Destino by Michelle Frankfurter: A Photo Book About Destiny (Archive)

Destino tells the story of Central American migrants on the arduous trek across Mexico in pursuit of the American Dream. This project will only be funded if at least $18,500 is pledged by Fri, Jun 27 2014 10:44 AM EDT. To help: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

Destino, meaning "destination" or "destiny" in Spanish, tells the story of undocumented Central American migrants and the perilous journey by freight train across Mexico, as they attempt to enter the United States in pursuit of a better life.

In Destino I seek to capture the experience of people who struggle to control their own destiny when confronted by extreme circumstances. Destino is both a social commentary on one of the biggest global issues of our times and an epic adventure tale. It conveys the experience of a generation of exiles, driven by poverty and the dysfunction of failed states, traveling across a landscape that has become increasingly dangerous, heading towards a precarious future as a last resort.

The unprecedented wave of Central American migration began a full century after Mexican immigration to the US, the consequence of bloody civil wars, US cold war intervention and crippling international trade policies. Such conflicts left a legacy of drug and gang related violence, rampant domestic abuse, and unrelenting poverty. Despite an economic downturn, anti-immigrant sentiment, and a stalled immigration reform bill, Central American migration is on the rise. Destino addresses the root causes behind this wave of human migration.

Lacking representation, undocumented immigrants make convenient scapegoats during a period of economic uncertainty. My aim in Destino is to take the viewer beyond what is expected and humanize the real-life individuals behind the polarizing political debate, to draw attention to the underlying causes behind this migration. I want the viewer to see and feel the humanity of these people who seek no more than the security and prosperity that they imagine we live with in the United States.

Destino will be published in a hard cover edition of 500, in a square format, 9.5" x 9.5" with 80 black and white images and an introductory text.The book will be printed using a four color process on a Heildelberg press at Ofset Yapimavi in Istanbul.

The work was created with a medium format Bronica 6x6 camera and black & white film.

Please join me and FotoEvidence in publishing Destino. Your backing will produce a beautiful and powerful photo book that documents the struggles of Central American migrants on a journey in search of their destiny.