Los GRINGOS

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“Una Mexicana en Gringolandia” (A Mexican Woman in Gringoland) at Griffin Museum of Photography,
Spring 2024, as part of “Huellas de Existencia” (Traces of Existence)

Feature at Chronicle Boston’s Channel 5

In elementary school I learned that the American continent is only one, it's not divided between north and south. For us, people of the United States are not Americans, because America is a continent, not a country. "Los Gringos" is a series of street photographs; some of them taken at parades and marches, with whatever camera available, over the more than twelve years that I've been living in the U.S. as an immigrant.

What I like more about a photograph is that its meaning depends on the context in which it is experienced and on what it is juxtaposed with. When put together, I see these pictures in a very special way, almost as a diary of "America". By juxtaposing these as diptychs I point to my nuanced perspective and to situations that feel intertwined. A clash between classes, races, genders and beliefs is still present, as it was many years ago, when Robert Frank took the road.

The title of this project and the all-over-the-country snapshot style inevitably draw from Frank's work. Like him, I am a foreigner trying to make sense of what I see. However, and despite its somewhat pejorative meaning, the title also represents my own roots. I grew up referring to people of the United States as 'gringos'.  'Gringo/gringa', a very common word for Mexicans, can be traced back to the Mexican-American war, when Mexican soldiers yelled "Green go home" to their United Statesian counterparts, who wore green uniforms.

I came to this country believing in the idea of a singular 'american dream', the romanticized hard-working success-finding ideal. I've come to realize that this ideal is not at reach for everyone, it is like a photograph,  it depends on the context in which it is experienced and the community one is part of.