"Cranes Over Border Wall"  Calexico, CA - 2017 

I made this photograph a couple years back while on a journey that took me along every stretch of the border wall that separates the US with Mexico. I made the trip all the way from Brownsville, Texas, where the border begins in the Gulf of Mexico, to were it ends in the Pacific Ocean in Tijuana, Mexico.  

This shot was just outside Calexico, CA, where the wall runs parallel with the All-American Canal. I found it ironic how much wildlife was active in the area. There were pollywogs, fish, and frogs, swimming in the canal with all manner of dragon flies and birds flying above. Especially noticeable were the magnificent white Cranes.

They would flap their huge wings a few times and then spread them out catching the up-drafts and sailing for what seemed like eternity; gracefully above the hideous wall.  

 My dear friend and iconic muralist, Victor Ochoa, reminded me after seeing this photo that the Aztecs, who spent their entire lives immigrating, were called "The Crane People." They believed that Cranes are the souls that once were humans and might be again, many lives from now. For the Aztecs, Cranes helps carry a soul to paradise. 

How perfect the world seems in this simple photo. The Wall and absolute freedom, coexisting together without any awareness.