Tucson, Ariz. – Visual artist Álvaro Enciso has placed more than 2,000 crosses in the Arizona desert as silent tributes to the memory of migrants who have died attempting to reach the U.S. in search of a better life.
At 80 years old, this Colombian-born artist, who has lived in the United States for more than 50 years — the last few in Tucson, Arizona — has dedicated more than a decade to a somber task: placing crosses where many migrants’ journeys end. His project is called “Where Dreams Die,” and over the past 12 years, he has left thousands of visible signs in the desert, one for each lost life he has been able to trace.
In many cases, the deceased are unidentified; Not even the family knows where their loved one is, and even if they are strangers, Enciso makes sure their existence is honored with a cross.
After immigrating to the United States, Enciso lived in New York and New Mexico before arriving in Arizona. He began placing crosses with the intention of doing his part, of letting the world know that people are dying there and few recognize it, he said…