Items

• 
  2019-10-05

  Tourism Story for the COVID-19 Archive

  Living in California, there were many local travel restrictions, and many transportation methods, stores, and restaurants were shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When travel restrictions were lifted in 2023, My family and I didn’t travel, and we continued to wear masks and practice social distancing. At the same time, I would daydream about traveling to many places. One place in particular that I have yet to revisit is the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá, located on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. A few months before COVID spread globally, I had traveled to Cancun with my father just to go and see the ancient city; although I did take photos of the ruins, I wish that I had taken pictures of the placards and recorded the historical facts that tour guide was sharing with us. For my next visit to Chichén Itzá, I’ll create a note to write a journal about the people, places, and any historical facts I come across while taking videos and photos.
• 
  2020-12-26

  Everyday life amidst a global pandemic

  When the covid restriction lifted my husband and I decided to visit family in Mexico. Because of the ban we were not able to attend funerals, birthday parties or any type of celebration. Despite the pandemic and the restrictions life seemed to be about the same 8 months after the pandemic had first been announced with some small changes. In a street corner waiting to order food, everyone was wearing masks. The elderly, children and the vendors themselves which was surprising considering the push back there happened to be originally from the Latin communities. The solidarity in the mask enforcement had now came from fear. The people in the streets were scared but had to continue their jobs as vendors and others having to go out side and purchase from these same vendors despite the fear of getting sick. When I think back to the first year of the pandemic I think about small moments like these, something as simple as purchasing street food now came with a worry of possibly getting yourself or others sick.
• 
  2021-07-30

  Covid Was Over

  In 2021 my Mom and I planned a trip to Mexico to visit her side of the Family. We had been putting off the trip because of a lack of money and then Covid hit. It had been seven years since my mom had been able to visit her mother and her siblings. At this point in time, travel restrictions and quarantines were largely a thing of the past. People in my area no longer considered Covid to be a threat in the way it was viewed in the early part of 2020. Masks weren’t in common use and people went about as they pleased. Deaths were still rising. By June of 2021 our trip took place. Most of the big travel restrictions had been lifted, but oddly enough America still had testing restrictions for reentry. Mexico, a nation that still cared about limiting the spread of the virus, had no testing or vaccination requirements for entry. We went on our trip and had a great time visiting our family in Mexico City. While staying we decided to visit the Museum of Anthropology in the city center. To enter, we had to go one at a time and be sprayed with some sort of sanitization chemicals by guards in the front. Being a poor Spanish speaker I was afraid I would do something wrong and that they wouldn’t let me enter. Thankfully everything went well at that time. When the time came to leave we had to locate a pharmacy that would do rapid testing for our return trip. America had very specific instructions that only allowed for certain pharmacies to do the testing. This made it very difficult to find one that would work. When we got to the testing site it reminded me of zombie movies. The pharmacy was surrounded by tall iron fences with razor wire at the top. People wanting to be tested were funneled one by one to a testing kiosk. The kiosk itself was a glass paneled box complete with attached glove arms and a ventilation system. The test itself was a simple swab test that was much more painful than I thought it would be. My nose hurt for an hour afterward. On the day of our departure I was nervous that something would not be correct with our records and we would be stopped from leaving Mexico. The person who officially went over our records was in the baggage check in area. She took our documents and didn’t even look at them for one second before handing them back. I was confused but this, since our American travel sites made such a big deal about it. Honestly, we could have easily faked the records to get back into America. Ultimately we got home safe and sound. A little over a month later everything went to hell. My cousin, Aunt, and Abuelita all contracted Covid and were hospitalized. My Aunt and Abuelita passed away from the virus, only my cousin survived. My mom had to deal with the loss of two close family members less than two weeks apart. It felt so wrong, how could they have both died when Covid was over?
• 
  2021-04-28

  Til' Death Do Us Part

  I've included a text story and video of the first time I traveled since the the massive Covid lockdown in March 2020. This text and video are important to me because not only was it a brave thing to do after being confined for so long, but it was also a defining moment in my adult life. I am now married as a result of that trip.
• 2022-06-15

  Preventing the Inevitable

  When travel restrictions were lifted, my family and I did not travel right away. We waited about a year until we felt it was safer to travel. When that year arrived, we decided to take a pre-pandemic planned trip that was canceled due to Covid. We traveled to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Chi Chen Itza, and Xcaret in Mexico. As you can see, we were anxious to travel the world. The main reason we decided to go to Mexico as our first trip during Covid was that it was economical for a family of ten. Additionally, Mexico was very lenient with Covid restrictions which made it easier for us to travel One of the most memorable memories was to have watched my kids have so much fun while learning and visiting a country they had never been. As for myself as a History teacher, one of the experiences I will never forget was visiting Chi Chen Itza as I was able to see History with my own eyes and learn more about the locals, community, and culture. With all these great memories that I had as much as we protected ourselves by wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, using hand sanitizer at all times, and all of us fully vaccinated. Half of the family ended up testing positive for Covid while in Mexico. The one thing we were avoiding the most ended up happening during our first trip since Covid began. While Mexico did not have restrictions to enter their country for tourism, the United States at that moment had a policy that all returning travelers must have a negative Covid test prior to boarding the plane. two days prior to our departure the restriction was lifted, and my family was able to return back to the US without having to wait out in Mexico and extend the trip. Since the family was so conscious of Covid we made sure we had KN95 masks at all times, did not share items, and reduced the amount of contact in order to not spread the virus which is what helped half of the family not get it. Overall, this was a trip that we will never forget. We had a blast and would love to visit the country another time. We would continue to be safe while traveling even if there are no restrictions. Covid has really changed how I live my life, especially during travel. What I have submitted is important to me because it will become a record in history in sharing my personal experience during the pandemic. It is also important to me to demonstrate that this area in Mexico is heavily dependent on tourism. While I was there, I met people from countries that had a lot of travel restrictions, and due to Mexico having almost none, it was a very popular traveling destination.
• 
  2022-06-17

  Vaccines for kids 5-11

  This is an Instagram post by ntsnoticiaspatz. It is saying that if you have not, you should register your kid to receive their vaccine. This is being promoted by the Mexican government.
• 
  2022-05-28

  Testing Positive and Using the ‘Backdoor’ to Get Into the U.S.

  This is a news story from the New York Times by Ceylan Yeginsu. This is about how people have been finding ways to bypass restrictions while traveling. Land crossings are a way some people are doing this, since land crossing does not require testing for entry into some countries. One way this could be done is doing the mandatory self-isolation period of five days, than choosing a different flight to a country like Mexico first, to then cross into the United States by land to avoid the ten day isolation required for testing positive for COVID. This article is quite interesting because it shows the ways in which COVID restrictions can be bypassed through loopholes within the framework. I have no idea the amount of people that actually do this, but at least a few have noticed ways to get out of restrictions.
• 2022-04-29

  How Covid- 19 has impacted my life

  On the 11th of March 2020, COVID 19 was declared a global pandemic. With such an explosive magnitude and wide reach, the world braced for its impact. Lockdowns were set in place in every country, travel was shut down, and grocery stores were often out of many essential items. Many have lost their jobs or sources of income, Many of us have battled this virus and lost loved ones to it. For better or worse COVID 19 has changed us permanently. The impact of COVID-19 is observed in every sector around the world. It has affected education systems worldwide. After attending classes in person for the majority of my life the transition to being a full-time student online was not a simple adjustment. I encountered feelings of anxiety about my classes and was overwhelmed by having to move back home from the dorms. Thankfully the support from my family was encouraging. Being an online student has taught me more about time management than anything else and procrastination became a close friend. Missing out on class activities and gathering on campus have been discouraging. I felt as though I was missing out on the college experience and felt left out. It's important to remember while I am feeling these emotions so there are many more. Being able to connect with other people and share our experiences have opened up doors to new friendships. I would be lying if I said I did not have trouble going to sleep at night during these difficult times. Especially when I would constantly hear the news about how the elderly are more vulnerable to exposure to the virus. The thought of losing a family member is terrifying. Before the pandemic, I would often visit my family who lives in Mexico once a year during the summer, but traveling was no longer an option, the risk was too high. As times have passed I am more comfortable traveling and being able to see loved ones. Similar to schools, churches also went online. Before COVID I was really involved with the staff team at my local church. I constantly helped with volunteer activities, I helped in the kid's ministry, and I also helped with the church's coffee bar. With the transition online I lost the sense of community and fellowship. Many of the kids graduated out of the program online and it was difficult not to be able to celebrate in person. With every transition, I learned that adapting is the best form of survival, I cannot predict the future and I don't know what this year will unfold, but I will do my best to express gratitude for my health, and for my family’s health.
• 
  2022-04-12

  Vacuna contra COVID19

  This is an Instagram post by eldiariodetlaxcala. This is written in Spanish and is about information for people to get the AstraZeneca vaccine. This event will be held for two days. In the picture, we see volunteers working to help administer the vaccine. Only people 18 and above are eligible for this vaccine, and it is being held in Ocotlán, Tlaxcala.
• 
  2022-04-05

  Masks are still required in Mexico

  As someone who lives in a border town and travels to Mexico quite often, due to the fact that the U.S dollar in Mexico is twenty pesos, from an economic standpoint, it allows me to enjoy my time in Mexico quite well with my family. The only catch is that masks are required everywhere; it does not matter if you are fully vaccinated or not. As long as you keep using masks, you are good in Mexico, from tourism to recreational activities to travel across the country. It's something to consider when traveling to Mexico because I live 30 minutes away from the border to San Luis, Mexico, and sometimes I forget that I need to wear a mask in Mexico since they are no longer required in the U.S in 2022.
• 
  2021-10-06

  Life with Covid-19 United in Isolation

  I had a few other objects I could have used for my story but I decided to use this one because it is the one that has meaning to me. This pandemic affected several areas of my life, as it did for most people in the world. After considering all of the relevant memories that impacted my life, like working from home, and switching from in person classes to online and zoom meetings, I decided that the area that impacted my life the most was not being able to see my family for over a year. My family is very united, we meet for special events, birthday celebrations, holidays, and for any other reason we come up with just to get together. None of us ever imagined how difficult it was going to be to be isolated from one another for such a long time and the impact it was going to have in our lives. At first it was ok because we didn't know for how long it was going to last, and how bad things were going to get in such a short period of time. We definitely did not think that Christmas of 2019 was gonna be the last time we would see each other in over a year. This photograph reminds me of the feeling of isolation that we were all feeling as a family. I could tell that this situation was difficult for all of us. It was taken in the summer of 2020, everyone was pretty scared. We were all trying our best to stay healthy, one thing that I remember hearing over and over again was "We have to stay apart in order to be able to stay healthy and see each other again". No one is to be missing next time we gather. Most members of my family were raised with Christian values. This was definitely an important factor for most of us, prayer and religious encouraging words and bible quotes were common on our group chats. Many of my family members live in Mexico and to this day they are not able to cross. During the worst days of the pandemic, prior to the vaccine, life changed 100% for all of us, but this screenshot is a perfect example of how we managed to stay together even when w e were so far apart. Social media and technology kept us united. We were able to see each other exactly one year later on Christmas of 2021, we followed recommended guidelines and celebrated outdoors, with masks as well as social distancing. This experience really changed the way we lived our lives in more than one way, one thing is for sure is that we stayed united through it all. This screenshot of a zoom meeting with my family will always be a reminder of what we endured at the beginning of the pandemic, a global event that we will never forget.
• 
  2020-03

  March 2020: A Life-changing Month

  The year 2020 was looking to be much like other years that I spent in college. I was going to be going to classes, meeting up with friends, and working out most days. As March approached, my excitement grew. Spring break was coming, and I had a scheduled trip to Cancun, Mexico. There was talk of a virus spreading through China, but it was very unknown to us. Prior to our trip, we joked about contracting the virus. Little did we know, that would be the week living in the world the way we knew it. My trip to Mexico was everything I wanted it to be and more, but I was ready to come home and finish the semester. We came back from Mexico, and I returned to Duquesne. Within one week of my return, everything changed. Universities around the country started to close for, what we thought at the time, two weeks. Duquesne followed suit. School did not return that semester and the entire country began to shut down. There was a lot of fear and unknown. One minute I was having the trip of a lifetime, and the next minute I was at home with my family only leaving to get groceries. We began using masks everywhere we went, using hand sanitizer many times a day, and staying as far away from others as possible. Although life felt like it completely stopping, the pandemic allowed my family and I to experience something that we might never get to experience again: over a month of quality time together. I was now doing school via zoom and my father, brother, and uncle were home from work. During this time, my family spent a lot of time together. My father and I would find interesting ways to work out every day since our gym had been shut down (see artifact image for a picture of my watch after completing a weighted vest walk. We began these weighted vest walks during the pandemic.). We would watch Netflix series as a family, do puzzles, and even play board games together. I will never forget these memories, even though they were accompanied by fear of the Coronavirus.
• 
  2021-07-14

  Pandemia ha dejado 498 mil 164 muertes más de las esperadas en México [Pandemic has left 498,164 more deaths than expected in Mexico]

  México registra un exceso de mortalidad de 498 mil 164 personas fallecidas a lo largo de la pandemia de coronavirus. Del total, 71 por ciento, es decir, 353 mil 858 se asocian a la enfermedad de COVID-19 y el resto a otro tipo de causas. De acuerdo con el reporte “Exceso de mortalidad en México” de la Secretaría de Salud, señala que, entre diciembre de 2019 y la semana epidemiológica 22 (que va del 30 de mayo al 5 de junio de 2021), se esperaba un millón 70 mil 79 muertes por distintas causas, pero el registro es de un millón 568 mil 243, es decir, 46.6% más. Con respecto al género, el exceso de mortalidad se ha presentado principalmente en hombre con 319 mil 967 decesos, de los cuales 144 mil 703 tienen confirmación de muerte por SARS-CoV-2. Mexico has an excess mortality of 498,164 people killed during the coronavirus pandemic. Of the total, 71 percent, or 353,858 are associated with COVID-19 disease and the rest are associated with other causes. According to the report “Excessive mortality in Mexico” of the Ministry of Health, notes that between December 2019 and the 22nd epidemiological week (from May 30 to June 5, 2021), 70,079 deaths from different causes were expected. but the record is 568,243, that is, 46.6% more. With regard to gender, excess mortality has occurred mainly in men with 319,967 deaths, of which 144,703 have confirmed death by SARS-CoV-2.
• 
  2021-07-14

  En sólo un día contagios de covid-19 aumentan de 20 a 108 en Coahuila [In just one day covid-19 infections increase from 20 to 108 in Coahuila]

  La tercera ola de contagios de covid-19 parece haber llegado a Coahuila, toda vez que de golpe los nuevos casos subieron en las últimas 24 horas de 20 a 108, según el reporte diario de la Secretaría de Salud estatal. En estos nuevos casos se incluyen 9 defunciones, ocurridas en 4 municipios del estado, que son liderados por Torreón en donde se registraron 5 de los decesos; en tanto que Saltillo reportó 2 y los municipios de Nava y Piedras Negras, uno en cada lugar; de ellos, sólo uno no estaba reportado como persona enferma. The third wave of covid-19 infections appears to have reached Coahuila, as new cases suddenly rose in the last 24 hours from 20 to 108, according to the daily report of the state health department. These new cases include 9 deaths, occurring in 4 municipalities of the state, that are led by Torreón where 5 of the deaths were recorded; while Saltillo reported 2 and the municipalities of Nava and Piedras Negras, one in each place; of them, only one was not reported as a sick person.
• 
  2021-07-14

  COVID-19: Morelos confirmó primer brote de la variante Delta [COVID-19: Morelos confirmed first delta variant outbreak]

  Mexico - La Secretaría de Salud de Morelos confirmó el primer caso de COVID-19 de la variante Delta, la cepa con mayor índice de transmisión y cuyo acelerado crecimiento amenaza, principalmente, a la población joven de 20 a 39 años que no ha sido totalmente inmunizada o se encuentra en proceso de ello. El paciente confirmado se trata de un masculino de 65 años de edad, quien actualmente recibe atención en una unidad del Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE) sin reportar complicaciones ni dificultades respiratorias. Mexico - The Ministry of Health in Morelos confirmed the first case of COVID-19 of the Delta variant, the strain with the highest transmission rate and whose rapid growth is mainly threatening to the young population aged 20 to 39 years who have not been fully immunized or are in the process of doing so. The confirmed patient is a 65-year-old male, who is currently receiving care at a unit of the State Workers' Social Security and Services Institute there have been no reports of respiratory complications.
• 
  2020-06-26

  From Noise to Silence

  The Pandemic impacted everyone in different ways. Everyone's life changed in one way or another. For me, my life went from hustling and bustling to peace, silence, and alone time. Before the Pandemic, my daily routine was driving 45 minutes to work daily, frequent trips to Mexico, and I was constantly on the move. A full-time student, and part-time tutor, I was continually helping students and finding study time at my local Community College. Also, I would frequent local Starbucks often to work on my reading and writing assignments. However, when the Pandemic hit, everything changed for me. Now, instead of driving to work daily and visiting Mexico, I found myself working online, studying in my room, and not seeing anyone face to face except for immediate relatives. For the majority of the Pandemic, I did not go anywhere as I previously did. In other words, the hustling and bustling of the highway now turned into silence, the continued camaraderie between students and cow-workers now turned into silence, and just like that, my life altered to a new dimension of silence like have never experienced.
• 
  2020-04-08

  Flying home on COVID times

  In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the USA I was a history teacher at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. When the stay-at-home order was issued by Colorado's government and FLC confirmed classes online only I was eager to come back to my home country, Mexico. After my boss's approval, I proceed to purchase my flight ticket. Prices were constantly changing even on the same day. One ticket could go from over $600 around 8 am, to $450 at noon and less than $300 by the afternoon. Other days ticket were more expensive in the morning and less by the evening. I originally purchased my ticket for the end of April but when rumors of a potential USA's close of borders increased, I changed my ticket for April 3 to prevent more stress about the potential risk of being stranded at Durango's or Dallas's airport. I profited from the no-cost policy to change plane tickets and went ahead. The mood at both airports was eerie with very few travelers. Even the usually overcrowded Dallas Airport looked empty. Passengers at waiting rooms were scarce and food vendors were hard to find as most of them were closed. The few open had blocked their seating sections. To find my boarding room was very hard as it was constantly changing within few minutes. To board my international American Airlines Flight 3697 from Dallas to Guanajuato, Mexico, I walked from one side to another and took the train to another terminal. By the time I had arrived it was already changed again. Surprisingly my American Airlines Flight 3697 had plenty of passengers. I could not identify a single non-Latino traveler. It seems that most passengers were Mexican nationals or descendants. I paid a small difference to be upgraded to First Class and I was very pleased that few passengers chose that class. Nobody sat beside me or in the other section after the corridor. However, as previously announced and confirmed at boarding, no meals or beverages were going to be supplied at all during the flight. Boarding had no problems, although I noticed there were no police officers at boarding, as usually happens on flights to Mexico, nor a double safety search was made. The flight went smoothly and once I arrived on time at Guanajuato International Airport I noticed that a lot of passengers were not wearing masks, and they were not mandatory at the flight nor at the airport. I had mine. Once we passed Mexican' Customs, passengers were told to do two lines for Mexican and Non-Mexican travelers to pass a health inspection. We had to fill out a questionnaire about our activities of past days and if we had any fever or cold-related symptoms or if we had contact with someone sick. Depending on your answers you were put in a different room, but for me, that answered negatively all questions, I met with a nurse who scanned my temperature on my forehead and requested my address, email, and phone number. I was strongly recommended to self-quarantine at home for at least 14 days, which I did. My husband was waiting for me at the airport and regardless of what we were doing in the USA, I did hug him and saw other passengers did as well with their families picking them up at the airport. For some moments COVID policies did not apply to our beloved ones!
• 
  2021-04-23

  My Chaotic Covid

  For me, the pandemic has been the exhaustingly consistent cherry on top of everything that’s gone sideways in my life over the past year. Now, this isn’t meant to be a pessimistic rant about the past 12 months, but just a sequence of events that kept things spiraling out of control while I tried my best to stay on top of the chaos and maintain an energetic passion for life and hope for the future. These traits used to come super naturally, as I had been following my ten year plan pretty successfully as of last March, until the rest of the year, which I thought to be set in stone, was pulled out from under my feet. I was having the time of my life in Rocky Point over spring break when Covid started hitting the fan. ASU announced a ‘temporary’ switch to online classes while I was on the road coming back home, and I drove straight into midst of a sudden global pandemic. Luckily, I had gotten out of Mexico in time before the borders were closed down. I was working at Harkins Theaters at the time, and my last shift was one with a whole bunch of disposable gloves and excessive new sanitization rules in concessions. I left that night not realizing that that would be my last shift there. I was at least planning on being there for another few months, before I would start a summer job I was recently contracted for. I was going to go on tour as a videographer with the Cavaliers drum and bugle corps, filming professional marching band videos and cutting together rad highlight reels all while traveling the country and getting paid for it. That was canceled soon after I was furloughed from Harkins. I went back home to visit my dad and brother in the midst of it all, but I don’t think my brother was ready for that kind of personal contact. He wound up giving me a black eye after I ended up getting too close to him and intentions were misconstrued. Shortly after, while already recovering from a destroyed face, I came down with a long, rough sickness that was aligned with the known symptoms and assumed by everyone to be Coronavirus. Unfortunately Covid tests were far from accessible at that point, and I was never able to confirm if that was the case. Trying to get away from the bleak outlook of everything, I took a few of my friends up to my grandparent’s empty house in Sedona. My roommate proceeded to secretly bring alcohol, drank too much and fall off a ladder, leaving a large-man-sized hole in the wall of my grandparents’ expensive house. While staying in Sedona the following week on one of my trips to head up and fix the wall, I got a call from my dad that my mom had passed away. She had been suffering for the past twelve years from a stroke and aneurism she had when I was eight, and on April 6th she finally let go. So that was a lot of emotion to throw on top of everything. After spreading my mom’s ashes with my dad and brother, I came back to find a baby monitor camera had been hidden on a shelf in my bedroom. I didn’t know who put this camera there, hidden in a sock, but it had been filming my girlfriend and I for the past three days and had gotten some pretty personal stuff on camera. It wasn’t hard to put together that that was the whole point of the monitor. My roommate felt violated as well, as he said he thought it was one of his friends who had put it there, and was on board with the whole police investigation we launched after the fact. I trusted my roommate, and while he had gone through a bit of an alcoholic phase the month before, I thought he was doing better. He had been one of my best friends for over five years at this point, and I didn’t want the worst case to be possible. But a few weeks later, my girlfriend’s phone mysteriously went missing in my apartment for a night. The next day she found a monitoring app downloaded onto it. My roommate had taken her phone, copied off all of all her private, ‘personal’ images of herself, and installed a program to track her and check in on her camera and microphone without her knowledge. Luckily we found this evidence soon enough, but it wasn’t an enjoyable experience kicking my best friend out of our apartment. The police found evidence that he put up the camera soon after and he was arrested. Two counts of voyeurism, one count of lying to the police, and everything he had taken off my girlfriend’s phone. I haven’t talked to him since last May, I can’t legally, it’s currently April of ’21 and his trial has yet to reach sentencing. After all that had happened, Summer was not what I had initially thought it would be. But it wasn’t all that bad. People started wearing masks, I got a temporary job making dough at Little Caesars, I was able to hang with my actual friends and the worst of it looked to be over. And while that much was true, the pandemic itself was far from over and slowly the months of lost experiences and thoughts of unfulfillment and wasted potential began to sit in. I got a different apartment in August, but it was an older and more run-down first floor unit with unexplainably loud upstairs neighbors. I’ve spent the entire lease of that unit trapped inside and longing for a normal college experience. These were supposed to be the craziest years of my life, and I felt like I had missed out on countless memories. I was working as a video editor from home on top of online school, and the days blended together into hopeless rituals of helpless procrastination. The motivation to thrive while held up in the new apartment was hard to find. But I still made it. I didn’t give up on pushing forwards. I’d put things off and the passing of time ultimately became an illusion, but I kept making sure I stayed productive. I edited together a vlog series through the beginnings of the pandemic, worked on other personal projects, and was able to get a pretty sweet internship doing remote editing work for a television studio in LA that I ordinarily wouldn’t have been eligible for as in person work. I made it through the 2020-2021 school year, my junior year, with good grades and came out on the other side more hopeful than ever. I got fully vaccinated a few weeks ago, I’m beginning to live again, and the bright outlook of a fresh start in a soon to be newly reintegrated world gives me an unparalleled excitement. I am looking insanely forward to all the new people I’ll meet, memories I’ll make, and experience I’ll gain through my senior year being back in person. Everything’s coming back together, and as long as everyone can make an effort to get vaccinated and keep each other safe, calm, and hopeful, I’m more than prepared to cram 13 months of missed experiences into the best, jam-packed, fulfilling, productive and exciting year of my life. …Yet.
• 
  2021-03-27

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 106

  Biden $3 trillion Build Back Better plan
• 
  2021-03-22

  Some Mexicans Find They Can Get COVID-19 Vaccines In The U.S.

  In Mexico, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is difficult. This has led to some Mexicans going to the United States COVID-19 vaccine. However, those that do this usually have money and/or connections. In some cases, the areas these people go to for vaccines are struggling to receive vaccines, such as the counties near the Texas-Mexico border.
• 
  2021-02-22

  Cruz's Trip to Mexico: A Meme

  In February, as Texas faced a dangerous winter storm as well as the continuing pandemic, Ted Cruz left the state to hang out at a resort in Mexico. Much has already been said of this by political commentators, so I will simply contribute the best meme I saw about the event. This format saw some use, all of which questioned the intelligence of Cruz in one way or another.
• 
  2021-02-14

  My Story: I Got COVID-19 Because of ICE

  I am sending a diary style writing where I share my experience during the pandemic. I focus on the issue of ICE during the pandemic. Before the lockdowns, my uncle was detained by ICE and was deported during the pandemic. My uncle has been living in the US for 25+ years and Mexico, my uncle's home country, has changed a lot since he last lived there. For that reason, I went to Mexico to take him home. This made me get COVID.
• 
  2021-01-28

  The New Utopia

  This Vox article by Sarah Khan is about the phenomenon of "pandemic tourism" to tropical places such as Tulum, Mexico; and Honolulu, Hawaii. According to Khan, these tourists, usually Western, seek to escape quarantine restrictions in their home countries and risk the health of foreigners by bringing COVID-19 with them.
• 
  2020-06-25

  “In Mexico City, the Coronavirus Is Bringing Back Aztec-Era ‘Floating Gardens’” - Atlas Obscura

  In Mexico, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the revitalization of an ancient, indigenous farming method: chinampas, or floating gardens. As described in Amanda Gokee's article for Atlas Obscura, this indigenous farming method had been in decline for several centuries, but the disruption of Mexico's food supply chain has created an opening for indigenous farmers to sell their produce on the market. According to Gokee, the chinampa system, which dates back to Pre-Columbian times, is one of the most productive agricultural systems in the world. So it is no surprise that it has seen a resurgence thanks to the pandemic. Gokee's article showcases the efforts of one agricultural collective Colectivo Ahuejote, to further develop the use of the chinampa system in the Valley of Mexico.
• 
  2020-10-25

  Trapped at the Border: Asylum seekers protest Matamoros camp conditions

  On October 25, 2020, over fifty of 1000+ people in the Matamoros Border Camp gathered along the barbed-wire fence to protest their living conditions. The Migrant Protection Protocols (M.P.P.), a Trump Executive Order, requires many Spanish-speaking asylum seekers to stay in Northern Mexico until granted a court date. In March 2020, the administration sealed U.S. borders and closed immigration courts as part of the COVID-19 emergency response. Many asylum seekers trapped in the camps may never get a full hearing. Although protests could provoke retaliation from Mexican and U.S. immigration officials, these families demonstrated because they felt desperate. As in much of the southern border, cartels plague the Brownsville-Matamoros region. Many South and Central American migrants have experienced kidnapping, theft, extortion, and rape on their journeys through Mexico. In the camps, bounded by a fifteen-foot fence and heavily armed security forces, they face daily threats from poisonous snakes, hurricanes, flooding, and unsanitary conditions. Because the Mexican government does not give camp occupants sufficient resources, nonprofit organizations like Catholic Charities and Team Brownsville provide food, water, and medical care. On the day of the protest, two U.S. citizens from a Methodist ministry stood with demonstrators inside the camp. The asylum seeker who organized this demonstration sent her two daughters (ages 9 and 11) across the Rio Grande, accompanied only by a cartel-affiliated coyote (guide), to turn themselves into Customs and Border Protection (CBP). While she misses her daughters every day, she believes that separation is safer for them than remaining in Mexico or returning to Honduras. She trusts that God will protect everyone in the Matamoros camp because their cause is just. After the protest, I held her hand through the gate’s wire diamonds and promised to pray. Some protesters held signs with Bible verses like Matthew 25:35-40, while others called for the protection of LGBTQ+ migrants and an end to MPP. Many protesters addressed the U.S. presidential election. Voten inteligentemente, one sign reads – vote intelligently. Joe Biden promised that, if elected, he would repeal M.P.P. within the first hundred days of his presidency. Asylum seekers realize that without a leadership change, they have very little chance of entering the U.S. I witnessed this reality while I stood in an hour-long customs line, waiting to cross the International Bridge back into Brownsville. The line held a mix of Mexican and U.S. citizens, including a family carrying spider-shaped piñatas and orange-frosted cupcakes for a Halloween party. A group of two adults and three children passed me in line. I watched them approach CBP officers, a journalist following close behind. Five minutes later, a security officer was escorting the family back to Matamoros. The journalist noticed me watching and stopped to explain: “They asked for asylum, but CBP said no. They have to wait in Mexico.” “No somos malas personas. Solo queremos vivir.” The mother repeated this phrase like a mantra as she passed us, holding her six-year-old daughter’s hand. We are not bad people. We just want to live. *This is a photograph that I took on my cell phone outside the Matamoros, Mexico border camp on Sunday, October 25, 2020. Faces are blurred to protect their privacy.
• 2020-06-14

  Road Trip to Mexican Wine Country During a Pandemic

  The news article references Mexico's crumbling tourist economy due tot he COVID pandemic. As a close neighbor of Baja California, Mexico living in San Diego I was able to see the changes first hand by visiting Mexico throughout the summer. As travel was limited all around the world, having family members living in Mexico allowed me to first hand experience how the pandemic had affected a region who's economy is dependent on tourism dollars. I witness wineries, restaurants, and hotels desperate for business but who had installed very modern safeguards similar to what the United States was doing to combat the pandemic. Masks and social distancing were enforced at all locations around the Valle de Guadalupe, near Ensenada. In some cases, added steps such as mandatory shoe and hand washing was installed prior to be allowed onto the premises. Overall it was a nice weekend and my family was able to forget the pandemic that surrounded us if for a brief while.
• 
  2020-10-21

  COVID Graduation

  Here’s a photo of my cousin I posted on Instagram. She just finished nursing school in Mexico. She’s a single mom, has a full time job and is graduating with honors today. I’m so happy for her finally living her dream. Like many around the world, COVID has affected her graduation.
• 
  2020-10-03

  Feminism during Covid

  Unfortunately, gender violence has been increased due to Covid. The lockdown can have several psychological and social consequences. According to Mittal and Sighn, the "surge of gender-based violence (it is due to) economic insecurity and alcohol consumption." Also, their research concludes that "gender-based violence has been one of the most neglected outcomes of pandemics." Particularly in Mexico, gender-based violence has been a constant problem, from the "muertas de Juárez" in the 90s to the lack of interest of the Mexican government to deal with the femicide in 2020. Even with the pandemic, the feminist movement has been very active. The photo I chose is from a member of "el bloque negro", a feminist group during the takeover of the CNDH (Human Rights National Commission) on October 3rd. Now, the CNDH is controlled by several feminist groups and works as a shelter for victims of gender-based violence. In Mexico, ten women are killed every day. Even with these statistics, last year president AMLO has eliminated the government’s subsidies for women's shelters. The pandemic demands isolation but the high gender-based violence in our country and the rise of this problem due to the lockdown can't be ignored, even if lives are at health risk.
• 2020-01-01

  2020 CALENDAR

  2020 started off with a lot of motivation. I started my university transfer application very early in the year and got accepted to my top school right before spring break. All the stress was over and i was ready to enjoy the spring break in Cancun then... CORONAVIRUS. My daily routine change drastically. I went from being in school and hanging with friends to falling asleep or getting bored during my online classes, eating and sleeping. It has become my new routine. Most students are going through this too. *sigh* When will it be over?
• 2020-08-09

  A World With COVID

  This global pandemic is something that no one at my age expected. At my age, all people can think about is starting a career soon or finding that special someone soon. A pandemic as severe as this seemed impossible. At the beginning of this pandemic, my family and I were under extreme caution, never going out unless it was work related and never seeing other people. Eventually, this lifestyle became too much for my parents to handle and they started seeing friends in small groups. I would advise against this as much as possible but they would never listen or care. Eventually, they wanted to plan a trip to Mexico to visit family. Again, I advised against it but they attacked me in numbers, saying that it was family and we needed to make time to see them. After much begging, my family convinced me to go to Mexico with them. I would later find out that this was a terrible mistake. We spent a week in Mexico and then my family started to become extremely sick, all besides me. I started to believe that they were COVID-like symptoms but my family disagreed and ignored me. They started to become so sick that they decided to come back from Mexico earlier than expected and went to the doctors here. The doctor recommended a COVID-19 test and thats when we found out that our entire family tested positive for COIVD-19. The first two weeks after testing positive were extremely tough for the entire family. My older brother and parents nearly never slept, had trouble breathing, and couldn't even hold food in their stomach to eat. Luckily, I was asymptomatic throughout this entire process but taking care of my family was draining and harder than I could ever imagine. I would have to wake up in the middle of the night to help out because my parents to were too weak to get up and do anything themselves. At one point of time, my mother was so weak that I actually had the thoughts that she might not be able to pull through this and she still refused to be sent to the hospital, for reasons I couldn't even understand. It has now almost been an entire month after testing positive for the first time and all of my family has regained their health and are up and walking around the house. We have gone back to test about three times as a family and each time, it comes back positive. Although we're not able to return back to society as normal people, we are all healthy and happy again and I am just praying for the day that we test negative and can go back to our normal pandemic lives.
• 
  2020-03-28

  Cleaning The Climbing Frame

  This image shows workers in Mexico cleaning playgrounds to stop the spread of Covid-19.
• 
  2020-07-05

  Coronavirus Updates from Mexico

  Central and South America is on track to become one of the next global hotspots for the coronavirus. In the original tweet, a user is trying to disseminate public health information. As Mexico starts to impose stricter quarantine and public health restrictions, it seems as though everyone is trying to get the word out on what needs to be done. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #california. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it describes a governmental update that is taking place in Mexico.
• 
  2020-06-30

  California Coronavirus Transfers

  In Southern California, the coronavirus has particularly been vicious along the border area. Hospitals in the area are struggling, as noted in the tweet. This has led to an effort to outsource care wherever there is space; some patients are being taken as far North as San Francisco. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #california. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it describes severe medical toll that has been taken on hospitals across the border area. Link to article in tweet: (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/us/coronavirus-border-mexico-california-el-centro.html)
• 
  2020-06-24

  COVID-19 Outbreak Among College Students After a Spring Break Trip to Mexico

  While the coronavirus was likely in the US in late 2019 or very early 2020 the pandemic was declared for a few months and the public didn't begin reacting until March. In March a large group of University of Texas (Austin) students traveled together over spring break to Mexico. Upon returning a large number of them came up positive for the virus though many were asymptomatic. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has published this document, a morbidity and mortality report, on the group.
• 
  2020-06-21

  Third migrant farm worker dies as Canada reaches deal with Mexico

  Article discussing the disproportionate number of temporary foreign workers infected with coronavirus and the efforts to mitigate this. The temporary foreign worker program has been controversial in Canada for years, for a number of reasons including condition and treatment of workers, immigration status, the employment of foreign nationals over Canadian residents and citizens etc. Like many societal issues the pandemic has brought the ethics and practice of the program to a flash-point. "The outbreak has triggered heightened scrutiny of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program and the conditions in which foreign labourers live and work. In Ontario alone, more than 630 migrant farm workers have been infected with COVID-19; two men from Mexico – Bonifacio Eugenio Romero, 31, and Rogelio Munoz Santos, 24 – have died. The third worker who died is Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55; he had been coming to Canada since 2010 and is survived by his wife and four children, the Migrant Rights Network said in a release Monday. "Federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough told The Globe and Mail last week that Ottawa will overhaul the temporary foreign worker program, including through more surprise inspections of working and living conditions at farms that employ migrant workers. Mexico had temporarily stopped sending more workers, until Canadian officials got a handle on the outbreaks and ensured people are properly paid while they’re in isolation."
• 
  2020-06-15

  Protests Demanding Supplies

  Worker safety has been a top priority as states across the globe have struggled to maintain a semi-functioning economy, and is all the more important as governments try to transition into reopening. In Oaxaca, workers set up barricades outside of the Office of the Health Secretary to demand for more supplies to keep them safe.
• 
  2020-06-15

  Workers Call for the Resignation of Moises Bailon

  The way that worker safety and funding is handled is always an issue for government run health organization, and in a pandemic it is all the more important. In Oaxaca, at the IMSS workers have called for the resignation of their director, Moisés Sidharta Bailón Jiménez, because of improper handling of both internal affairs and funds during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-06-11

  Express Oaxaca Updates

  Municipal Markets have a huge place in Latin American culture. They are not only a place to buy the necessities that are needed day to day, but also a place to socialize, gossip, and connect with one's community. This tweet announces that one of the markets in the community of Oaxaca in Mexico is closing so that it can be sanitized and then cleaned to minimize the risk of Covid-19
• 
  2020-04-23

  Responding to a Story of Rape and Abortion in Mexico (Rewire News)

  "Sixteen-year-old Patricia discovered she was pregnant after a taxi driver in her city of Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, raped her." This article is responding to an article from Rewire News on a story of rape and abortion in Mexico, and was written by a senior journalism student following a beat developed and thought about in terms of the "local" in a journalism course at Pratt Institute that was upended by the pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-30

  Summer Time

  Relatives from Mexico were supposed to visit during the summer since they were finally granted access to visit the United States. Unfortunately, those plans have been canceled and it is truly upsetting. They've never experienced a fun day at the beach due to how they live in the very center of Mexico, the city, and we wanted to make the most out of this opportunity they were given.
• 
  2020-05-30

  Beach Time

  This is supposed to represent how some of my relatives from México were supposed to visit us this year (summer vacation). They finally have the ability to visit us and since they live in the city, center of México, we wanted them to visit the beach for the very first time.
• 
  2020-05-01

  Hector Lopez, Dougherty Family College, HIST 115

  Journal of Hector Lopez
• 
  2020-05-18

  How Mexico Can Keep LGBT Rights On Track

  From the article: "Despite missteps, AMLO’s time in office has seen advances for the LGBT community. More is needed." This article demonstrates the ways coronavirus has impacted LGBT efforts in Mexico.
• 
  2020-05-13

  My Journal

  My Journal
• 
  2020-04-01

  La tormenta del COVID-19 en la iglesia católica y su capital

  This article explains how Vatican City is being affected by COVID-19 (with the first few cases of COVID-19 having been reported just as the article was written). The article then further explains how the Catholic Church in Mexico specifically has responded to COVID-19, and the extent of the church shutdowns.
• 
  2020-03-20

  COVID warning on TV

  Image from weather channel showing a warning for COVID-19
• 
  2020-04-08

  Hidden Market

  Today, unlike a week ago, the air was very clean and light. During the day I discovered that I ran out of cleaner and some food. Instead of going shopping with my family or friends I go alone. Limiting trips to the store has become normal for my parents and friends. Although I knew most of the supplies were out at some of the local markets I decided to call one of my friends. Using my cell phone I called my friend Malakar. Both of us talked about how we were laid off recently and didn't have much to do. We both discussed about how Mexico wasn't dealing with the pandemic very seriously. The president of Mexico gave a speech to reassure the public and remarked how they should treat it as a common cold. I remarked that Mexico has less ventilators for the sick than any given state in the U.S. Both of us sighed. Then I shared what I inferred. "If this keeps going until the summer the people in Mexico might come here for help." My friend shared the sentiment but also added that our borders would close long before the summer starts. During the summer temperatures in Arizona reach over one hundred ten degrees. If there are any surfaces outside the virus would be burned from the sun. He changed the subject to how the governmental loan for the small restaurant businesses are going to be in effect for 4/13/2020. Both of us agreed that we will have some money coming in from that and how the restaurants must employ us for seventy five percent of our regular hours or the loans must be repaid. After discussing what the next week would look like I asked him about any local markets I could find cleaners. Most of the paper goods and cleaning supplies were out at the local Food City and Fry's. Fortunately one of my friends pointed out a Halal Grocery store that had some cleaners and good bread still. Traveling to this store there was very little traffic. Most of their pita bread was gone but they still had some toilet paper. Most of the employees wore face masks and kept their distance. Inside there was a deli that had an assortment of fresh meats. Most of the prepacked food was still there. This place gives out punch cards if you're a regular customer. Inside there is also a restaurant that can make gyros and other lunch foods for a fair price. Thank goodness that there are reliable places like this in these trying times.
• 
  2020-04-03

  Vendían alcohol adulterado y sin r.s.

  Vendían alcohol adulterado y sin r.s. Estafadores ponen en peligro la salud de las personas.