Mapas Chafas

Luis Flores, 29, Calexico - @jrluisf

Ink and collage over 1964 US Geological Survey Map (23 x 34 in)

In 2011, rummaging through a map sale at the UC Berkeley student library, I came across this $2 map of the borderlands conducted in 1964 by the U.S. Geological Survey. Mapmakers left the Mexican side of the border (the majority of their map) blank. This week, I initially set out to “fix” the map by adding Mexico to it, but soon realized how my own gaze, even as a Calexican, is hopelessly partial and distorted. I embraced my own “northern/Chicanx gaze” as I created a mental map of the Southern Border than any Cachanilla would find completely useless.