More than 30 Million people crossed the San Ysidro border of Tijuana in 2017, just where the wall raises from the sea to start the long sneaky journey across the US- Mexico border. The wall has become a character by itself for both sides of the territory and is the source of both Mexican jokes and international frustration. What once was a simple 3 foot tall fence is about to become, according to Donald Trump, a symbol of the United States and a bang on the table for nationalists.

Together with the reinforcement of the physical barrier, a strategy of systematic criminalization of those who travel from the South and cross to reach a better future (or just to go shopping) has also been put in place. All Latinos are now rapists, criminals and “bad hombres” while very little is explained of the epic journey they suffer to reach that rusty fence.

This series of photographs aims at shifting the perception of Latinos and their relationship to the border, and is part of a bigger project about one of the most dangerous journeys there is: the Central American migration route.

For this series of photographs I contacted a local athletic club and asked the athletes to pose for me interacting with the fence.

(Cristina de Middel, 2018)