A little girl on a BIG journey

Little Amal is the 12 foot puppet of  a 10 year old Syrian refugee child at the heart of The Walk.  She has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees. 

Since July 2021, Amal has travelled over 6,000 miles to 97 towns and cities in 15 countries and been welcomed by more than a million people on the street, including hundreds of artists and civil society and faith leaders, as well as by tens of millions online. Her journeys are festivals of art and hope that draw attention to the huge numbers of children fleeing war, violence and persecution, each with their own story. Her urgent message to the world is “Don’t forget about us”.

Between 7 September and 5 November 2023, Amal is journeying 6,000 miles across the United States in one of the largest free public festivals ever created.  40 towns and cities from Boston to San Diego and 1,000+ artists and arts organizations will create 100+ free public events to welcome her.

Sonia Morales

Sonia Ivette Morales-Matos (b. 1961) is a Puerto Rican composer, performer, and educator who belongs to a family of distinguished musicians. She has a BM degree from Berklee College of Music, where she studied composition and jazz, and a MM degree in both Composition and Jazz Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington. While in Indiana University, she studied with distinguished professors such as David Baker, Juan Orrego-Salas, Claude Baker, and John Eaton. She was the 2016’s recipient of the Dr. Herman Hudson Alumnus Award presented by the African American Arts Institute of Indiana University for her excellence as an educator, performer, and composer. In June 2019, she received recognitions from the City of Santa Ana, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana, CA, for her participation in the “Latino Masters Concert” as a composer, performer, and educator, and for her contribution to the community of the City of Santa Ana, California, USA.