Walking together : Central Americans and transit migration through Mexico / Alejandra Díaz de León.

Tucson : The University of Arizona Press, 2023.

©2023

xiii, 169 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

"This accessible work of deep ethnography reveals how Central American migrants in transit north to the U.S. survive the unpredictable, precarious, and violent road by forming different (and often overlapping) forms of social ties. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and ethnographic analysis, Díaz de León identifies three types of social arrangements on the migrant trail: 1. road families, or small groups of migrants (typically men) who meet on Mexico's southern border and decide to journey north together; 2. migrant families, or traditional families who have left their countries together; and 3. the transient community of migrantes that encompasses both road families and migrant families, as well as those who have chosen to migrate by themselves. These arrangements, which encompass everything from solidarity without trust to extremely close relationships, provide novel insights into social networks, trust, and solidarity in the context of migration. A "Pueblo" that Walks Together shows how trust and solidarity among strangers facilitates clandestine human movement, subverting the established view that social ties are severed during times of crisis and that kin networks are the primary factor determining the success of migration. This book is based on 15 months' worth of multi-situated ethnography done between 2015 and 2019 on the southern border of Mexico, the northern border of Mexico, and the Sonoran Desert. Taking migrant perspectives into account, Díaz de León seeks to represent the fullness of their experiences beyond the statistics and vignettes of suffering"-- Provided by publisher.

Central Americans and transit migration through Mexico

Online version: Díaz de León, Alejandra, 1987- Walking together Tucson : University of Arizona Press, 2023

English

July 27, 2023

Includes bibliographical references and index.