To. Mexico a country that forms a bridge between north and south america a land of violence and diversity. Many here long for a better life in the united states. Mexico has been ravaged by Political Revolution and the drug trade. In this film focuses on the complexity of life in mexico as captured by some of the countrys leading photographers. Mexicos population is more than 120000000. Despite prevailing violence and corruption the people display a remarkable vitality creativity and resistance. The photographers whose work is featured in this film have documented the diversity of everyday life in mexico. Images bring us closer to understanding the people of this country their joints and their sorrows. Mexicos northern border extends more than 3100 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean to the atlantic it was defined by the 848 treaty that ended the Mexican American war. Mexico ceded territory including the modern day state of california plus parts of what would become new mexico arizona nevada utah and colorado. And they think theres a photograph of the border often and in many different places. And i shoot a lot because you want to open. This landscape is impressive but the border runs right through the hills and the rest of the environment. Its like a scar from a knife. And the border doesnt run in a Straight Line it goes one way and then another. The other journalist francisco has been crossing the Us Mexico Border for 2 decades his work now focuses on long term documentary projects. Based over. My travels along the border and taught me a lot most of all i learned that the Northern Region is not the same everywhere. Because a lot of those who were. Francisco portrays the border 3 photos of landscapes inanimate objects and people. He often uses metaphorical images to make his point. The wall starts at the beach and ends here thats why i like this place. But its funny right now im illegally in the u. S. And now. Im back in mexico here come the Border Police just on the. Construction of the main border barrier began in 1901 as part of president bill clintons operation gatekeeper strategy the project was aimed at reducing illegal immigration. Between 202016 the length of the wall was extended to around 1100 kilometers. In 2018 the u. S. Government started upgrading the old barrier near to one of. These new steel panels are about 5 meters high. I. Didnt know what i do when you talk to people from mexico or in the way of all of a though they tell you stories from their childhood you know they crossed the border to buy milk and americans came over to buy tortillas. Some experts call the border area a 3rd nation where people from both sides would interact with each other. Is that theyll say dont let. The so. I. Give them that was in the city of tijuana and particular has always fascinated me because of all that it represents because when thats true its a destination for a lot of migrants and a major point of transit want to also welcomes people who come there and decide to stay. Good also that its going to thats for 2 or 3 generations have now been born there although their parents came from somewhere else these people grew up if you want to feel at home here they love their city ordinances. But theres. A lot of good. Even if you stumble along the border i interviewed a lot of mexicans who had recently been deported from the u. S. I talked for hours with people who were living in the t one a sewer system and i didnt even take a single photo. These people often have no place to live and many become drug addicts when there already. Is a brewer but there are Serious Problems with education politics and the economy. San ysidro california is one of the busiest land border crossings in the world. An estimated 70000 cars and 20000 predestines cross it every day. And i once took a photo that i really came to like it was taken at sunnys he drove its a small metal disk that shows the border line it says to us at the top and mexico at the bottom of the basis and we will. Make you go there hi there. Im working actually would you mind if i took some photos. We now travel east to the border city of Ciudad Juarez which rises from the harsh landscape of the chihuahua desert. Prohibition in the 1920 s. Drove Many American bars and strip clubs here and the city grew rapidly. Today Ciudad Juarez is plagued by prostitution Drug Trafficking and corruption. Miter markdale was born here in 1979 later she studied photography in mexico city spain and new york and then returned home. Over the past 2 decades theres been a huge increase in Violent Crime here between drug cartels and the army and the face of the city has changed many residents have fled officials have tried to reduce crime by tearing down buildings in problematic districts. Might have documented these efforts in some of her photographs this work prompted her to start investigating a series of crimes that haunts the city to this day the kidnapping and murder of young women. That you have what is it not any im asking about about their lives here why did i hear what else is the citys main street. What used to be full of tourists is that yes he went on the everything but yet there were lots of bars in this district and crowds of american visitors many of him and those though they were theosis and what a lot of the young women who disappeared in 20092010 were killed. Now up to right here on these streets in venice the look at the back is now that she cast in am i here they most of them were between 15 and 22 years old they were looking for work in the shops which even employed children with any yeah. That was the girls came in for job interviews that you get when you go. Causes but they left and then they were kidnapped by members of the gang that ruled the entire district about how i thought i was on a. Local party eric is close she was my 1st case. So this is really. Continues he is using his 15th birthday is pretty she disappeared a year later. Might a search through Police Archives and that suspected gang members. She also wanted to find out how the women had lived before they vanished she wanted them to become more than mere statistics. Our leisure malady may i started by calling erika car use mother and she invited me to come over and see her sick at a minimum gas. Is upon us and its moment when i got to know erica through some of her personal belongings. That as i had to decide how best to portray people who had disappeared. Most of the victims had worked to wage jobs in american owned Assembly Plants near the border. They lived in settlements on the outskirts of the city near the places where they worked. In february 2012 a former discovered 26 bodies in a dry riverbed in the chihuahua desert might a had portrayed 12 of the victims in her photographic essay. The women had been held at the hotel very day in Ciudad Juarez. But they that they dont know that others are members of the loss takers gang used to hang out at the hotel yes they abducted young women held them at the hotel and forced them into prostitution either in private homes or in the hotel itself the women also had to work as prostitutes in jails and prisons when you count on every man monica was the 1st to be identified and her remains were found in a river bed an hour later investigators confirmed that she had been held prisoner at the hotel for about 4 months. Its a question a lot they mismanage quite wrong with. Police closed off the hotel during the investigation and trial but might have managed to get inside. Ok also you know out of the last piece on there were 3 floors here the doors were open everywhere. And what is as i saw a blood stained pillows this place was terrifying it was 6 in the morning if the police had caught me theyd arrested me when i was having my shot some videos took some pictures but i was really scared. The hotel very day trial began in 2015 an effort to bring to justice the. Its responsible for the kidnappings and murders. On the channel again. The some of the girls said they didnt want to work for the gang any more so they were driven to a remote area outside the city. As a family and then the gang members marched them into the desert and special in their heads with rocks back out of africa and the mahdi. The authorities saying about 1500 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez since the 1990 s. A number of local journalists and photographers have also been killed while my father was researching the story she too was kidnapped probably by gang members. There is a bit of sally quinn movie it was horrible some guys showed up and pushed me into a van and they threatened me for several hours i mean what they finally let me go see him its not that important that. The incident prompted my order to leave the city she returns only occasionally and never stays more than a few days. And cooking me to ask wasnt so now my work tries to explain whats happening to the people of mexico our society is falling apart we have to understand that almost as he asked us but yet not. Since 2005 madam archdale has documented 142 missing persons cases and 30 murders of young women. My Journey Continues to the countrys capital and largest city more than 20000000 people live in mexico city 4 times as many as in 1960 many people have moved here from nearby state theres been a steady increase in crime here in recent years especially in the poorer district experts say much of the increase is due to disputes between rival gangs and cartels. Federico gama specializes in photographing young people who feel like they dont fit into contemporary society. They live in mexico city. I grew up in a traditional neighborhood here. My work is based on 3 main themes identity clothing as a means of expression and something i call cultural migration and its called politics. Because the more you question and because projects are sort of autobiographical. For certain the city where i was born and i know these people. But this was a boy i had some experience with goings but i look at the but for me the most interesting thing about cultural migration is that it involves not only people of the muslim but also ideas ways of thinking and views of the world. These are from my book. The origins of chinas subculture can be traced back to the latin or neighborhoods of los angeles in the 1970 s. Cholo groups became popular as a means of expressing social cultural and political resistance to mainstream american society. Nothing is particularly distinctive. In the early 1990 s. Tunnel culture spread to mexico. I took these thirds of channels in a working class district of mexico city. Of those beliefs or less so of course and to fill in so the major impact on these young people blood in blood out an american me. After they saw these films they became childless right away gentlemen. But a use for them that the American Dream is to belong to a guy like in the movies. Example the problem is this photo is very symbolic these guys are him of their guns and my camera. It shows that theres a certain level of trust between us but then there was. The spot on the quiet with violence thats associated with these young people who think theyre important priorities or Families Communities neighborhoods and or contractors who are impacted by. This point things like him like them or call. People the president calls at least the initial completely Different Things mexicans who live in the us suffer discrimination for them clothing signifies social resistance which is this has was here. You skin this expresses their working class mexican roots in the he can. Be a key cisco in this one hides what the others are proud of exporting their indigenous and proletarian origins going there in the can into ohio. In the district of taco by federico photographs young people who belong to an Indigenous Ethnic Group called the mother when they combine elements of china punk and skater subcultures federico calls them our chunnel skate parks. Wearing punk or cholo or skater clothing because of a sense of counterculture sophistication which of course. You can see this very clearly in a photo i call force of gravity. For this young man presents himself powerfully against an urban backdrop. But look at that hes wearing a to lucas soccer scarf as a headband skater globus cholo trousers and shirt but the low told look you neck and he said the poke. Only because the situation of the Indigenous People ask country is very complex. Because many of them work out of school jobs in mexico city. And they live like foreigners here even though they descended from the original residents of this price. The last one of us where their home region is about 150 kilometers from mexico city. They help to build learn to look at the capital city that was founded in the 14th century. The hill of some result women have told me. Building the city before the spanish arrived looked at as a lesson for us we were ruled by the aztecs and today were ruled by the people who live here in the pull of the minerals condos complete the leaders. They are doing. Now is cut off were going to finally where. The. Youngest person if you come back to them body the attitude of youth counterculture trouble conduct of. The. Day after lives our childless capon course i worked on as i started to work in a project called lost illuminati. Its about a phenomenon that i call 12 d. R collaborative deals where a lady of guadalupe and the young people who make a pilgrimage to her silicon in mexico city on the summer 12th to pay their respects to her they would pull him out alive you. Can look at im interested in the connection between violence crime and religion. Ok i think these young people feel a certain social dissolution it. Can wind up a kind of fanaticism but they express by turning to religion all. Release your. Power. From. Now we moved to southern mexico. Is one of the poorest states in the country its largely rural and the population is mostly indigenous. Edgardo aragon was born in the town of could learn he was the 1st person in his family to attend a university his work focuses on mexicos violent history including disputes between Indigenous Peoples and the large corporations that have taken over their land. In his installations edgardo combines videos photographs and paintings his project is called made to america the hurricane effect it focuses on the development of large Scale Wind Energy projects along the isthmus of torrent a peg. Nearly 1300. Wind turbines have been built there so far. The government has also proposed to build an overland transport corridor in the region to compete with the panama canal. Which is where the battle went on whether there are serious contradictions here. You see large Wind Turbines that produce clean energy and you think what a beautiful landscape. But if you dig deeper youll find a lot of problems that are common in mexico. Confiscation of land violence death and displacement and inequality which is one of the one of. The wind farms were built on Communal Land that had been distributed to peasants as part of reforms that followed the mexican revolution of 1010. But in 1992 the government approved legislation that allowed the privatization of this land. Thats how the Big Energy Companies moved into the its mis. And they didnt have to do much in return. They just bribed the local authorities to drive out the people who live there. The Wind Turbines here. Yeah theyve already started over there. Is there is much wind here as in some of tayo. Where its not as windy here is it is there. But it blows all the time. None of the Wind Turbines here supply this region with energy. Not even nearby communities like. It was only 8 kilometers from a wind farm but it has no electricity. When either. The island though is inhabited by an Indigenous People called. The island has been hit hard recently by hurricanes and earthquakes. All the government has pretty much given up on this area and has tried to resettle the people who live there and that there are used to be a communal kitchen here. I mean look after the storm an earthquake destroyed a wall here but you dont know about it but. In his ironic photo series happy people i gotta go at a gun refers to a official serving the claims that mexico is one of the happiest countries in the world. Were going to have a lot of what are the Police Patrol branches that are not there with her job at all that up i think a big problem say with drugs and organized crime and what happens to the crux nothing you know that because theyve got money. The only people who get locked up here are the per. If you have money you can ignore the law you know. If you dont have any money tough luck and also people are sent to prison for petty crimes and all up in. The. The. Any known wrestler my name is what a loop a vasquez luna i come from the village of x. Yall in the state of chiapas my native language is. I used to walk along this path all the time because its close to my fathers land. Those us. I mean there are coffee plantations and farm fields nearby. That made it that we use a small path when we go to fetch water. But we were always a free and it would be attacked by a dangerous animal like a tiger or something. And one thing. On january 1st 1904 rebels and peasants launched the zapatista uprising in the state of tea up us to protest the enactment of the north American Free trade agreement and its expected impact on the impoverished local residents. The uprising was named after in the line of the pastor a key leader of the 1910 revolution and an advocate of agrarian socialism. These rebels were concerned that under nafta mexican farmers would face stiff competition from the u. S. They were also opposed to the mexican governments latest attempts at land reform. Paddleboat he had to travel to rebel held areas to take photographs of the uprising hed already covered several Armed Conflict in latin america. But id seen fighting search all america but i never thought it would happen in my own country he may bear the conflict out of my will in me but. You got were right out of the 3rd day things were tense and there was lots of go viral. Single bit and found some dead supper teach us what a book. Comment on same our course was one of the 1st i took of him until then he had allowed journalists to get close to. The fighting between the rebels and mexican troops continued for 12 days then the government declared a cease fire. In february 1906 the rebels and the government worked out a peace deal but the 2 sides disagreed on several important points. Riginal accord was never implemented the government then started arming and to militias who often clashed with the rebels. They fear that strategy has been used in these kinds of conflicts and many different countries. Where the government avoids a direct conflict. And relies instead on militias to fight the rebels and. But its a Long Term Strategy theyre going to play out over 20 or 30 years as it did in this case where a very barren your school wanted. Repeated attacks by militia forces prompted many local residents to leave their homes and move to refugee camps. In late december 1970 militiamen attacked the village of. His father along so taught catechism in the village and organized fast in prayer meetings most of the local residents supported the zapatista rebels on december 22nd along socalled the villagers together for a prayer meeting and they heard the sound of gunfire. That ensued. We watched as the bullets flew over us and up through the trees. My father said just imagine if we were hit again. And if these bullets can tear into a tree what would they do to us yes i would not want to set up. Where the last thing i remember was that my mother was shot in the arm. There was a man with a gun in front of me maybe 10 meters away. Yes man. But i mean when they were shooting at my mother i stood up and screamed. And i wasnt afraid of the gunfire or the soldiers anymore but im. Ok i meant this the only thing that mattered was that id lost my mother. I mean mother and the son and i think that listening yes i hear that Little Something else the children started screaming and crying and you could hear cries of pain everywhere. Just dont know what you know i can still hear those sounds it was traumatic. And that this is thats the last thing i remember seeing the thing when you get me. Out of the massacre lasted all day was the one whose beauties the group that was confirmed by journalists who reported on the story when i got those religious were slaughtered before that but as a press photographer and ive experienced a lot of Armed Conflict but ive never seen a massacre bike that one the stop not. Based on i thought i least i what i base 45 people were murderous as he was they were massacred. So yes the events that took place have been confirmed. Paramilitaries came to the church and killed women and children. That if they cut open the bellies of 3 pregnant women and pulled out the fetuses. Allow us to see course. One will say that im a psychotic during the massacre there were army units. But they didnt intervene and i must act any. Better looking brother and 2 sisters were the only members of the family who survived. They fled to a rebel camp. Other survivors went to a nearby village. Pedro but yet are visited the village soon afterward. And theres a killer level the refugee camp was located near that helen told to stop one last note in the court will give you. A key this is where they slept. So they also want to hear people. Tell him what i see and the massacre had taken place 12 or 15 days earlier this morning that. By the end people were angry with the army relatives of the 45 people who were murdered in now believe that the army was their greatest enemy. And they didnt want the soldiers around any against the need and he said again. d a lesson the greatest think of his i wanted to go to the women got together and decided to ask the troops to leave leave hed say but i believe this because if. They offered it to them slowly. I mean that when i started to get worried when i saw the women here pushing the troops and going to the soldiers staggered back wards and bells theyve been asked by me yeah but i want to. Be and. That was if the thank you but right. But if they let that we. Might be let loose. Faith and. Belief in your personal good to last for i never give my photos a title that is a so your but i called this one the women of so yeah its that because it represents many women and. All the women who are involved in the struggle in this movement and this idea there and. This photograph was published worldwide. It shows that a Popular Resistance was. Even a small one can change the course of events. We have come here today want to call attention to our demands for autonomy. One evil governments after another and their institutions and Security Forces continue to commit crimes against our brothers and against Indigenous Peoples. The one we just family but i will say those who took part in that massacre were arrested but later released it will be the government decided that it did not want to punish them too harshly by york and thats why they are free no. I say no i am not really there so i hardly ever talk about it because it brings back painful memories but if i dont talk about it people will forget and thats what the government wants what we have to look at and then dont really. Be vasquez luna is now a member of the National Indigenous congress which promotes the autonomy of native peoples. Photographer good i think it will be there says the camera gives her an alternative view of reality when she looks through the lens the world appears differently. Is a legend among mexican photographers. During her studies she was inspired by the work of the renowned man well. Who later became her mentor. Shes also been influenced by the work of younger contemporary mexico. Photographers. As lyrical images from the wide ranging diversity of mexicos culture and its people. Just a bit ok to come back after the birth of the camera gave me the opportunity to explore the culture of my country. And fit in with that work and he was more thats how i got to know mexico and all of its different ways of life. Knowledge of the default i dont use telephoto lenses or flash devices i just shoot close ups the more the therapy. Is that often interfere with it one subjects are mexicans just like me the way whos to say whether they or i lead a better life it will further your. Bear our theme put it but ive always felt a connection with these people. To be day has managed to capture a world of beauty dreams and illusions and a land where life is often shaped by harsh realities. Her work and that of these other photographers sheds unique light on the profound resilience of the mexican people. Im stunned the royals defeat and remain at the top of the lead. Forrest drama 5 months hard to clinch victory against france. In minutes the lead. Stand for. Language courses. Video. Anytime anywhere. W. Woman in such a book about travel now a mainstream talk the a. Leg. Length. Play. This is the news live from berlin get out while you still can living in rural areas in the state of New South Wales are told to flee to the cities with catastrophic brush fires showing no signs of abating also coming up libyas former president takes a plane to mexico to go into exile where he leaves
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.