Denton locals logged onto their computers last Friday and Saturday to tune into the Pockets to Faucets benefit show, supporting the residents of Green Tree Estates who are lacking access to city water.
Green Tree Estates is a community in Denton which has been without access to city water since last fall and is in a state of emergency with the City of Denton until July 31. After that date, they will be left without water, said Lilyan Prado Carillo, president of the League of United Latino American Citizens Denton and Pockets to Faucets speaker.
“We’re just trying to help reach the goal that they have on their GoFundMe of $25,000 that goes to the families who are ready to connect to city water,” said Tori Falcon, Pockets to Faucets co-creator and Denton resident.
After the well the predominantly-Hispanic, working-class community relied on was shut off on Nov. 15, residents had to raise their own funds to connect to city water or risk losing their homes, according to the GoFundMe.
Pockets to Faucets was hosted by Emo Night Denton, WTFemme Podcast and Movimiento Cosecha Denton. The virtual benefit show, which was hosted over two nights, featured pre-recorded performances ranging from burlesque dances to musical groups.
“Bringing in awareness to this type of issue and these types of issues within the community, especially for lower-income communities such as Green Tree, and helping them raise money for something that they’ve been trying to do for nearly a year [is the motive for this event],” said Steven Ramos, Pockets to Faucets co-creator and Denton resident.
Green Tree Estates has been in need of access to clean water for years, Falcon said.
“When we talk about Green Tree, it’s not just that they haven’t had water since November,” Falcon said. “They were annexed into Denton in 2013 and have been drinking out of a dirty well for years, and Denton didn’t care enough to do anything about that. They knew that Mr. Roddy, who owned the well, was going to shut off the well for months before he did, and Denton didn’t do anything about that.”
The water from the well, which was not suitable for drinking, was the color of “a green tea soft drink,” but residents still used it for other purposes, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
The event gave the Denton community a platform to come together and support a common goal.
“Pockets to Faucets was a demonstration of community support and the desire of so many artists, locally and in the DFW area, to do their part to make sure that this community is no longer invisible and is able to access clean water,” said Mariela Nuñez-Janes, member of the Denton circle of Movimiento Cosecha and Denton resident.
All of the performers were part of the Latinx community to reflect the community at hand with the benefit, Falcon said.
One performance group was Sunbuzzed, a Denton-based rock band, which got involved with the event because the band members stand behind the cause.
“As a group, we understand that access to clean drinking water is a human right,” said Daniel Serrano, Sunbuzzed keyboard player and Denton resident. “Knowing that there are people here locally that do not have access makes the whole situation very personal and whatever little thing we can do to help, we felt morally obligated to lend a hand.”
Serrano said his music group enjoyed getting to perform together again after spending time apart due to the pandemic.
“It was a lot of fun and we had a great time,” Serrano said. “Since quarantine, we have not really played a lot of music together, so it was therapeutic to get together and make some music again.”
The steps that went into planning a virtual event were different from the in-person events Falcon has experienced.
“All of us have probably learned something new in regards to virtual stuff, like streaming, how to use [Open Broadcast Software] and things that we haven’t learned before, that we’ve had to learn,” said Maritza Vega, Pockets to Faucets co-creator and Denton resident.
Pockets to Faucets raised $115 in total, and the GoFundMe supporting Green Tree Estates has now raised $38,845 and has increased its fundraising goal to $40,000, as of June 23.
“We’re happy to see that the end is in sight,” Carillo said. “And it’s a favorable one for many of the families, and we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Courtesy Pockets to Faucets
Article Originally Published by on North Texas Daily
Source: North Texas Daily
