallery at 773-3393.

“This has been a century of catastrophes,” said Lagos. “If everyone could help other people in whatever way they can, we can make life better for everyone.”

(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at yovanna.bieberich@argus courier.com)