Ciudad Juarez, Mexico 2015.

I was supposed to go to Austin, Texas. From my dingy hotel room in Albuquerque I decided to take Interstate 25 directly south, pass through El Paso, and go to Ciudad Juarez. My domestic road trip now including some light international travel. I was completely oblivious to the very recent history of Ciudad Juarez. A history filled with horrific violence against women and tight cartel control of the area. It wasn't long until I started to notice the wheat pastings all around, a reminder of a dark past.

Later, in January of 2023, while in Mexico City and eating dinner with a friend from Mexico I mentioned I went to Ciudad Juarez all alone. With a mixture of concern and shock, she said "That was very hardcore of you." But then she became less shocked when I then told her I spent my day in Tepito (one of the biggest black markets in the world), alone, taking pictures of strangers.