KEN LIGHT - MIDNIGHT FRONTERA

KEN LIGHT
MIDNIGHT LA FRONTERA

Published by TBW Books, 2020
Book size 28.6 x 33.6 cm
Pages 136 pages
66 images
Hardcover
Language English and Spanish
ISBN 978-1-942953-43-2
© Ken Light/Contact Press Images. Courtesy TBW Books

“ Between 1983 and 1987 along the California/Mexico border, Ken Light took his Hasselblad camera and flash and rode along with US Border Patrol agents in the middle of the night as they combed the Otay Mesa looking for “illegal aliens.” He was there when they were apprehended – captured by authorities as well as the photographer's flash. The black and white images are stark, impromptu mug shots in the desert, taken at a moment of extreme vulnerability, when hope gave way to despair, migrants caught in a cruel game of hide and seek.

Light's photographs and José Ángel Navejas' first hand, compelling memoir, presented in both English and Spanish, offer testimony of the harrowing night border crossing of those desperately seeking a chance at a better life. A day after Navejas first crossed the US border from Mexico, he was caught and deported back onto the streets of Tijuana. Undeterred, he crawled back through a tunnel to San Diego, where he entered the United States forever.

In piercing words and in strobe lit images caught against the darkness of night, Midnight La Frontera's immediacy underscores the struggle and defiance of those who make the perilous hike for days and weeks in search of the American Dream.” -Publisher

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“ Between 1983 and 1987, along the California-Mexico border, Ken Light took his Hasselblad camera and flash and rode with U.S. Border Patrol agents in the middle of the night as they combed the Otay Mesa for “illegal aliens.” He was there when they were apprehended—captured by authorities as well as by the photographer’s flash. The black-and-white images are stark, impromptu desert shots, taken at a moment of extreme vulnerability, when hope gave way to despair, of migrants caught in a cruel game of hide-and-seek.

Light’s photographs and José Ángel Navejas’s gripping memoir, presented in English and Spanish, document the harrowing nighttime border crossings of those desperate for a chance at a better life. A day after Navejas first crossed the U.S. border from Mexico, he was arrested and deported on the streets of Tijuana. Undeterred, he crawled through a tunnel to San Diego, where he entered the United States forever.

With piercing words and strobe-lit images shot against the darkness of night, the immediacy of Midnight La Frontera underscores the struggle and challenge of those who make the perilous trek for days and weeks in search of the American Dream." - Editor