Tewfic El-Sawy: Los Migrantes

Here's a multimedia photo essay I produced about the migrants from Central America and beyond, who pass through Mexico City by hitching rides on freight trains. Their ultimate destinations are the southern states of the United States, where they hope to find jobs.

Similar to the hobos of the past in our own country, the migrants have support from generous people along the way. The last frames of the slideshow are of famished migrants given hot tamales by an impoverished household in the La Lecheria neighborhood of Mexico City. I spoke with them in my less-than-fluent Spanish, and it's impossible not to be compassionate with human beings trying their best to improve their lives by any means.

A number of participants in my class at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop produced similar photo essays.

Los Migrantes by Tewfic El-Sawy