LATINGO BORDER
Some people believe that the word "gringo" was born during the U.S. invasion of Mexico, when Mexican said "Green Go Home". Despites it seems not to be true, over time, the flow of people has changed direction so I decide to call "latingo" to this vast frontier for thousands of Latin immigrants.
This is a series of photographs made along the U.S. – Mexican border in 3 of the 4 northern Border States: Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The borderline is my reference; I try not to go more than 50 miles away. After several years living in Mexico, I wanted to know how that area looks like, who inhabits it.
Borders are strange spaces, often arbitrary, subject always to politics and negotiation. Much of this land was Mexican territory until the U.S. invasion in 1846. After two years of war, the victory went to the U.S., who drafted the treaty and who took over the states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. For Mexico meant the loss of 2 million km2, 55% of the territory of that time.
The current border is a contradictory land. I traveled from place to place as an anonymous visitor; I met people who lived in these places, often their refuge, and an escape from a previous life. Often, they thought I was Mexican ...
LATINGO BORDER SHORT FILM
