In the year 2000 Alejandro Santiago created seven sculptures out of clay.
Little did I realize at the time that they were the prototypes for what would become the internationally acclaimed 2501 Migrantes project.
Alejandro intended to bring attention to the destruction of his ancestral home (Oaxaca, Mexico) due to migration to the USA.
To better understand the plight of the migrant, Alejandro followed the path from Oaxaca to the USA, crossing the border illegally with the help of cayotes. Alejandro on this migration became aware of how many of his people had died making this dangerous voyage, the number of deaths was approximately 2,500 at the time.
On his return to Oaxaca he began to create the 2,501 sculptures out of clay to represent those who died crossing the border, to highlight the depopulation of his pueblo, and to create new jobs for many young people in the production of this incredible project.
While Alejandro and his team were working on the project, we partnered with Los Angeles based film maker Patricia Van Ryker to create the documentary film Twenty Five Hundred and One, which interviewed Alejandro, his family, and his team of assistants and documented their creation of the 2,501 migrantes.
For years the documentary was difficult to find, but because of the recent political climate and exacerbation of the problems regarding migration that Alejandro was trying to tackle almost two decades ago, we felt it important for more people to see this film - so we uploaded the entire documentary to our website.
To watch the documentary and how this project unfolded, click here or on the button below. And please share this film with someone you know who may be interested.