Breathtaking words and art pay homage to people living on the border
between Texas and Tamaulipas, Mexico. This husband and wife team have won many awards for their solo works. Together, they collaborate on exquisite sociological portraits in charcoal, pastel and poetry.
 
One portrait highlights with dignity and intimacy a beggar and her daughter. (“Ten years after NAFTA…/Brown eyes wide open./She leans her head back against her mother…Her dreams void/Of magic animals and hope.”).
 
Amid cruel hardships are also small flashes of optimism—in the red of a mariachi violin or the grin of a street vendor (“I am happy for no reason/Except that I am young.”). Quality of the book is superb: font and layout invite contemplation of the human casualties of politics and geography.