DAVID ROCHKIND PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography: heavy hand, sunken spirit

In the four year since Mexican President Felipe Calderon escalated the battle against the country’s drug cartels, more than 35,000 people have been killed and kidnappings have skyrocketed. The cartels in Mexico are ruthless, meting out an awesome brutality where heads are rolled into crowded discos and dismembered bodies are abandoned on busy streets.

Heavy Hand, Sunken Spirit is a project about the social costs and consequences of Mexico’s violent drug war. It frames the violence as a symptom, as opposed to the problem, and one of a variety of symptoms that will haunt the country for generations. This country is in the midst of a “conflict” in every sense of the word, and when documenting this conflict it is important not to reduce what is happening to a series of nearly anonymous images of carnage that could be happening anywhere. I am not creating a story about violence that happens to be set in Mexico, but rather a story about Mexico’s present situation, offering a snapshot of a time that will be referred to for decades as people look for answers to make sense of Mexican society. I want each image to convey a sense of Mexico, her color, and her culture.

The wounds of this war bleed into every corner of the country, staining the very fabric of Mexican life with violence, death and fear. The psychology of the country is also changing, as people become accustomed to horror and distrust, weakening an already fragile democracy. I am most fascinated by the space between what Mexico has always been and what this carnage is creating. The heat of the conflict is melting two worlds together, making a singular Mexico defined as much by violence and tension as by history and culture.

Police in Nogales perform a security sweep in the poor neighborhoods of the city looking for drug dealers and drug users. When the US began to attack drug trafficking in the Carribbean in the late 1990s much of the trafficking shifted to Mexico, giving the cartels more product, more money and more power. This has allowed them to more forcefully confront the government over the past few years.
   
A man who has just been returned to Mexico after trying to illegally enter the US stands right across the border at a Mexican customs and immigration office in Nogales, Sonora.
   
Ciudad Juraez is at the center of Mexico's violence, with more than 5000 drug related murders over the past two years. President Felipe Calderon has sent thousands of soldiers to the city to try to stem the violence, though after a short decrease in murders the violence blossomed once again. Here, soldiers search young men for drugs, weapons or signs of drug use in downtown Ciudad Juarez.
     
  
A young girl walks by a caravan of police vehicles during a security sweep looking for criminals and drug dealers. Law enforcement officials along the border say that increased border security has resulted in more drugs staying in Mexico, which has elevated crime and created a variety of social problems. The consequences of this conflict are felt, and exhibited, throughout the daily lives of many communities in Mexico.
   
This stretch of the border divides Nogales, Arizona at left and Nogales, Sonora at right. There has been little violent spillover into the US, though recently US citizens have been killed with more frequency in Mexico. In March of 2010, two US Consulate workers were gunned down in Ciudad Juarez.
   
A prostitute undresses in a short-term love motel in Nogales, Sonora, where she entertains both American and Mexican customers. The drug cartels have been increasingly diversifying their business into prostitution and human trafficking.
     
  
Two young men are arrested for burglary in Mexico City, Mexico. Violent crime throughout Mexico is rising. The intimidation and reach of the drug cartels affects witnesses, police and lawyers, many of whom are afraid to get involved with any type of criminal trial. Impunity throughout the country is spreading.
   
Police in Ciudad Juarez frisk a man during a security sweep in downtown. The police routinely detain men even before they have committed a crime, claiming that it is a preventative measure to ensure a calm evening.
   
Police in Mexico City secure a crime scene. No part of Mexico is immune to the violence. The conflict is not isolated to the border, and the effects of the violence reach far and wide.
     
  
Two men were handcuffed, blindfolded, shot in the head and left in a public place as a form of intimidation. People in Mexico are scared to interact with the judiciary process and are becoming more withdrawn; witnesses refuse to come forward and police and prosecutors are scared to work on a case that might be drug related. The violence and pressure are having a psychological effect on the community that will remain long after the violence subsides.
   
Members of a Norteño band sit in their tour bus after giving a show in Mexico City. Many Norteño groups sing corridos, or ballads, that tell a story. Some of these are narco-corridos, ballads that tell the stories of famous drug dealers. There has been a wave of killings of musicians that sing narco-corridos.
   
Bodyguards wait outside of the presidential palace before an appearance by President Felipe Calderon. Political assassinations have become more common, with more than 10 mayors having been killed in 2010.
     
  
A pregnant 14 year old girl was shot in Ciudad Juarez. Her father and 2 siblings have also been killed, leaving behind a grieving family trying to make sense of their new reality.
   
A man arrested for drug possession stands in his jail cell in a small prison high in the hills of Nogales, Sonora.
   
Followers of La Santa Muerte, or Saint Death, attend a mass that takes place on the first day of every month. Many drug dealers and criminals follow Santa Muerte, as it is believed that she looks after those that the Catholic Church rejects. Saint Death is one part of a broad Narco Culture that is emerging in Mexico.
     
  
Members of the Mexican army burn a field of Marijuana in the state of Sinaloa. Mexico was once primarily a transit route for drugs to the United States, but the country is increasingly becoming a producer of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetimines.
  
Men pray at an evangelical church in Tijuana. Many churches in Tijuana are reporting increased membership as citizens seek refuge from all of the violence around them.
   
Drug use and drug addiction has risen over the past 5 years, bringing with it a variety of social problems that the country will be dealing with long after the violence ends. As security on the border tightened more drugs remained in Mexico allowing the cartels to create a homegrown market. In addition, small time dealers have been increasingly paid with product instead of money. Here, a woman shoots heroin in front of her lover and a baby they are supposed to be caring for.
     
  
People pray at a chapel devoted to Jesus Malverde in Culiacan, Mexico. Malverde is a folk saint worshipped by many people in the underworld and often associated with narcoculture and drug dealers. He is thought of as the Mexican version of Robin Hood, looking after those who have been forgotten by the Church and are involved in a life of crime. People come to the chapel to show their respect and pray.
   
Friends and family grieve during the funeral for two sisters who were killed in a massacre at a birthday party in Ciudad Juarez. Ciudad Juarez has seen the most violence in Mexico, with more than 3,000 murders in 2010.
   
Central American migrants ride atop a freight train carrying cement as they head north in an attempt to enter the US. Traveling by train has become more dangerous as kidnappings and robberies have risen in recent years with increased drug cartel activity.