Clan Destino - La Conchita Mudslide Victims

PayPal transfers may be made through the website:
www.laconchitamemorialfund.com

Tessa Womack Educational Fund
Established by Matt Russell, Charlie Womack's brother-in-law
14 year-old Tessa is a bright young
woman who aspires to be a photographer
Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
P.O. Box 427
Carpinteria, CA 93014

Please send monetary donations to:
Santa Barbara Bank & Trust (may be sent to any branch)
Womack and Wallet Memorial Fund
5190 Hollister Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

Deceased:
Charles Womack, 5 1
Mechelle Wallet, 3 7
and her children
Hannah Wallet, 10
Paloma Wallet, 2
and Raven Wallet, 6

Any questions or for more information regarding
donations of other items, please call Matt Russell
805-683-9304. Thank you for your support!

Click here to download the
PDF with all the above information

Remember

Mudslide buries small California town

We're sure you have all heard of the La Conchita Landslide that happened Monday. We had seven of our close friends missing under the pile, as people dug and searched in the rain one by one they found all of our friends. The problem with this story is that none were found alive. The people that were not in the houses when the hill slid are left without some of their family members and any belongings whatsoever. I am going to tell you a little about our friends and what the situation is now, and how you can help.

-Charlie Womack (aka Charlie Llama and Papa Chonga) was a well known musician, artist, and DJ in Santa Barbara. He DJ'd at many parties and events such as Illuminatrix, Dave's Mountain Parties, and Burning Man. He took care of so many people, and helped out with everything he possibly could, even leaving himself broke at times just to help someone. He had 12 people living at his house before this landslide. Now none of them have a home, and 5 of them are dead. He was the leader of our pack (La Conchita Llama Tribe) and we love him so much and will miss him from the depths of our soul. He has 4 children, Cory, Issaih, O'Ryan ,one is a 15 year old girl (which is now going to have to find someone to live with) named Tessa. We need $ for funeral, memorial, and the rebuilding of his families lives.

-Michelle Wallet is the mother of 4 Paloma, Hanna, Raven and Jasmine. Paloma, Hanna, and Raven were also killed in the slide with their mother. Jimmy (her husband) and Jasmine are the only two left with their family. All of Jimmy's stuff was destroyed in the slide too, they all lived with Charlie. They need to pay for 4 funerals, and the rebuilding of their family.

-Vanessa Bryson is a friend of ours in her late twenties. She lived with her boyfriend Dan Powell two houses down from Charlies. Her family will need money for the funeral. She was always over at Charlies also.

-Christina Delgado-Kennedy is a mother of one Chase, a 17 or 18 year old boy. She is a great friend of Charlies, and was hanging out there all of the time.
They will need help with a funeral and rebuilding Chases life.

-Tony Alvis is a well known man from La Conchita, everyone knows him there,
and will be very missed by the community.

So please help with anything you can do, they really really need it. There are many funds that have been set up in hopes to raise the money. I have set up three of these, and the rest have been set up by family members.

-Make a check payable to the family you are contributing too, and send it to or bring it to Santa Barbara Bank and Trust it doesn't matter what branch:

The Wallet Memorial Fund
The Delgado-Kennedy Memorial Fund
The Bryson Memorial Fund
The Womack Memoral Fund
The Alvis Memoral Fund

Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
250 South Mills Road
Ventura, CA 93003-3436
Thank you for all the help with this disaster

--Jessica

____________________________________________________

My first impression of Charlie was this elf wizard
bending over the turn tables at Illuminatrix. It was
probably around 2 in the morning, there were maybe 20
of us there.... this was before I met any of the fine
people who would go on to form The Clan Destino, maybe
three some years ago, and I was so stoked to find some
deep, live-wire energy in my old home town of VTA,
several blocks from my parents house no less. Our
first real discussion was over iced white russians at
Age of Aquarium. It was straight into the
stratosphere between us after that, and we always took
the time at each event to ponder those deep topics
that we really ultimately dont know, cant know, shit
about. Everything about Uncle Charlie was charitable,
and in true elder fashion, his smile, his embrace, a
good word, a glass of wine, and even his home were
always available to those in need. I liked his humor,
his wicked grin, and the sound of his voice. He spun
great tracks. We jammed the guitars on many
occasions. And I was truly impressed with how
immediate his life was. He lived as he pleased, made
no apologies, and followed his dreams in a rambling
sort of way. I cant say how many times I would be
hanging out with the other boys in the crew, watching
Charlie, and we would all agree that if we were living
like him when we reached his age it would be a great
blessing. He inspired me frankly, as I'm sure he
inspired alot of people, and he still represents that
kind of unique innocence and determined righteousness
which you can only really find in funky California
beach towns. I'm sorry I missed your last birthday
bash man. At Sea of Dreams, we talked about how funny
it was that the rest of the world didnt get the
obvious truth of our lives, and how the tribal family
was all that mattered. You told me that your life was
going great, and that if it happened tommorrow, you
would die a happy man. And I believe you.

--daryl (dutch)

____________________________________________________

Word of Mouth in Santa Barbara are having an all-DJ’s all-night (well, almost) party and fundraiser for Charley Womak’s Memorial and the La Conchita mudslide victims. Saturday January 15th starting at 7pm. Muddy Waters Coffeehouse at 508 E. Haley St. in SB. All ages. Come out to support the family and friends of the mudslide victims. Help them to more easily recover from their losses. Love, money, clothes, music, cheer. All of these are needed.

Clan Destino will also be hosting a benefit on Friday Feb 11 at El Paseo in Santa Barbara. More information to come, but keep these dates set aside.

____________________________________________________

It was sometime in the summer of 2000 when Charley, dreadlocked and lithe, came walking into the café with a plan. He and his friends were musicians, mostly hippie-jam band sorts, but Charley saw the future in his children and in their gang. This sub-group of his friends, all of them 20 years his junior, were testing the waters between organic drum-jams and turntable electro-beats. It had been done before, yeh, but not with such heart. That night took on a life of it ’s own. Children, grandparents, hipsters, all making music in this tiny café on Haley Street. Ethereal vocalists, young Disc-Jockeys, seasoned guitarists, and amateur percussionists intertwined their skills on several occasions for the next several years. At the roots was always Charley, his guitar or flute in tow. Two years later Charley, his daughter, Cory, and I find ourselves playing poker and drinking vodka in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Stockton, California. The RV we were driving to Black Rock City had two flat tires and its midnight Tuesday. All we can do is wait for the tire shops to open. Several hundred ’s of dollars lighter, Charley cranks down the last lug nut, and we ’re on our way!! Charley and Cory ’s first Burningman experience! At the BRC gates Charley lays down $500 for their admission. He looks at me and says “well shit, broke is broke, may as well enjoy it! ”LIFE was what he meant, and he never forgot that. He always enjoyed life and his friends and family. He never had too little to give a little bit more. I will never forget him hanging off the top of his van while loading gear for the next adventure, sliding naked down the stripper pole at PoleCats, our last beer at Jimmy ’s before PEII, a quick hug at Sea of Dreams to say we still cared, no matter what …Broke is never broke when you ’ve got friends.

--siobhan

____________________________________________________

I want to tell you about a friend of mine.
On new years eve, down at anon salon, this friend of mine wanders up to me in
the hallway. "man, that was an incredible set" he tells me. He is a dj too.
He is one of these awesome people, who buys gear, and lends it to friends, gives
it back to the community. I played one of my top ten sets on his speaker
stacks out at burning man, back in 2003. We talk, and I remind him of my open
invitation for him to come by my house, and spin some records with me.

There are those people, who do things for the community. they generate it.
they buy the gear for the entire group. they find the spaces, where the party
can happen. Like my friend charlie, whos talking to me in the hallway on new
year's eve.

and then you get the phone call, and the brief exchange in the hallway goes off
in your mind like a flashbulb, because all of a sudden some shitty weather
soaked a hillside too much, and your friend, and his speakers and all those
records, and the cords that carried the music of our lives , and him, and his
house, are buried for good under the earth.

and just like that, he's gone.

I see gigs where his record box is open next to mine, the smiles as one of us
finishes a set, and turns the mixer over to the other. I remember him being
generous, and letting my friend zak throw some records at an after party. i
remember hugging him at burning man.

and most of all, i just keep hearing him saying the last words id ever hear him
say, over and over in my mind.
" man, that was an incredible set " and somehow, he's not talking about my
music, but about his own life.

we come from the earth, and in the end, she calls us back. with water, with
fire, with earth.

--wolfie

____________________________________________________

I am sure you have all heard about the La Conchita landslide. It has been a
great tragedy to all of us that know people from there. They are still digging
up people, which now are mostly dead. Some of you have met Charlie Womack (aka
Papa Chonga and Charlie Llama). He has spun at many of the parties you have been
too like Illuminatrix, Daves Mountain Parties, and Burning Man (part of Clan
Destino). He was found last night, passed on to the other side. Charlie took
care of many people, and helped out with everything as much as he could. He has
always been the leader of our pack (La Conchita Llama tribe) and everyone is
going to miss him. He has 4 children, one being a 15 year old girl. His house
and belongings (including the belongings of everyone who lived with him too) are
completely gone and distroyed. Since he was the provider for the people who
lived with him, we need help paying for a funeral and memorial he deserves. So I
set up a Memorial Fund to pay for all of this. There are a couple of other funds
you will also see on the news too. In Charlies house there was also Jimmy's (aka
Gador) wife, and three beautiful little little girls who have still not been
found. We also have Kristina missing who is the mother of Chase our friend. I
just found out our friend Dan's girlfriend Vanessa was found passed away. So
since we have several funds set up this will all go to Charlie and anyone else
in our close circle of friends that are found. You can call me if you need to
(805) 259-8885, and my name is Jessica Lunsford

This is how you make a donation to "The Charlie Womack Memorial Fund"
-Go to Santa Barbara Bank in Trust (Call me for the bank near you) and tell them
you want to make a deposit in the Charlie Womack Memorial Fund account
#301010003673

-Send a check or money order with the check written out to

Charlie Womack Memorial Fund
to... Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
250 South Mills Road
Ventura, CA 93003-3436

Thank you for all the help with this disaster

--Jessica