Survivors of the Iguala attacks in the auditorium of the Ayotzinapa Teachers College. Tixtla, Guerrero. March 16, 2015.
UNTIL WE FIND YOU
On September 26, 2014, students from the Ayotzinapa Teachers College were traveling by bus in Iguala, Guerrero when they came under attack by police. The series of shootouts left over 20 students wounded and three dead, one of whom was tortured and found the next day with no eyes or face. During the attacks, police abducted 43 of the students. They were never seen again.
This series follows the aftermath of that night for the community of the 43 missing students. The case implicated Iguala's mayor, every police force in the area, and the military. It sparked a historic protest movement led by the families of the disappeared, becoming a symbol for the high-level corruption and violence that has overtaken the country since the Drug War began in 2006. Despite the outcry, the Mexican government manipulated the investigation with a series of fabrications and inconsistencies that were later uncovered by journalists and human rights experts. Today much about the students’ fate is still unknown - as of 2024, the remains of only three have been identified.
Like the families of over 100,000 other missing people across Mexico, the loved ones of the 43 students are consumed by uncertainty. After the disappearance, many relatives moved to the Ayotzinapa school to dedicate themselves to organizing and taking the search into their own hands. They often described feeling tormented by having no body, no answers, no justice, no closure. A decade later, they continue to demand the truth.
Search posters for the 43 missing students. Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico. March 5, 2015.
Citizen search organized by families of the missing students in the hills outside Iguala, the city where they disappeared. Huahuaxtla, Guerrero. January 16, 2015.
Citizen search organized by families of the missing students in the hills outside Iguala, the city where they disappeared. Huahuaxtla, Guerrero. January 16, 2015.
The family of missing student Julio César López Patolzin marks his 25th birthday. Tixtla, Guerrero. January 29, 2015.
Romana, mother of missing student José Ángel Campos Cantor. Tixtla, Guerrero. March 2, 2015.
Teachers and relatives of the missing march to Guerrero State Congress. Chilpancingo, Guerrero. March 5, 2015.
Rally with mothers of the missing students at UAM, Metropolitan Autonomous University, in Mexico City. February 24, 2015.
Epifanio and Blanca, parents of missing student Jorge Álvarez Nava, rest on the bus during a week of organizing and protesting. Three days later, the Attorney General controversially closed the Ayotzinapa case. Mexico City. January 24, 2015.
Letter from Blanca to her missing son Jorge Álvarez Nava, written on September 29, 2015 around a picture of his guitar hanging on the wall at home. Translated to right.
Hello my beautiful son. I love you with all my heart and we will look for you until we find you. I know that you’ll come back and that you’ll play me those songs I miss so much again. I want to hear your voice but I have faith in God that you’ll come back. I miss you so much my son, I’m going around the whole world looking for you and no one can stop me until I find you. And you are not alone, God is with you. At home your brother and sisters are waiting for you. Your grandparents love you very much. We’re all worried about you and looking for you, your little brother too. We love you so much sweetheart and we’re waiting for you. I hope to God that those people who have you will give you back soon. Your guitar is waiting for you, the whole family is waiting for you. Your father has never stopped looking for you. We love you so much. I have offered my life in exchange for yours. I love you my son.
Nicanora, mother of Saúl Bruno García, on her bed at the Ayotzinapa Teachers College. Many relatives of the missing began living in improvised quarters at the school after the disappearance.
Jhoana, niece of missing student Jhosivani Guerrero, holds the Valentine's Day card she made for him: "Your family is waiting for you. Come back soon Uncle Jhosi because we miss you. I love you." February 14, 2015.
Joint forum with relatives of the 43 missing students and members of the Black Lives Matter movement at St. Mark's Church in Queens, New York. A group of family members went on a 6-week caravan to the US in hopes of calling attention to the case and increasing pressure on the Mexican government. April 25, 2015.
Riot police intercept relatives and classmates of the 43 missing students, who were calling for a boycott of the state elections, en route to a protest. Tixtla, Guerrero. June 3, 2015.
Confrontation between Ayotzinapa students and riot police after a failed negotiation. Tixtla, Guerrero. June 3, 2015.
Voting materials burn on state election day in Guerrero. Organizations convened an electoral boycott to protest the lack of resolution in the case of the 43 missing students and the collusion of politicians with drug cartels. Tixtla, Guerrero. June 6, 2015.
Funeral of Antonio Vivar Díaz, a student teacher and local leader in the movement for the 43 missing students. Vivar Díaz was shot by a policeman in Tlapa during a confrontation on state election day. Tlapa, Guerrero. June 9, 2015.
"He fought for you," the family of activist Antonio Vivar Diaz greeted a delegation from Ayotzinapa at his wake. Tlapa, Guerrero. June 8, 2015.
Banner of the missing 43 at the entrance to the Fortín neighborhood in the town of Tixtla, where the Ayotzinapa Teachers College is located. It reads, “Tixtla and El Fortín support the families of the 43 disappeared Ayotzinapa students. They took them alive, we want them back alive!” Tixtla, Guerrero. February 6, 2015.
A relative holds Gaby, the baby daughter of missing student José Ángel Campos Cantor, in El Fortin. A portrait of him hangs on the wall behind her. Tixtla, Guerrero. March 18, 2015.
A rooftop in El Fortín neighborhood. Tixtla, Guerrero. February 1, 2015.
Bernabé, father of missing student Adan Abrajan de La Cruz, at a meeting with the State Attorney General about missing surveillance footage from the night of the disappearance. Chilpancingo, Guerrero. March 9, 2016.