Fun at the US Consulate

It’s late and I’m tired but it was good first day on the ground. We started out the day at the US consulate, the local gatekeepers of the American dream. We started shooting film at 7 am of the hundreds of people waiting across the street for visas. Within 2 minutes, security was all over us and we spent the next hour explaining our way out of the situation. Since 9/11 nobody wants any cameras near government facilities. Joel and I went through this in Kabul last winter but we had embassy permission. So finally this morning we just called the consular public affairs officer and set up an interview for tomorrow afternoon.

We spent the afternoon filming on the border with Luis and Bao really getting into some deep stuff. It’s really been great to see the chemistry develop between these guys. Joel and I didn’t really know what to expect with this arrangement. Last film we had one camera and one interviewer in more controlled environments. Now we’ve got two cameras and two main characters passing time in one of the most intense border areas in the world.

Feelings here are just starting to become apparent. Ultimately you can say many things about local issues but it’s damn complicated. I think Mexicans are pissed because they want to be seen as something more than some poor stereotype. They give a lot to the American economy and they know it but in the end they get second-class treatment on both sides of the fence.

Filed under Journals, Dominic Howes, Mexico.

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