Along the tracks of La Bestia, the freight train that cuts through Mexico carrying metals, coal, and human lives, I encountered stories of courage, loss, and remarkable persistence. In Celaya, Guanajuato, a key stop along this route, people on the move linger in a fragile in-between. They are suspended between what they have left behind and what they are hoping to reach.
I arrived here in January 2020, guided by a long-standing interest in migration and how it shapes identity, belonging, and survival. My years of volunteering with refugees and migrants had already taught me how much quiet resilience exists behind every border crossing, but in Celaya this reality became impossible to ignore. Inside ABBA House, a migrant shelter that feels like a rare place of safety, I met people who had traveled on top of the train. I spoke with men who had lost limbs, families trying to rebuild their lives, and young parents carrying infants through deep uncertainty.
This project is a portrait of their determination and humanity. Through these photographs, I aim to give presence to people who are often reduced to numbers or headlines. I hope to honor their journeys not only as stories of hardship, but as acts of extraordinary human will and endurance.
