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17

June
From ICE to Blockades: One Struggle Many Fronts Solidarity, Education & Fundraising Tour to Bring Humanitarian Aid to Cuba 2026
June 17, 2026 Evelyn Andrade Cuba, Events

FROM ICE TO BLOCKADES: ONE STRUGGLE, MANY FRONTS

Solidarity, Education & Fundraising Tour to Bring Humanitarian Aid to Cuba

Saturday, June 27, 2026
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
University Church
5655 South University Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637 (Hyde Park)

Reception to follow. Snacks and refreshments provided.

RSVP and Donate Here.

The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) is honored to host IFCO/Pastors for Peace as part of its national solidarity, education, and fundraising tour to bring humanitarian aid to Cuba.

CRLN and IFCO/Pastors for Peace share a decades-long history of mutual collaboration and a deep solidarity commitment to the people of Cuba.

At a time when the United States continues to impose devastating economic sanctions and maintain a decades-long blockade against Cuba, international solidarity remains as urgent as ever. For decades, CRLN has stood with the Cuban people because we believe it is both a moral and political imperative to oppose U.S. intervention, economic coercion, militarization, and neocolonial policies that seek to undermine the sovereignty of nations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Cuban people have the right to determine their own future free from external interference. We stand with Cuba in the same spirit that Cuba has stood with peoples across the world through international medical brigades, disaster response efforts, educational exchanges, and movements for justice and self-determination. As communities across the United States organize against ICE raids, endless wars, and growing inequality, this event invites us to connect our struggles and strengthen our commitment to international solidarity.

Join us for an evening of political education, dialogue, music, and fundraising in support of humanitarian aid destined for Cuba.

Featured Speakers for our Conversation

Rev. Claudia De la Cruz
Rev. Claudia De la Cruz is a community organizer, theologian, popular educator, and mother with nearly three decades of experience building people power. She previously served as pastor of Iglesia San Romero de Las Américas and co-founded The People’s Forum in New York City. Her work has consistently focused on internationalism, political education, and solidarity among working people across borders.

Dr. Cristina Perez
Dr. Cristina Perez is Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies at Dominican University. A longtime Cuba solidarity activist, her work examines systems of inequality, gender, and social justice. She has dedicated years to building political education and international solidarity efforts in Chicago and beyond.

Carolina Gaete
Carolina Gaete is a popular educator and community organizer who works in solidarity with residents of West Humboldt Park through Blocks Together. Her work focuses on strengthening political consciousness, leadership development, and community-led campaigns. Rooted in Indigenous and African traditions of liberation and self-determination, she is committed to building collective power from the ground up.

Moderated by Jhonathan F. Gómez
Jhonathan F. Gómez is a human rights defender, educator, artist, documentary photographer, and Co-Director of CRLN. Originally from Guatemala City, he has spent nearly two decades working alongside immigrant, Indigenous, and human rights movements in Guatemala and the United States. His work combines organizing, education, and the arts in pursuit of justice and international solidarity.

Musical Performance

Ramón Marino
Ramón Marino is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, visual artist, and educator originally from Mexico City who has lived in Chicago for more than three decades. A longtime performer of Trova and Nueva Canción, his music has accompanied social justice movements and community struggles throughout Chicago. He will join us for a special live musical performance.

Special Thanks

Blocks Together
Alma de Izote
Party for Socialism and Liberation – Chicago
IFCO/Pastors for Peace

All funds raised will support the delivery of humanitarian aid to Cuba.

Join us. Learn. Organize. Build solidarity.

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15

January
🌎✊ 2025 Delegación a El Salvador/ Delegation to El Salvador 
January 15, 2026 Evelyn Andrade Action Alerts, Central America, Delegations, Edu. Central America ,

Durante una semana, delegades acompañaron a comunidades, organizaciones sociales y defensoras de derechos humanos en El Salvador, aprendiendo sobre el contexto nacional, la memoria histórica y las luchas actuales por la justicia y la dignidad.

La delegación participó en análisis del contexto nacional, visitó comunidades y organizaciones como PRO-VIDA, CRIPDES y Tutela Legal, y recorrió espacios históricos como la Catedral Metropolitana, la Cripta de Monseñor Romero y el Parque Cuscatlán.

Uno de los momentos más significativos fue el acompañamiento a la conmemoración de la Masacre de El Mozote en Morazán, junto a sobrevivientes, organizaciones de derechos humanos y comunidades comprometidas con la memoria, la verdad y la justicia.

Lea las reflexiones de los delegades aquí

For one week, delegates accompanied communities, grassroots organizations, and human rights defenders in El Salvador, learning about the national context, historical memory, and ongoing struggles for justice and dignity.

The delegation took part in political and social analysis, visited organizations such as PRO-VIDA, CRIPDES, and Tutela Legal, and walked through key historical sites including the Metropolitan Cathedral, Monsignor Romero’s Crypt, and Cuscatlán Park.

One of the most powerful moments was accompanying the commemoration of the El Mozote Massacre in Morazán, alongside survivors, human rights organizations, and communities committed to memory, truth, and justice.

Read the delegates’ reflections here

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16

October
Sebastián Torogóz from El Salvador
October 16, 2025 Evelyn Andrade Biographies, Central America

Benito Chica Argueta, better known as Sebastián Torogóz, was born in the rural Cantón El Zapotal in Joateca, Morazán, El Salvador. He was the fourteenth child of his parents, Francisco Chica and Cástula Argueta. From an early age, around nine, he began playing guitar at home; his siblings were part of a chanchona (a rural string ensemble) that performed at family celebrations and community events. In his youth, Sebastián joined community Christian reflection groups (which later became part of the Comunidades Eclesiales de Base) in El Zapotal. There he participated in courses on first aid and community health, blending spiritual reflection with social praxis. In 1978, he formally joined the armed struggle via the Ligas Populares 28 de Febrero (which later became part of the ERP). In June 1981, Sebastián and fellow combatants founded Los Torogoces de Morazán, the musical group that became closely associated with Radio Venceremos and the cultural resistance during the Salvadoran war.

During the twelve years of war, Los Torogoces acted as “juglares¨ troubadours of resistance, traveling through conflict zones, performing songs, sharing stories, and offering laughter in the face of adversity. Sebastián employed music, storytelling, and theatrical satire, often impersonating figures of the elite or military, as a tool to challenge authoritarian power and uplift communities under duress.

After the signing of the peace accords, he reassembled the group with younger generations and continued touring both nationally and internationally. Among his notable works are corridos like Recordando al Profeta (in tribute to Oscar Romero) and Corrido al Mozote, honoring victims of the Mozote massacre. He has also actively engaged in memory work—publishing, performing, and organizing events that resist silencing of El Salvador’s violent past.

Sebastián’s artistry is deeply rooted in the folk traditions of Morazán and El Salvador’s eastern region, combining instruments such as harp, marimba, and strings with narrative lyrics that document struggle, identity, and resilience. His music remains informed by a liberation perspective that insists on the importance of collective memory, social justice, and cultural reclaiming. In recent years, he continues to mentor youth, organize concerts, and deliver talks that bridge El Salvador’s past and present struggles, deepening transnational solidarity and cultivating new generations of cultural and political memory keepers.

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21

August
Pedal for Peace: Bike in Your Barrio!
August 21, 2020 Claudia Lucero Events

CRLN and 5 other co-sponsoring organizations–Center for Immigrant Progress, Centro Romero, Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities, Chicago-Guatemala Partnership, and Concern America–are raising funds for education, health, and community organizing projects in Latin America and in immigrant communities in Lake County. Help us support scholarships for rural Indigenous students in Guatemala and El Salvador, health promoter trainings in rural and Indigenous or Black communities in Colombia, PPE for health professionals in El Salvador, voter registration and issued education in immigrant communities in Lake County, IL, and funding for those who must renew DACA work authorization at exorbitant new rates.

 

In these times, we have dreamed up a new way to participate in this annual event! This will be a decentralized Pedal for Peace, and we also have opened it up to people who run or walk. It is more flexible–choose your date within the next month to participate! Finally, we will all gather online to celebrate the results of our collective action.

 

September 12– October 11, you get to choose the day to bike, run, or walk the distance of your choice.

  • Alone or with family/friends
  • On a bike path, neighborhood streets, park, or exercise bike
  • Send a photo of yourself in your biking location holding a sign with the name of the location (neighborhood, bike path, etc.) appearing in the photo to shunter-smith@crln.org. to share with other participants.

 

October 18, 4-5 pm: Online Zoom program to celebrate our united efforts to empower our communities in Illinois and Latin America. We will send out the link to you on the day of the event. While we cannot gather at this time, we can celebrate the way we remain connected by our global hearts and similar missions.

 

You can raise funds online using social media tools or you can use a paper pledge form to collect checks (contact shunter-smith@crln.org for a pledge form or if you have questions). Whichever method you choose, sign up to join one of the teams to raise funds at charity.gofundme.com/pedal-for-peace-bike-in-your-barrio

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17

March
40th Anniversary Good Friday “Walk” for Justice Goes Digital!
March 17, 2020 Claudia Lucero Events

In light of the coronavirus pandemic and the CDC’s recommendation to suspend public gatherings for the next eight weeks, the April 10 Good Friday Walk for Justice, “Hope Rising in Courageous Community,” will take a different form this year.

Even though we cannot gather downtown and march together, WE CAN STILL PRAY!  We will honor this 40th Anniversary Good Friday Walk for Justice by publishing our Prayer Booklet online at walkforjusticechicago.com. We encourage you to pray this modern-day Way-of-the-Cross on Good Friday in the safety of your homes with the members of your households.

The Prayer Booklet will be posted sometime after March 25, the deadline for receiving prayers from the groups who are planning each station. CRLN will write Station 4 this year. In the meantime, you can visit the link above to read more about this year’s theme and to find a donation button if you would like to sponsor the event.

During this extended period of social distancing, the need for “Hope Rising in Courageous Community” is more important than ever.  Please share this resource widely, and take heart in the words of author and poet, Alice Walker, who reminds us that “Human sunrises are happening all over the earth,” and that the work to “bring peace, light, compassion” to this world shines on.

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3

October
31st Annual Pedal for Peace Raises over $20,000!
October 3, 2018 Claudia Lucero Events

45 bikers rode the Lakefront Bike Path on Sunday, September 30, and collectively raised over $20,000 in pledges! The proceeds will be divided among a number of projects: scholarships for students in Guatemala and El Salvador, trainings for health promoters in Colombia, legal aid and training for campesinos in Honduras fighting for land rights, and community organizing funds for tenants rights in Chicago. Co-sponsors Autonomous Tenants Union, Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities, Chicago-Guatemala Partnership, Concern America, and La Voz de los de Abajo organized teams of bike riders, along with CRLN, to seek funding for these projects.

Thanks to all who biked, pledged to bikers, designed the t-shirts, volunteered at the event, or brought food for the fiesta!

Here are some photos of from the event:

    

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26

June
2019 Pedal for Peace Beneficiaries
June 26, 2018 Claudia Lucero Events

2019 Pedal for Peace Bike-a-thon

Beneficiary groups and project descriptions

To donate to Pedal for Peace, click on the name of any group. Donations will be divided equally among the groups. 

Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)  

Founded 30 years ago, CRLN builds partnerships among social movements and organized communities within and between the U.S. and Latin America.  We work together through popular education, grassroots organizing, public policy advocacy, and direct action to dismantle U.S. militarism, neoliberal economic and immigration policy, and other forms of state and institutional violence.  We are united by our liberating faiths and inspired by the power of people to organize and to find allies to work for sustainable economies, just relationships and human dignity. Because CRLN has dedicated restricted funds for travel scholarships and for the support of human rights defenders, Pedal for Peace donations will go for general operating support of our regular programming.

Contact person: Sharon Hunter-Smith, shunter-smith@crln.org

 

 

Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities  

Cinquera, El Salvador, is a small community of around 3,000 people in the central part of the country.  In 1992, Cinquera, which had been abandoned during the horrific civil war, was repopulated after the peace accord.  Chicago-Cinquera Sister Cities has been working with a progressive community organization, the ARDM, for many years.  This year, the ARDM has again designated Pedal for Peace donations for scholarships for five college students who are majoring in computer science, agricultural engineering and education.  The donations will cover their enrollment fees, tuition, transportation, food and housing.  During and upon completion of their studies, the students have made a commitment to live in and work on behalf of the Cinquera community and to support the scholarship program for future students.

Contact person:  Jim Hoover, jimmyishere@hotmail.com

 chicago-cinquera.org

 

Chicago-Guatemala Partnership  

Saq Ja’, Guatemala, is a rural Mayan community of around 50 families located in the western highlands.  The community was destroyed in 1981-82 during the Guatemalan civil war, many survived in the wilderness for years and returned to resettle their lands after the Peace Accords in 1996.  After much hard work, they succeeded in building a primary and middle school to educate children through 9th grade.  The Chicago-Guatemala Partnership, which has accompanied the community since 1999, will again designate this year’s Pedal for Peace funds toward support for the middle school and scholarships for those going on to higher levels of schooling. In addition, money may be used to support a school trip to the ruins of an ancient Mayan city at Tikal to learn about their Mayan history and heritage.

Contact person:   Mary Naftzger, maryandbob.n@sbcglobal.net 

 

Concern America (C/A)

The Pedal for Peace Bike-a-thon will support C/A’s community-centered health and leadership program in rural Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities in the isolated and war-torn Chocó region of Colombia, providing primary health care services to 20,000 people previously without access to such services. This innovative and successful model, known as Health Promoter Practitioners (HPPs), engages the most valuable resource in every village–the people themselves. With a depth of knowledge, skills, and ability to provide health care comparable to the work of nurse practitioners in the U.S, HPPs are able to meet 80% of the community’s health care needs. This year, the program will build its own HPP-run clinic training center and dormitories for course participants, a huge step! Funds received from Pedal for Peace will help equip the new program center.

Contact  person:  John Straw, jstraw@concernamerica.org

 

 

La Voz de los de Abajo   

La Voz de los de Abajo has worked in solidarity with campesino and indigenous organizations in Honduras for nearly 15 years on community radio projects, human rights accompaniment and support for initiatives by small farmers and their organizations. Since the coup in June 2009, it has also organized multiple delegations from the U.S. to Honduras to provide human rights accompaniment to the organizations and communities resisting the coup.  2019 Pedal for Peace funds will be sent to the National Center for Rural Workers (CNTC), which provides legal and organizational accompaniment to thousands of campesinos struggling for land reform. In addition, funds will be used to support Garifuna health and educational initiatives.

Contact person:  Vicki Cervantes, vickicervantes@yahoo.com

 

 

Autonomous Tenants Association  

The Autonomous Tenants Union (ATU) engages in grassroots organizing alongside tenants, leveraging the power of tenant unions to halt evictions, keep rent affordable, and preserve our community through advocacy and education. We recognize that our struggle for housing justice is deeply connected to other struggles, which is why we collaborate with organizations around the city to mutually support one another in our growth. Currently ATU is part of the Lift the ban campaign that is trying to repeal the provision at the state level that prohibits rent control to be implemented in any municipality. ATU is collaborating on this coalition and, if achieved, it will open the door for more campaign organizing around passing a rent control ordinance in the city of Chicago, which will impact tenants across the city for years to come.

Contact person: Antonio Gutiérrez, gutierrez.atu@gmail.com

 

 

 

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The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN).

  • Tel: +773-293-2964
  • Fax: +773-293-3677
  • Email: crln@crln.org