Michele Dominguez Greene and Amnesty International Unite for Benefit Concert

Press release
Source: Randex Communications (for Michele Dominguez Greene)

Amnesty International (AI) and Emmy-nominated Actress/Singer/Songwriter Michele Dominguez Greene unite forces for The Women of Juarez Campaign by hosting a benefit concert on September 28, 2006, at Genghis Cohen Cantina in Los Angeles. The benefit concert will feature songs from Greene’s new critically acclaimed LUNA ROJA CD, with a portion of the ticket and CD sales going toward Amnesty International’s Women of Juarez campaign. Genghis Cohen Cantina is located at 740 N. Fairfax Ave in Los Angeles with Greene’s performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, please contact: (310)-231-9903. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Bonnie Abaunza, Director of Artist Relations for Amnesty International states, “We don’t want people to forget that since 1993, almost 400 women and girls have been murdered in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, México. Our work is not done and we urge the involvement of every Amnesty International supporter and, in particular, women’s issues to join us in the campaign. To get involved, visit: www.aiusa.org. Type in keyword ‘Juarez’ to find out more.”

Greene adds, “The women of Ciudad Juárez, México—the victims and their survivors--need our passion and our voices to be raised on their behalf. LUNA ROJA features a song called “Ciudad Juárez” and is an homenaje (homage) to these women: the sisters, the daughters, the mothers, the workers who deserve justice and the basic human dignity of being treated as if their lives and deaths matter. They do matter. Lo que pasa a mi hermana, me pasa a mí también (What happens to my sister, happens to me). I urge people to speak up, speak out and end this violence.”

About Michele Dominguez Greene:
Michele Dominguez Greene is an Emmy-nominated actress, a bi-lingual singer songwriter and a published author. A native Angelino of Mexican/Oklahoma-Irish heritage, Greene’s debut CD, Ojo De Tiburón, garnered excellent reviews and solid radio airplay around the country. Her follow-up CD, LUNA ROJA, features songs in both Spanish and English is an artful mix that not only reflect Greene’s multi-cultural upbringing, but also communicate the basic human need for love, freedom, and justice. An activist for teens and women, Greene’s first novel, Chasing the Jaguar, newly published by Harper Collins, has received outstanding reviews from critics and teens alike.Greene currently has a recurring role the popular David Mamet TV series The Unit on CBS and became famous on LA Law. Greene has appeared in numerous television programs, independent films and theatre productions.

About Amnesty International’s Women of Juarez Campaign:
In 2003 Amnesty International issued a report, Intolerable Killings: 10 years of abductions and murders of women in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua highlighting the pattern of killings and abductions of women in Ciudad Juárez and the City of Chihuahua. The report concluded that 370 women had been murdered in a variety of contexts, possibly a third of which indicted the sexual violence. As many as half the cases still have not resulted in the perpetrators being brought to justice and doubt remains about the soundness of judicial procedures given allegations of torture. The long running campaign for justice by families of the victims has been crucial to the limited progress so far achieved.

Above all, the situation in Ciudad Juárez remains serious with at least 28 murders of women reported last year and continuing high levels of impunity, particularly for past cases. Amnesty International has always maintained that the pattern of violence against women and impunity in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua City was of complex nature involving many different forms of crimes and perpetrators, with widespread institutional failings to prevent and punish those really responsible. The families of the victims have struggled tirelessly for justice and it’s through their efforts and through Amnesty International that international attention was finally drawn to the situation.