All-star ‘RiseUp AS ONE’ border concert to promote diversity in Donald Trump era

Republican nominee Donald Trump has vowed to build a wall between Mexico and the United States, but Saturday’s “RiseUp AS ONE” live concert telecast is designed to bridge the border, literally and figuratively, between the two countries and the U.S. and Latin America at large.

RiseUp aims to do so not just with its all-star lineup of Latin music giants and such former San Diego singer-songwriters as Andra Day and Mexican-American troubadour Julieta Venegas, but with its unique outdoor location.

Billed as “A Celebration of Music and Unity,” the free outdoor concert is being held on 15 acres adjoining Cross Border Xpress, the international point of entry that connects San Diego with Tijuana’s A.L. Rodriguez International Airport. The concert will air live nationally Saturday from 4-7 p.m. in Spanish on the Univision Network and in English on Fusion. It will also stream online around the world. Free tickets are available through tonight (see RiseUpAsOne.com for ticket distribution points).

“Basically, this concert is being done to send a message about the fraternity between the Latin and American communities,” said multiple Grammy Award-winner Carlos Vives, speaking Thursday afternoon from a San Diego hotel.

He is part of the extensive RiseUp lineup, which also includes fellow Colombian superstar Juanes, Panamanian music icon Miguel Bosé, multimillion-selling Mexican-American Norteño band Los Tigres Del Norte, top Spanish troubadour Alejandro Sanz, Mexican pop-rock queen Natalia Lafourcade and Uruguay’s Jorge Drexler, who in 2004 won the Best Song Oscar for “Al otro lado del río” (“On the Other Side of the River”).

The concert will be hosted by La Banda’s Alejandra Espinoza and noted journalist Jorge Ramos, who butted heads with Trump last year, leading the candidate to have Ramos evicted. Non-musical guests on RiseUp include film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Mia Maestro.

“What really matters, and has to be the main issue here,” Vives continued, “is how the Latino community impacts the U.S. and its economy and culture. It’s an act of justice for the Latino community living in the U.S. to be recognized for its role in the development of this country. But despite the historical issues and all the differences, the message sent by the Latino community tol the U.S. is a message of gratitude and support, a positive message that we care.”

Neo-R&B singer Day, who grew up in Southeast San Diego and this year earned two Grammy Award nominations, agreed.

“I am an artist who celebrates diversity and the uniqueness that we all have, no matter who we are or where we come from, so it’s an honor for me to be involved in this concert,” she said Thursday from San Francisco, where she performed at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

“I grew up 10 minutes from the border and going to Mexico was such a vital part of our San Diego culture,” Day noted. “I always had such positive experiences in Mexico and loved it. So, for me to be doing this concert — which celebrates diversity — is extra special.”

Music’s ability to bridge national, cultural, social and religious differences is a matter of record. That makes RiseUp’s theme of harmony and unity especially timely. Ditto the concert’s location at the U.S./Mexico border.

But would this concert be necessary if not for the intense controversy stirred up by Trump’s presidential bid?

The answer depends on whom you ask.

Camilia Jiminez Villa, the co-president and chief content officer for RiseUp co-organizer Fusion Media Group, maintains that “this event is bigger than politics.” Saturday’s concert, she said, is “promoting a way of embracing co-operation and friendship, as opposed to everyone gong to their own corner.”

Jorge Hernandez Sr., the leader of Los Tigres Del Norte, agrees that the unity music can foster is essential. But, he added, Trump’s volatile candidacy is a key impetus to RiseUp.

Hernandez is so offended by Trump’s hostile remarks about Mexicans and Latinos that he refuses to say the candidate’s name aloud. Instead, he prefers to refer to Trump as “this person.” Los Tigres has recorded a series of Public Service Announcements encouraging Latinos in the U.S. to vote.

“Especially now with this election coming, we want to raise our voices,” said Hernandez, a longtime San Jose resident who has dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship. “The way we’ve been treated and spoken of by this person has been very ugly. And my part, and Los Tigres’ part, in RiseUp is we want to raise our voice to this person, to be known. We can wake people up to the reality that we live in in this country and that we make major contributions to it. So, at our concerts, we try to give people reason to vote.”

Those sentiments are shared by fellow RiseUp performers Day and Jesse Uecke, one half of the Mexican-American pop duo Jesse & Joy, which teams him with his younger sister.

“Every presidential election in the U.S. is important, but this year is even more so,” Uecke said. “Out of 27 million Latinos in the U.S., only 12 million are registered to vote, and that got our attention. We love doing music, it’s what’s we’re her for. But, sometimes, we try to do extra.”

Added Day, whose best known song is entitled “Rise Up”: “This concert is necessary because Trump’s stance on immigration has been so offensive and completely racist. At the same time, celebrating diversity is always necessary. Diversity and inclusion makes us better and stronger as a nation.”

“RiseUp AS ONE”

With: Juanes, Carlos Vives, Julieta Venegas, Andra Day, Los Tigres Del Norte, Jesse & Joy, Alejandro Sanz and more

When: 4-7 p.m. Saturday live concert and telecast on Univision and Fusion

Where: Cross Border Xpress, 2745 Otay Pacific Drive, San Diego. Free parking and shuttle service from Southwestern College, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista. Use Helmhurst Street entrance. Shuttle service from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Tickets: Free (only available through Friday night; no tickets available at venue)

Online: RiseUpAsOne.com

Twitter @georgevarga

george.varga@sduniontribune.com