Journey to the Center

Blending documentary and conceptual photography, de Middel’s account of migrants traveling to California brings the plight of immigration into harsh relief

Cristina de Middel (born 1975), the first Spanish head of Magnum Photos, has been traveling for years with Mexican migrants on the train they call “the beast”: interviewing sicarios (hired killers) and talking for hours with "coyotes" (clandestine smugglers) and police officers. She combines her own photographs with objects found in the desert and archival footage, creating a multi-layered narrative that evokes the hardships and dangers of searching for a better life. The journey begins in Tapachula, a city on the southern border of Mexico with Guatemala, and ends in Felicity, a small town in California dubbed the “Center of the World.” This saga is punctuated by the accounts of three migrants recounting their crossing, as well as a commentary by the artist. An afterword by Mexican journalist Pedro Anza illuminates the issues at stake and the human consequences of the United States’ obsession with closing its borders.