JUAREZ UNITY: FESTIVAL SENDS MESSAGE

In battle-torn Juarez, the right segment of the population has taken a
step toward regaining city pride. The youth. Who better than the
future city leaders to do so.

Some 5,000 people attended a festival Saturday where the message was
aired: There are still positives despite the long-running narco
violence on city streets.

It was a good move, this live music. Because, since January 2008, this
city of more than 1 million people has been in a lockdown of fear.

There are still the almost-daily murders as two warring drug cartels
battle each other and battle Mexico's military and police. At times
this year there have been an average of 10 assassin-type murders a
day. Recently, for the first time, a new wave of fear blanketed the
city when, in one instance, the automatic-rifle style of war gave way
to a car bomb. The tactics of the al-Qaida in Iraq had come to North
America.

But, whereas there seems to be no lull as the cartels battle for
control of this corridor's drug trade, it was important that the good
citizens of Juarez showed unity, even pride.

Guillermo "Memo" Asjain said it well: "This (festival) is a way to
tell the criminals that we are greater in number and that the city
does not belong to them."

A hearty "yes!" to that. It really is about time that the people of
Juarez make a show of unity -- a show that they steadfastly oppose
cartel rule.

The death toll remains gruesome. Even on festival day Saturday, there
were at least nine people killed in the city. More than 1,500 have
died this year and more than 5,700 have died since the Sinaloa and
Juarez drug cartels began their standoff across our city's border in
2008.

But, until Saturday, there was little show of unity from all religions
and different sides of politics -- and all walks of life.

As graffiti artist Juan "Waka Wafles" Carlos Reyes said, "We want to
change the view of the people."