mother on the border

I was archiving my photos from this summer, and I saw this photo I took on the way back from Juarez, Mexico three weeks ago.

I was in the long slow line crossing the border back to the US at Santa Teresa, NM and I saw a Mexican mother kisses her child in the middle of two car lanes.

I miss Anapra

It has been 3 months since the last time I went to Juarez. My old car died after it took me back to Albuquerque.
Now, I really miss that place and all the lovely people.

The first trip I will do when I find a car is driving down here. Hopefully, I can make it before Easter.

a few photos from Anapra, Juárez, México.

a few photos from Anapra, Juárez, México.

Questions from Mexican children

Last weekend, I went down to Juarez again for my project.
Since those kids in the Amigos en Cristo always ask me questions about China. I told them to write down the questions they want to ask the most about China.
I came to Albuquerque on Monday and posted those photo online. It got really good responses.

Here are the photos:

ps: I will put on the Spanish questions and English translations on it by tonight.

Family Portraits

update the family portraits from last trip to Anapra
I'm leaving for Juarez again this Friday and will have more to put into this album next week.

brothers

I found this picture when looking through all the photos I took from last trip in Anapra.

Finally, I scanned all the films this morning. I am going to edit those images taken by kids tonight. I am really amazed by the way they look at their families.

the other side of the fence is another world -Part Three

Finally, I have some time to work on the photos from the last trip to Juárez.

I found a cheaper price to process film at Costco which is $2 each roll, comparing to $6 at Walgreen, it is much better. The next a few days, I will scan all the photos taken by the children and post them on the blog. But I will probably cancel the plan of going to Juárez this weekend, since I'm sick.

The reason I chose to do the project in Anapra, Juárez: 1. it is just by the fence of the U.S and Mexico; 2, the people are really poor and friendly there; 3, the children I met at the Amigos en Cristo community center are very smart and creative.

I really enjoy visiting every family in Anapra, taking photos of the family. My Spanish is not very good, but I have the have best teachers in the world-- the kids. And sometimes, I feel that going to a place without speaking the language very well, I have to try different ways to communicate with them. Everything is based on trust.

the other side of the fence is another world -Part Two

On the other side of the fence is another world

Last Thursday, I drove five hours from Albuquerque, NM to Juárez, México by myself. This is the first time I went to Juárez alone. After crossing the border, I started getting a little bit nervous. I didn't speak Spanish very well and I was at this place that supposed to be very dangerous.

When I arrived at the community center Amigos en Cristo, I saw the kids, all the anxious was gone. The local artist 'Bandidos" was giving the children an art history quiz. My friend Pastor Misael Lorea introduced me to all the kids and told them that I will teach a photography class on Friday.

Before I left for the trip, I started reading Wendy Ewald's books which are really helpful for my project. The ways of teaching children photography are different from how I learned it.

Adults have more knowledge, in another case they have more restrictions which prevent them from being creative.

I was also reading the book Ways of Seeing by John Berger.

He said, "The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe."

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In the next post, I will talk about the photo class I taught.

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Children at Bandido's art history class in Amigos en Cristo community center on Jan. 27, 2011.

the other side of the fence is another world-Part One

On the other side of the fence is another world

I took another trip to Juárez last Thursday to start my project in Colonial Anapra. On my way crossing the border back on Sunday, the US border patrol asked me if I went to Juárez by myself.

I said yes.

Her respond was "You are so brave."

Before I left for this trip, so many of my friends told me not to go, regarding the violence.

I did not really listen to them but I got scared everyday by reading the number of people being killed from the news everyday.

I called my parents the day before I left, the only thing I said was "I think if I don't bother anybody, nobody's going to bother me." My parents are in China, and media there don't really talked about the drug related violence on the border of the U.S and Mexico. One reason was there's no Chinese media there. Because of that, my parents don't know what is going on in Juárez.

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The next post, I will talk about what I've done in Juárez.

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I took the photo below on Saturday after the bi-national anti-war, anti-racism protest on the border.

Those kids are holding the balloons they got from the people on the U.S side. On their left is the fence which divides the land into two different countries. In the back is the Mount Criso Rey which is on the intersection of New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.

art in war time

The Daily Lobo published those two photos on Monday's issue.

I see it as the beginning of my project in Juárez, México. I've visited a lot of people on UNM campus today to talk to them about my project idea and see if they are interested in giving grants.

And I am also trying to get into an independent study class with this new project in the Communication & Journalism Dept.

I will have a lot more people to talk to tomorrow.

Hope everything goes well and I can accomplish what I expect!

Doris Judith Loera, 8, shows her painting of Anne Frank in the Amigo en Cristo Community Center in Colonia Anapra, Juárez , Mexico on Jan. 8. Loera says children in Juárez are locked in the house due to drug-related violence, and she said Anne Frank’s captivity was similar.

Ana Karen Garcia,11,(right) and her sister Samanta Garcia, 9, swing while displaying their paintings in the Juárez center Jan. 8. Children in Colonia Anapra go to the community center for art class every Saturday. Artists from Juárez teach classes.

Portraits from CE.RE.SO

When I was doing the week long internship with Gallup Independent, the three photographers (Adron Gardner, Brian Leddy, Cable Hoover)there helped me editing the whole portrait project.

Here are the final picks:

Talking about working for the Gallup Independent, I had a really good time there. I covered different stories in different pueblos, drove on icy road early in the morning, had really surprising welcome from the natives in Zuni pueblo...... Of course, I learned a lot from the three photographers.

Thank you all!

Cuauhtémoc, Mexico

For the past three days, I went to Cuauhtemoc, Mexico with the Better Together Mexico project which is a Christian missionary. I was documenting the whole trip.

Also, I photographed a portrait series in this jail in Cuauhtemoc. I got back to Albuquerque last night, and quickly picked one from the series. Here it is:

A inmate with his family in the Cuauhtemoc jail on Dec, 29, 2010.

On my way back from this trip, I was planning on the next project in Anapra, Mexico. Anapra is only 10 minutes away from Juarez, Mexico which is having the drug war going on nowadays.

For the new project, I want to use the idea of Kids with Cameras in the movie of Born Into Brothels. I will try to save some money and get some donations to buy cameras for the kids in Anapra. Hoping I can bring the photos the kid took back to New Mexico and have an exhibition to get some money to make kids' lives better.

Last day of 2010, a lot of new projects and hope in the coming year.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

It is the time to say good bye to the old year.

A lot of things that happened in 2010, school, work, family, relationship... Nothing has changed my goal of chasing my dream.

I'm looking forward to the new year.

For the last three day of 2010, I will be in Mexico documenting a Christian missionary trip to a prison nearby Chihuahua City.

I took the picture below on the day before Christmas Eve at a birthday party.