JE #5

According to "Bodies on the Border" the Arizona Pima County stretch of un-fenced border is one of the deadliest crossings for immigrants from Mexico. However, this article shows more than the death at the border; the documentary shows the great lengths Mexican people, especially poor indigenous Mexicans to acquire the Mexican dream. Concha's story, or the Opata's story, from Flower in the Skull parallels the thousands of stories of the unidentified dead found in Arizona. During the time of the Opata their villages were pushed into nepantla. The Opata were forced to move up north by the Mexican's violence towards them to follow the Tecolote. The pilgrimage by the Opata, and other tribes, towards the Tecolote parallels the wave of Mexican immigrants who are migrating towards the american dream.  The Tecolote represents hope from violence, poverty, hunger, and oppression that the Opata are facing. The American Dream symbolizes the same thing to modern day Mexican immigrants relief from poverty, hunger, and oppression; a new start to a new life. The violence the Opata faced during their pilgrimage also mirrors the violence the border crosses are facing in Pima County. Both of the groups of people die from dehydration, overheating, and starvation. Both groups could not really handle the terrain to a place of hope. Furthermore, the reality of the situation once they reach the land of promise is a harsh reality: death, poverty, racism, violence, and so forth. There is no escaping the community conditions of the immigrant community.