A Town Without Men.
North Carolina towns occupy their own space on a bus station wall in downtown Celaya, Mexico. That makes sense, because many Celaya citizens live and work in our state. Daily buses leave Celaya for North Carolina, and several buses a week travel from Carrboro back to Mexico. This summer, Carolina anthropologist Hannah Gill will pay $265 for a direct forty-hour bus trip to Celaya to further research the effects of emigration on Mexicans left behind.
Bus station. Photo: Niklaus Steiner.
When she first traveled to Celaya in 2005, Gill found that the villages outside town were devoid of men. She learned that many were in North Carolina earning money to send home. Families often stay separated for very long periods of time, and some men abandon their families. The most vocal women told Gill that they would prefer to have the men at home, no matter the economic consequences.
Niklaus Steiner, executive director of the University Center for International Studies, took these photographs while Gill met with women from Jofre, a small community on the outskirts of Celaya. Some women laughed after Gill told them that, no, she can’t grant visas; she’s just a teacher, not a government official.
Mexican women. Photo: Niklaus Steiner.
