1A, View of the town of Ahuacatlan in the mountains of Queretero, 1985.

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Mexican Migrants: Then and Now (1985/2015)

Phil Decker | Queretero, Mexico, near the town of Ahuacatlan de Guadalupe, Mexico

This exhibit combines images created thirty years apart, with many of the "then and now" pairs including the same people and places.   The series enables us to visually explore the impact of migration on specific families and communities.

The black and whilte images were taken in 1985 while I was documenting a crew of Mexican migrant farmworkers working in Arizona orchards, living in their communities in rural Queretero, and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

The color images were created in July 2015, during my return to villages in Queretero, to locate and reconnect with families and friends.  The purpose of my return was also to share albums of the black and white images with the people that they are of, and with their children and grandchildren.  

This exhibit combines images created thirty years apart, with many of the "then and now" pairs including the same people and places.  The series enables us to visually explore the impact of migration on specific families and communities.

The black and whilte images were taken in 1985 while I was documenting a crew of Mexican migrant farmworkers working in Arizona orchards, living in their communities in rural Queretero, and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

The color images were created in July 2015, during my return to villages in Queretero, to locate and reconnect with families and friends.  The purpose of my return was also to share albums of the black and white images with the people that they are of, and with their children and grandchildren.  

Scroll back and forth between the image pairs, black and white + color, to compare past and present, such as 3A and 3B, or 10A and 10B.

I launched an interactive "virtual exhibit" of the work on Facebook, to connect people with roots in rural Queretero, on both sides of the border.

www.facebook.com/fotosdeahuacatlan

Website: 

www.phildeckerphotos.com

www.phildeckerphotos.com/Portfolio/IllegalAliens/IllegalAliensLanding.html

E-mail:  phildecker6@gmail.com

Facebook:

"Virutal Exhibit" of this work: www.facebook.com/fotosdeahuacatlan

Phil's personal page: www.facebook.com/philipdecker

 I studied at the International Center of Photography in NYC, during the first year of its Documentary Photography program in 1983.

Afterwards I embarked on a documentary project with a crew of Haitian migrant farmworkers in my home state of Maryland.  

Throughout 1984 and 1985, I documented an undocumented Mexican migrant crew in the orchards of Arizona, in their homes and towns in rural Queretero, Mexico, and while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

I currently live in Salem, Oregon, USA  where I work as an elementary school principal, and where I coordinate a group of local photographers called the Salem Photo League.   Some of my current photography projects include Oregon Crop Festivals, and Hiking Salem National Forest.

My documentary projects are archived at Salisbury State University, Arizona State University and Oregon State University.

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