La Junta de los Rios
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La Junta de los Rios is the region of the Texas-Mexico border where the Rio Conchos joins the Rio Grande.
Since the killing of Esequiel Hernández Jr., 18-year old American high school student in Redford, Texas, by an American marine on May 20, 1997, the tension on the United States-Mexico border has continued to grow. |
Valerio and Gregoria Pando at the grave of their grandson, Esequiel Hernández, Jr., Redford, Texas, 1997. Photograph by Alan Govenar.
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Photographs of La Junta de los Rios by Alan Govenar. 1986-1998.
Crossing the Rio GrandeThis excerpt from Alan Govenar's documentary film The Devil's Swing juxtaposes river crossings from 1913 with those from the mid-1990s.
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La Junta de los Rios: A Fantastic Journey
An Installation by Kaleta Doolin and John Hernandez The exhibition opened at the 5501 Columbia Art Center in Dallas in 1996 and was later presented at the Tyler Museum of Art. In 1998, the artists reconceived the installation for an exhibition at The Sculpture Center in New York City. After the killing of Esequiel Hernández Jr., the collaboration between the artists evolved. While current events were not the focus of the exhibition, the artists adapted the installation and renamed it La Junta de los Rios: Journey's End to reflect the magnitude of the incident and the deeper truth of the divisions between Mexico and the United States. Doolin's boat, its hull woven with strips of brightly-colored fabric in the style of the indigenous cubrecama, no longer hovered over the desert tableaux created by Hernandez. The fantastic journey was over; the boat laid dormant, its hull encrusted with mud. Today, Doolin's metal crazy quilt with hand-wrought links is an evocative metaphor for the building of the border wall separating Mexico from the United States. |
These excerpts from Alan Govenar's documentary film The Devil's Swing discussing La Junta de los Rios demonstrate how different the border was in 1996. Featuring Denise Chávez (Chicana author, playwright, and stage director) and local residents Lucía Rede Madrid and her son Enrique Madrid.
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Delve deeper
La Junta de los Rios: A Fantastic Journey Catalogue
installation by Kaleta Doolin and john Hernandez - Dallas
installation by Kaleta Doolin and john Hernandez - Dallas
La Junta de los Rios: Journey's End Brochure
INSTALLATION BY KALETA DOOLIN AND JOHN HERNANDEZ - New York
INSTALLATION BY KALETA DOOLIN AND JOHN HERNANDEZ - New York