Javier Barrera

Urgent, present-day tensions and struggles are unfolding along the US border, particularly as a function of inhospitable immigration policies. Many immigrants take a chance in the green, murky, sometimes treacherous water of the Río Bravo (Río Grande in the US) to reach their imagined destination.

In this video—shot on 16mm film—the beauty of the landscape and the continual flow of the river betray the difficult but often necessary choices migrants must make to survive. Audio (in Spanish) from a would-be migrant and a Catholic nun in Reynosa, Mexico help capture the perilous dilemma.

Río Bravo, multimedia installation, part of the Florida Biennial at the Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL through 2/23.