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Martinez, Eniac

Mexican, b. 1959 Mexico City

Biography"For most of its history, a significant percentage of United States citizens have viewed the border with Mexico as a no-man's land worthy of attention only as the entry site of illegal immigrants and problems. In the last decade segments of the U. S population have become more vocal against the presence of immigrants in their country, while the Mexican presence throughout the United States—legal or illegal—intensifies. These photographs are part of an extended project of mine called Mixtecos: Norte / Sur. One of my goals is to create a better understanding of the people who are crossing the border—the saga of indigenous people forced by economic circumstances to move from their impoverished homeland of Oaxaca to the industrialized countryside of the southern United States.

Surviving pre-Hispanic documents trace the history of individual Mixtec city-states to the 7th century A.D.—seven centuries before the Europeans arrived. Mixtec people, descendants of one of the greatest cultures of ancient Mexico, are now building pyramids of tomatoes and oranges in the fields north of San Diego.

A great deal of attention has been paid to the North American Free Trade Act, Proposition 187, and the recent economic and political changes in Mexico, but not much has been said about the people most affected. This year 200,000 Mexicans are expected to cross the border. A significant percentage of them will be Mixtecos."

—Eniac Martinez, Mexico City, 2003