It’s been ten excruciating and heartbreaking years since the horrific events during the night of September 26 to 27 unfolded on the streets of Guerrero in the town of Iguala. The murder that night of three students, wounding of several more, and disappearance of 43 students all from Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos, a teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, has continued to haunt Mexico’s national conscience, much like the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City — a commemoration the students were enroute to attend.
As news of that unspeakable night ten years ago spread, demonstrations were organized throughout Mexico — and soon the world — calling for justice and the return of the missing 43 student teachers (normalistas). Artists, as they have done throughout history, used their talent to give visual voice to the grief, outrage, and resolve to uncover the truth. And, I began documenting what I saw on the streets of Oaxaca.
Here we are ten years later and the missing 43 are still missing, the heartbreak continues, the truth remains hidden, and justice has yet to be served. However, no one has forgotten. On this tenth anniversary, protest marches are being held, conferences have been organized, articles continue to be written, artists continue to create, families continue to mourn, and the people vow they will not be silent and the Ayotzinapa 43 will never be forgotten.
For more information in English:
- Forty-three Mexican Students Went Missing. What Really Happened to Them? – The New Yorker, March 4, 2024.
- It’s been a decade since 43 students disappeared in Mexico. Their parents still fight for answers – The Press Democrat, September 20, 2024.
- A decade later, Mexico’s Ayotzinapa victims still search for truth and justice – Reuters, September 24, 2024.
- Ayotzinapa decries repression after 10-year struggle for 43 missing students – EFE, September 23, 2024.
- Keeping the Secrets: U.S. Silence about Ayotzinapa – National Security Archive, September 26, 2023.
- Ayotzinapa – View from Casita Colibrí blog posts tagged Ayotzinapa, dated 2014 to the present.
- The Ayotzinapa 43: State Crime (video) – Five part HBO docuseries available on Max.
- Ayotzinapa, el paso de la tortuga (video) – Documentary (English subtitles) produced by Guillermo del Toro and available on Netflix.
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 