or skin color. She saw human beings. She told me of
the beauty of the colors on the mesa and then finding
a small female body dead of heat and dehydration.
For more than a decade, Kathryn Ferguson and her
group, the Tucson Samaritans, traipsed the hot red-
and-yellow desert and would leave jugs of water near
paths taken by people escaping the horrid conditions
in their homelands.
She was a dancer, a teacher, a writer, a speaker, an
activist, an artist, a naturalist, and she was my very
good friend. She contributed greatly to humanity. Her
dogs miss her; her students, her Xanadu Troupe, her
husband and family miss her. Kathryn was a maverick.
Some solace lies in the hopes that she has met up with
our dear and mutual dance friend, Bert Balladine, on
the other side and they are dancing on that glorious
Big Stage that knows no borders.
Xanadu Dancers, 2016
To buy Kathryn’s books or films:
http://www.thehauntingofthemexicanborder.com/shop/
Books:
“The Haunting of the Mexican Border”
“Crossing with the Virgin: Stories from the Migrant Trail”
Documentary/films
“The Unholy Tarahumara”
“Rita of the Sky” filmed in the Sierra Madre and Chihuahua, Mexico.
Both films were screened at United States and international film festivals.
Kathryn Ferguson died Sunday, April 9, at Peppi’s House Hospice in her
hometown. She was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer shortly before she
died. She is survived by her husband, sister, and nieces.
AMAYA
Amaya resides in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico. She enjoys an eclectic life of green roasted
chilis, sunflower harvesting, writing, sunset gazing, fire fly dancing and scratching the heads of her boys, Mr. Smith,
Buddy (rogue Scottie Terriers) and Partner Pete. For more info on Amaya’s dance see www.wisewomandancer.com
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The Belly Dance Chronicles
July 2017