Impressions of the Border

The border region is very unique in that it incorporates both Mexico and The United States and also reflects something transcending both nations.  I'm not sure if that makes sense, but because of the fusion of cultures and the transit between the two countries, both sides of the border have become a culture of "mixture" - of division and inclusion.  Getting to know this region has been eye opening, interesting and challenging.

El Paso/Ciudad Juarez is one of the most fascinatingly complex cities I have ever visited.  If you look at the city from a distance, and even while driving through it, you see only one city.  It isn't until you look closer and see the wall or canal which divides the city that you realize they are two cities in two different countries.  When we went to the city council meeting to be sworn in as AmeriCorps volunteers the mayor referred to the city as El Paso/Ciudad Juarez as if it were one city.  The city and city members see the need for the cities to function together and remember when the two cities could be more closely identified as one.  In the past six years (since 2006) this has had to change due to increased violence in Juarez - and there is a lot of credible speculation that it's inaccurate to "blame" the violence on drug-related activities in Juarez, that is, El Paso has a large part to play in terms of how and where the violence happens. Even though Jaurez has been horribly affected by violence in the past years, El Paso was rated one of the safest cities in the world with something like an average of 6 murders per year.  This disparity in numbers may reflect, some presume, the effects of political, police, and military negotiations between nations more so than actual cultures of violence endemic to Ciudad Juarez and Mexico generally -- not to dismiss the documented corruption among the Mexican military and paramilitary forces.

Many people live in Juarez and have work visas to come into El Paso everyday for work or live in the U.S. but go back and forth to visit family, etc.  The cultures and people are really inseparable. 

Las Cruces has also been really fascinating to get to know.  The area is so Mestizo that most people in the community support the Latino population and the integration of Mexican culture into the city and society.  NM is one of two bilingual states in the U.S., Hawai'i being the other one. (While Hawai'i has passed formal legislation, there remains some disagreement as to whether New Mexico's bilingual status is official: in practice, yes; in principle, it's debatable.)  The majority of the people here have grown up and lived in this mixed community or have moved here because they value the diversity.  Sometimes there is a little resistance within Las Cruces to expose some of the harder immigration issues that occur in the region -- but there's no general motivation to expose the immigrants or undocumented workers themselves, at least not on the part of the area's residents, as far as I can tell. Of course, there are tensions and issues just like everywhere, but the folks here seem to be aware of difference.  And their ability to imbrace and discuss it impresses me.

 In total, NM is an awesome state!  I think as a whole it is more inclusive, open and welcoming as a whole than any other "American" city/state I've lived in. I have experienced a little resistance from the Chicano population to white people who come in to do service, but I have found that because I am working with (at my job) all Chicana or Mexican women (I'm the only gringa) that with time I am able to build trust and relationships.  I think it just takes time.  In my experience here at work and in the colonias, with time and patience it becomes obvious that I'm not here to take over or tell people what to do or think.  

El Paso/Ciudad Juarez Border

El Paso/Ciudad Juarez

If you are interested in learning more about immigration or the border region I am building a list of films that explore the topic.  Be warned, however, that some are pretty sad.

Featured Films

• Sin Nombre - Gangs and reasons for youth immigration  (can watch on Netflix)
• A Better Life - A father and son in the U.S.
• Entre Nos - Difficulties of making it once in the United States.
• La Misma Luna - Mother and Child Immigrants (can watch on Netflix)
• Harvest of Empire  - Brand New

Documentaries

• Which Way Home - About immigrant children (can watch on Netflix)
• El Sicario Room 164 - About an Assassin hired by the Mexican police in Juarez
• Murder Capital - About the violence in Ciudad Juarez
• Presumed Guilty - corruption in Legal system in Mexico