A Very Anxious Feeling: Voices of Unrest in the American Experience - Catalog - Page 30
Fast forward 25 years and federal agents knocked on
my door to arrest me for my transgression. They took
me to the Krome Detention Center in Miami, an
immigration detention center. There, I saw a different
America; one that nobody sees. Hundreds of illegal
immigrants being detained for months and even years
without proper legal representation. A for-profit
company in charge of the building, daily abuses of
power, cruelty, and total debasement of humans.
Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.)
left to right
Roberto Q., Guatemala, 2012
Ricardo, Mexico, 2012
David, Guatemala, 2012
Brahima, Ivory Coast, 2012
all ballpoint pen on paper
30
During my detainment, I decided to speak and raise
our voices by drawing and documenting the stories.
Originally, it was an act of survival, but it became over
time an act of resistance against erasure. Art became
the tool to organize the chaos around me; not just for
me, but everyone detained. It was an act of hope for all
detainees to navigate such dark times, and eventually
it had the potential to heal us and make us feel human
again.
When I was finally released, I wanted to make the most
exuberantly gorgeous painting that I’ve ever made. I
called it The Promised Land. I consider it my love letter
to the USA—despite all the hardships, I still believe in
the promise of America. And that 14-year-old kid, who
wanted so badly “to be part of it all,” could.
