After months of preparation, the 2006 SFA Encuentro hit like a hurricane. Here's a glimpse at the proverbial calm before the storm inside the CIW office, the epicenter of pre-Encuentro organizing. What began with a flurry of emails and conference calls in April – evolving steadily throughout the hot and humid Florida summer – was now coalescing into a full-blown movement gathering. Yes, with peaking anticipation, it was finally time for the 2006 SFA Encuentro.

Members of the SFA Steering Committee and friends began arriving earlier in the week to assist with the laundry list of last-minute errands that such a gathering entails. Lupe Gomez (right), a student leader with MEChA at the University of Notre Dame, took advantage of some downtime to hit the local airwaves with Francisca Cortes on the CIW's very own low-power radio station, 107.9 FM Radio Conciencia. Throughout the weekend, members of the SFA network had opportunities like this to get to know CIW members in informal settings, deepening relationships one conversation at a time.

By Thursday night, the Encuentro was in full swing. Assembled in Sanders Hall – at the same Catholic church that offered the CIW space for its initial meetings over 13 years ago – were 65 participants from over 15 states and Washington DC. Old and new allies from Southern Illinois to Miami, from UC Santa Cruz to Detroit, from the Bronx to Southern Mississippi, came together to plot SFA's next steps in the rapidly escalating McDonald's campaign. In all, more than 30 different youth-led social justice groups participated in the Encuentro.

Consistent with the CIW's approach to organizing, the 3-day weekend began with opportunities for reflection and raising consciousness. In this exercise, participants sketched their visions for a better world, connecting long-term hopes and desires with the present-day urgency of the CIW's struggle for dignity for the tens of thousands of workers whose labor provides this country – not to mention its $120 billion fast-food industry – with fresh fruits and vegetables on demand.

We also took time to reflect on our shared history and past victories. In this skit, ten Encuentro participants – each representing a different "lesson" from the successful Taco Bell Boycott – swarm two other participants playing the unfortunate role of Taco Bell, much in the same way the worker-led campaign swarmed the fast-food company until its boycott-ending agreement with the CIW in 2005.

Role-playing was a popular theme throughout the weekend, this time as participants in the "Organizing to Win" workshop learn some of the finer points in the art of persuasion.

Of course, no trip to Immokalee would be worth the cost of airfare (or gas) if it didn't include a presentation directly from the CIW. Francisca Cortez, a CIW member and invaluable community leader, spoke to Encuentro participants at length about the history of the CIW, tracing its growth from those first militant work stoppages in the streets and parking lots of Immokalee to its national, award-winning Campaign for Fair Food.

Francisca was also joined by CIW members Cruz Salucio and Gerardo Reyes Chávez. Cruz and Gerardo provided a recap and updates on McD's bumbling missteps, including the launch of a grower-controlled "Code of Conduct" (SAFE) and the release of a study on farmworker poverty, "so riddled with errors both large and small that it cannot be accepted as factually accurate on virtually any measure," as one social scientist politely described it. At every step of the way, the CIW explained, McDonald's has responded to the campaign not as a legitimate human rights crisis in its suppliers' fields but as a public relations crisis that warrants a purely cosmetic solution.

Straight from the CIW presentation, the Encuentro poured outdoors into the bright sun and mid-afternoon heat (which is still quite formidable in late September, especially for some of our less-adapted Northern friends). CIW member Romeo Ramirez (center) was on hand for the hour-long walking tour that visited several worker housing camps, the parking lot where tomato pickers gather to search for work each morning, and, of course, the CIW office. The tour gave Encuentro participants an opportunity to see first-hand the community conditions that result from sub-poverty wages.

In addition to the particularities of Immokalee, the Encuentro provided a forum to connect with struggles taking place around the world. From the war in Iraq to the uprisings of teachers and indigenous communities in Oaxaca to the student movement in Chile to the organizing efforts of flower workers in Colombia, a sense of global movement and relationship clearly defined the weekend. Film screenings, optional workshops, and spontaneous discussions highlighted creative and inspiring examples of people struggling together to change their own lives and destinies.

But no matter how broad the discussion grew, it always returned to Immokalee, to the CIW, and to our role in the McDonald's campaign and the struggle for fair food. The discussions ranged from large group strategy sessions dissecting McDonald's strengths and weaknesses...

... to intimate break-out groups focused on brand-busting a corporation that banks on young people as its marketing "sweet spot" (in the slightly creepy words of one McD's executive). The tremendous commitment and dedication of the young people gathered in Immokalee – a commitment and dedication to see this fight through to its only acceptable conclusion – was clearly evident throughout the weekend.

The Encuentro was enriched by the presence of old and new friends. In this case, the youth of POWER U, a grassroots group in the heart of Miami, helped hold it down for southeast Florida and the 305 area code. Burger King – if you're reading this – keep an eye out for this crew! Whoever said we were only focusing on McDonald's?

And what SFA gathering would be complete without Son del Centro, our longtime friends and compañer@s from Santa Ana, CA? Since the early days of the Taco Bell Boycott – when CIW and SFA organizers found themselves lost in the depths of Orange County, CA – Son del Centro and El Centro Cultural de México have provided innumerable forms of support and solidarity, from office space near Taco Bell's headquarters to beautiful songs inspiring and accompanying the struggle.

Speaking of old friends, Oannes Pritzker of Yat Kitischee Native Center was also on hand, sharing insights and advice while also capturing our voices to be broadcast globally through his web-based Wolf Mountain Radio. Last year, Oannes produced an excellent 14-part Encuentro series, and we're already awaiting this year's programs!

As one wise person stated, "Students and youth do not organize on bread alone." Accordingly, a dear friend and talented cook, Jaime, joined us from Austin, TX . Without a doubt, Jaime's tasty treats – including some delicious tamales – provided much more than just the raw calories needed to keep on truckin'. Jaime's meals ensured a well-fed and happy Encuentro that could focus on the tasks at hand. Many thanks, Jaime! ATX represent!

And if students and youth do not organize on bread alone, then they certainly do not organize without the occasional social event. By Saturday evening, it was time to blow off some steam at the Encuentro party! Raquel, another intrepid member of the Austin crew and savvy Boot the Bell veteran, got the evening started right with a, well, unique concoction of ingredients from the CIW cooperative called melchato. Whatever this beverage lacked in taste, it certainly made up for in heart, fueling all skill levels of booty-shakin' on the dance floor for hours to come.

On Sunday morning, it was back to the few remaining sessions and workshops, as well as fitting in a few more conversations with friends.

And then, as quickly as it had erupted into being on Thursday evening, the 2006 SFA Encuentro was over...

...but not before an incredible weekend transpired. Somewhere between forging friendships and the strategy sessions, the dance floor and the political discussions, the early Immokalee mornings and the humid late nights, came a strong sense of certainty that it truly isn't a matter of if the workers of Immokalee and their allies will win the McDonald's campaign, but simply when. In that light, the weekend ended on a perfect pitch with the adaptation of a chant currently animating the popular rebellion in Oaxaca, Mexico:

¡Ya cayó! ¡Ya cayó! ¡Ronaldo ya cayó!

Now let's make it happen.