The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo from Southern Texas/Northern Mexico

Melinda and I say hello from the southern part of the Rio Grande. As I type, I can look out the window to the river and see two international bridges, and Mexico's Nuevo Laredo on the other side.
We began our shooting in Terlingua, on the western side of the Big Bend National park. We were interested in the community of Boquillas, in Mexico, where before 9/11 tourists and park rangers would go to eat lunch and drink 25 cent beer. Imagine if one day, you woke up, and now the only way to visit a town you could throw a rock at is to drive 6 hours out of the way! In the photo below, note the walking sticks that the people of Boquillas illegally sell- the park considers it contraband.

One park ranger told us that he hadn't seen the people in Boquillas in 6 years- but before he had held their newborn babies and they had held his. The deepest part of the Rio Grande is the border, and where we were, it was knee-deep. The sign says it all:

In Quemado, TX, we happened upon Tony and Catherine Castenado. Tony, the police chief of nearby Eagle Pass, let us film him taking a hose down to the Rio Grande to pump water that he needs for his house for everything but drinking. If the border patrol stops letting him do this, he said he wasn't sure what he would do.

We then went to Eagle Pass, where we went with the mayor, Chad Foster, who explained that his city was being sued because they do not want to allow a border wall along the Texas side of the Rio Grande. We filmed a lot of people who were on the Mexican side of the river, keeping cool in the 103 degree heat. Then we went over to Piedras Negras, in Mexico, to film these same people from their home soil. Please note: you are supposed to have a passport or birth certificate along with your license to be let back into the country. We were asked quite a few questions, and were relieved to be let back into the US, but getting to see the Rio Bravo (Spanish for Rio Grande) up close from Mexico was well worth it!

Comments

[Karla Berry]

What kind of microphone mount are you using on the camera in the picture above?

[Liz Daggett]

We just screwed in the shotgun for a moment to get a more wind-protected, directional sound.