January 25, 2013

The Women of Mexico’s Drug War

U.S. photographer Katie Orlinsky moved to Mexico in 2006, just after graduating from college. The drug war surrounded her, and she quickly realized that women — not just men — were serving as its weary warriors, ferrying contraband and kidnapping kingpins. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of women incarcerated for federal crimes rose 400 percent. Orlinsky began to wonder: Who are these women? Innocent victims of a broken system? Cold-hearted criminals? Both?

In 2010, she entered the female prison in Ciudad Juárez and began photographing the convicted women inside. 

See more. [Images: Katie Orlinsky]

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Filed under: Mexico Women Drug war Photography 
January 15, 2013

theatlanticvideo:

Beautiful but Terrifying: Kayaking Over a Waterfall

Trekking through the Tlapocayan jungle in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, seven men from Forge Motion Pictures brave bugs and inclement weather to capture water in its most natural, most treacherous state: the waterfall.

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Filed under: Extreme Sports Travel Mexico Video Water 
October 10, 2012

A Google Map of Mexico City’s Street Vendors

Scientists will sometimes stain a certain element of organic matter to enhance its visibility under a microscope. These surreal and sharply colored images could be mistaken for such contrast-enhanced biological material.

They are actually Google Earth photos of tianguis, the famous street markets that spring up all across the Distrito Federal. In a collection compiled by Fabian Neuhaus of UrbanTick, and featured on Nicola Twiley’s Edible Geography on Monday, the markets — sheltered beneath red plastic tarps, which gives them their distinctive appearance from the air - look more like living organisms than groups of merchants. They sprawl down certain streets, seemingly chosen at random from an endless grid, turning corners or branching off into side streets. Their logic, from above, is mysterious and undeniable.

Read more. [Image: Flickr/UrbanTick]

3:26pm
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Filed under: Google Map Internet Technology Mexico Geography 
May 17, 2012

In Focus: Mexico’s Drug War: 50,000 Dead in 6 Years

Warning: All images in this entry are shown in full. There are many dead bodies; the photographs are graphic and stark. This is the reality of the situation in Mexico right now.

Top: A masked Mexican soldier patrols the streets of Veracruz, on October 10, 2011. Soldiers of the Army, Navy and members of Federal Police patrol the streets of the city as part of “Veracruz Safe Operation” after a rising tide of violence plaguing this tourist city.

Bottom: A forensic technician points his flashlight at the shoes of a man at a crime scene in Mazatlan, on February 13, 2012. The man was shot dead by gunmen while he was walking on the street, according to local media.

See more. [Images: AFP/Getty, Reuters]

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Filed under: Photography World news News Mexico Drugs Felipe Calderón Los Zetas NSFW 
February 9, 2012
Mexican Army Seizes $4 Billion Worth of Methamphetamine Mexican troops seized 15 tons of methamphetamine in a western state of Mexico, the Associated Press reported Thursday, which if sold in the U.S. would be worth $4 billion. The AP says, in fact, this is likely the biggest meth seizure ever made. After receiving anonymous tips, the troops found barrels of pure meth powder on a ranch in the state of Jalisco. They found no one there and made no arrests, but a U.S. official says it probably belonged to the Sinaloa cartel, a powerful group in the region. Sources said that the amount seized was so large that the U.S. could expect a real disruption in its supply. [Image: Associated Press] Better call Saul.

Mexican Army Seizes $4 Billion Worth of Methamphetamine

Mexican troops seized 15 tons of methamphetamine in a western state of Mexico, the Associated Press reported Thursday, which if sold in the U.S. would be worth $4 billion. The AP says, in fact, this is likely the biggest meth seizure ever made.

After receiving anonymous tips, the troops found barrels of pure meth powder on a ranch in the state of Jalisco. They found no one there and made no arrests, but a U.S. official says it probably belonged to the Sinaloa cartel, a powerful group in the region. Sources said that the amount seized was so large that the U.S. could expect a real disruption in its supply.

[Image: Associated Press]

Better call Saul.

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Filed under: Meth Drugs Mexico War on Drugs 
May 31, 2011
obitoftheday: Obit of the Day: Mayan Legend Merle Robertson died at the age of 97. Among Meso-American archaeologists, she became one of the most influential individuals, male or female, in the field. Deciding to focus on Mexican and Central American ancient history rather than more “traditional” locations such as Egypt and Greece, gave Robertson a clean slate to begin her work in the 1940s. For four decades she travelled to over 130 different ancient American archaeological sites, recording the incredible carvings of the Mayan people through rubbings (using a new technique that involved rice paper and ink), drawing (a skill she honed with help from her architect father and legendary Western artist, Charles Russell), and photography. The importance of her work to the preservation of Mayan art and history was recognized by the Mexican government in 1993 when she was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award given to foreigners. (The medal looks as cool as the name suggests.) Even without whips, guns, fedoras, and Nazis, archaeology is pretty awesome. (Drawing of Mayan art is copyright Merle Green Robertson via alongdrive.com)

obitoftheday:

Obit of the Day: Mayan Legend

Merle Robertson died at the age of 97. Among Meso-American archaeologists, she became one of the most influential individuals, male or female, in the field. Deciding to focus on Mexican and Central American ancient history rather than more “traditional” locations such as Egypt and Greece, gave Robertson a clean slate to begin her work in the 1940s.

For four decades she travelled to over 130 different ancient American archaeological sites, recording the incredible carvings of the Mayan people through rubbings (using a new technique that involved rice paper and ink), drawing (a skill she honed with help from her architect father and legendary Western artist, Charles Russell), and photography.

The importance of her work to the preservation of Mayan art and history was recognized by the Mexican government in 1993 when she was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award given to foreigners. (The medal looks as cool as the name suggests.)

Even without whips, guns, fedoras, and Nazis, archaeology is pretty awesome.

(Drawing of Mayan art is copyright Merle Green Robertson via alongdrive.com)

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Filed under: Merle Robertson archaeology art Mayan Mexico Charles Russell obit obituary 
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