Magnum Blog / Before the Limit

Before the Limit

Migrants pray before continuing their journey north after their stay in a migrant shelter in Arriaga, Chiapas, Mexico, on Jan. 23, 2006. © Claudia Guadarrama We have invited Claudia Guadarrama, 2004 winner of the Inge Morath Award to tell us about the project that she has been working on with the help of the award. The Inge Morath Award is organized by The Inge Morath Foundation in cooperation with Magnum Photos and is awarded annually to a female documentary photographer or photojournalist under the age of 30. In future blog articles we will continue to look at the work of the previous Inge Morath Award winners. My project is about undocumented Central American migrants crossing the southern border of Mexico trying to eventually get to the United States looking for a better life. There are no official records about the number of people crossing the Mexican border illegally everyday; but in agreement with official counts along this border, they detain approximately 44 percent of the total number of migrants that cross illegally through Mexico. This is one of the most critical stages of the journey to the United States. The harassment and extortion of migrants are common things. Only a few of them can get through successfully.

samuele

hi
the photo is beautiful however it seems very recited

Terry Carroll

Claudia, congratulations. I visited your website and am VERY impressed with the strength of your images -- as well as their relevancy. (Everybody should check them out.) Great stuff and good work.

Peter

Migration is now seen as 'a problem' and soon it will be valued as 'a solution'. Industrialized countries are aging rapidly and sooner than later economic growth will be associated with the net influx of immigrants. The problem is that the USA, Canada and WEurope wish to pick and choose those who may enter the promised land. Illegal migration such as described under this project, in my opinion is like water rushing down a mountain...it is unstoppable. To document the journey of the unwanted is a noble cause.

Lea Kast

Your project sounds interesting Claudia. Thanks for the description. I would however like to see more recent photographs from that project. The images on the Inge Morath site are all older. Do you have a website? I didn't find one.

Catherine.Z

hello ,i am a girl in China,my cousin introduced your blog to me .I like your photos so much .Photography is an excellent world for me .
"in everyting beautiful there is strange"
i cannot agree with you more

joserra

Hi,

This is the kind of photography that is close to my heart.
I think Claudia's work is an amazing portrait of our society. This is happening everywhere.
I'm living in Madrid Spain and starting a photoblog about the living conditions of the inmigrants, I feel very very moved by this photography.