Visions of Refuge: The Central American Exodus and the Floating Ladder

Abstract

Abstract This essay focuses on two performative acts. The first is the fall 2018 caravan, a work of political performance, which involved thousands of Central American migrants/refugees fleeing their countries in response to structural and other forms of violence. These caravaneros (caravaners) traveled collectively through Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to protect themselves from being targeted by state and nonstate actors en route to the US–Mexico border. The second performative act, which took place in Tijuana in January 2019, involved an artistic collaboration between Caleb Duarte and a group of caravaneros temporarily residing at El Barretal, a heavily guarded Mexican government-run refugee camp. Together, Duarte and the caravaneros co-authored a sculptural performance, creating a fabric ladder tied to helium balloons, which the wind lifted above the camp. I argue that Floating Ladder enacts how these caravaneros imagine their movement and mobility, as it challenges the regional immigration regime aiming to block migrants/refugees from making asylum claims in the US. Both the fall 2018 caravan and Duarte’s collaborative artwork with caravaneros are political acts by migrants/refugees that entailed the construction of social and political imaginaries beyond the constraints and violence of national borders. Both the fall 2018 caravan and Duarte’s collaborative artwork with caravaneros (caravaners) are political acts by migrants/refugees that entailed the construction of social and political imaginaries beyond the constraints and violence of national borders.