Seconded By: Lys Arango,
In November of 2017 the body of my cousin Fernanda was found on the streets in a garbage bag with signs of sexual violence and three gunshots. Since then, her daughter, my nice Nicole, who is 10, has suffered episodes of stress-induced dermatitis. In the same way, Ximena, a 16-year-old teenager, has been waking up every night with anxiety attacks since she was 8 years old. What these girls have in common is the trauma caused by the way they became orphans: their mothers were victims of femicide when they were very young.
Caring in the Face of Absence is a visual investigation that documents the shock wave of femicide in Mexico. Through participatory methodologies, I create collaborative portraits in dialogue with families of murdered women. To appeal to an aesthetic of tenderness, the color pink becomes a narrative figure that reflects the aftermath: transgenerational trauma and the psychosocial impacts of femicide, as well as the gestures of resilience shown by orphaned children and the women who take care of them. We use pink motifs as a form of collective appropriation and redefinition of the pink crosses that were first planted in Ciudad Juárez when hundreds of women were murdered with impunity 30 years ago.
Currently, the Mexican government does not have an official record of how many orphaned children there are, and even less where they are, or who is taking care of them after losing their mother as a result of femicide, which takes the lives of 10 women every day according to UN Women.
This documentary project arises from the most intimate, from within my own family and tells the story of how in Mexico feminicide does not end with murder, but has psychosocial impacts that cause trauma in orphan children, in mothers, sisters, grandmothers and aunts who become substitute mothers because of gender violence in Mexico.
My cousin Fernanda was a victim of feminicide in 2017. Since then, her sister Siomara has been caring for Fernanda’s daughter, Nicole. Orphaned at just three years old, Nicole has suffered from recurring anxiety episodes, which manifest as severe nervous dermatitis. During these episodes, Siomara gently applies various ointments and creams to Nicole’s skin after bathing, trying to soothe the itching and offer comfort. January 22, 2023.
A couple of years ago, Siomara decided to cut Nicole’s hair very short. At the beauty salon, they braided it and gave it to her as a keepsake. “I think it’s better for Nico to have short hair,” she said, “because now she looks like a boy, and I feel like she’s at less risk when I’m not with her.” January 22, 2023.
During the feminicide crisis in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, nearly 30 years ago, the family group Voces sin Eco placed the first pink crosses as a symbol of their demand for justice. To this day, families continue to maintain these crosses at the entrance to Ciudad Juárez as a constant reminder of the impunity surrounding the murders of their daughters. August 18, 2024.
Campira was murdered in 2016 in Mexico City. When her femicide occurred, Margarita, her mother stopped knitting this pink sweater that was going to be for her. As part of the family’s healing process, a few months ago, Margarita decided to finish her daughter’s sweater. July 10, 2024.
Since 2016, when Campira was murdered, Alexa and Vladimir were left in the care of their grandmother Margarita who, despite arthritis, pain and the lack of a job, is now responsible for their care. Due to the lack of economic resources, Margarita and her grandchildren still live in the same house where Campira’s feminicide occurred in Mexico City. July 10, 2024.
Since 2018, with the feminist outbreak, the government of Mexico City has responded with heavy repression against demonstrations protesting violence against women. As Margarita says: “Even though I’m seeking justice for my daughter’s feminicide, I no longer attend marches. The last time I went, the police tear-gassed us, and I was very frightened because I was with Alexa, and she’s just a little girl.” July 10, 2024.
In 2011, Beatriz’s remains were found alongside the bodies of 24 other women in Navajo Creek, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Kevin was just 2 years old and was left in the care of his grandmother, Ana María. When he was little and cried because he missed his mother, his grandmother would tell him to close his eyes so he could see her with his heart and mind. August 22, 2024.
When Ximena was 8 years old, her mother’s boyfriend shot her inside their house in Mexico City. After hearing the gunshots and finding her mother on the floor, she ran through the streets in her pajamas to ask her grandmother for help. Ximena is now 16, and due to the trauma; she continues to wake up at night with panic and anxiety attacks. October 5, 2024.
Since the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, the northern border of Ciudad Juárez became the epicenter of femicide in Mexico. The bodies of mostly young women were found in vacant lots and remote desert areas. August 18, 2024.
“I still haven’t finished mourning my sister, and now I have to take care of Nicole. It’s hard to accept that I had to give up my own dreams. Sometimes I get short of breath, and often I feel like I’m drowning, unable to breathe.” Siomara Rico. December 17, 2024.