No hay vuelta atrás (2014)
In Central America, two brothers look for a way to get out of poverty. They find a solution, and one of them is in the middle of making a life changing decision.
This film was created during my time at La 72 Refugee Shelter in Tenosique, Mexico, where I lived and worked alongside migrants seeking safety and a new beginning. Sharing daily life at the shelter allowed me to build meaningful relationships with the people who passed through it and to document their stories through photography and film.
Among them were children, teenagers, adults, and elders who had journeyed from Central America into Mexico in search of refuge. Some of the young people were able to enroll in local schools in Tenosique; others were not. Yet all of them were carrying experiences that no young person should have to bear—violence in their home countries, abuse and discrimination along the migration route, separation from loved ones, and the physical and emotional exhaustion of the journey itself.
What they needed was a space to express themselves.
One afternoon, Josué, one of the teenagers at the shelter, and I sat down to write. He began sharing his experiences, memories, and emotions, and I typed as he spoke. Slowly, a script emerged. Once the story was on paper, we gathered six other teenagers from the shelter and began turning it into a film.
With a single camera, a shotgun microphone duct-taped to a broomstick, and a group of young people determined to tell their story, we created a film that was written, performed, filmed, and directed by the youth themselves. My role was to guide the process, provide the tools, and help create a space where their voices could be heard.
To this day, it remains one of the most meaningful projects I've been a part of—a reminder that storytelling can be an act of dignity, healing, and self-determination, even in the most difficult circumstances.