Vamonos! Vamonos!

As you know, we do not have anything resembling a secure border policy in this country.  The current administration gave great lip service to getting serious about knowing who comes in and out of America after 9/11 but more than six years on (six years!) it is just as easy today to walk from Mexico into Texas as it was in 2001.   

Blog readers living along the southern U.S. border states will no doubt recognize the sign to the left. The Los Angeles Times recently ran a fascinating article about the artist behind this iconic 'running immigrant' sign.

Here are a few tidbits from the paper's profile of John Hood, the California Department of Transportation graphic artist who designed it.

1)  Hood is now 59 years old, close to retirement and has worked for Caltrans for 27 years.

2) His most famous sign went up in 1990, after more than a hundred immigrants were killed on Interstate 5 trying to cross over.  

3) In one earlier version of the sign "the characters had eyes and other features; officials felt those would be too detailed for motorists to discern at high speed. In another, the mother juggled a baby and a sweater, but that too was deemed overly complicated for the freeway."

4) "Comic Carlos Mencia 'whose family immigrated to East L.A. from Honduras when he was an infant -- filmed a segment based on the sign. 'Maybe,' Mencia says at one point in the segment, 'it's telling them: Run across the freeway. Just do it really fast.'"

5) "A photograph of the sign is hanging at the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington," where it is described as "without a doubt, an icon of the current immigration debate. It's taken on meaning that was never intended."

To read the whole article, click here and thanks to  blog reader Chris for the  suggestion.

Comments

[brother john]

The sad part is that the next administration will do no better on this issue. I'm afraid the only way there will be action is if some terrorist group gets through and causes harm.
We're like the frog in the pot of water and its getting hot in here but we're not ready to jump out yet.

[Raul]

Very interesting article...I always found it interesting how the dad is two steps ahead of the wife and daughter.

[Diane]

Just wait until "The Wall" is completed, then ALL our problems will be solved . . . . Either that or it will be an environmental disaster, and a huge waste of billions of dollars that will accomplish nothing.

[Phil]

Bean, I know plenty of people probably write this, but as an average guy who lived in LA for 8 years, I really find your blog fascinating. What makes it so great to read is its variety- one day providing us with thought-provoking information, the next day boobs. I'm glad you are able and willing to give your time so generously. FYI- a possible near-future blog topic: what's up with your Mariners?? Will Johjima ever get another hit?

[Geo]

So, off the Florida coast I wonder if they have the same type of sign attached to a buoy, you know the same family floating on a raft. If they did, I'd like to get a copy of that!

[LA]

What a great article, Bean. Thanks for the link.

[DeeJay]

I saw this when it came out and it has stuck with me. Imagine making something so enduring as that image-as your job.

Also, what Phil said, minus baseball.

[Vic Rattler]

My thoughts:
-They're wearing heeled dress shoes rather than proper running shoes.
-The Mother is in an about knee-length skirt.
-Daughter has pigtails.
-Though the picture is a black silhouette they seem to me the white suburban family stereotype.
-If that's who the sign is for, why the extra Spanish? Unless it means: "Caution while running white family! Mexicans Prohibited."
-Bro John, the next President would need a term shorter than William Henry Harrison to do less good than the current one.

[Ash]

it's Vamos. The verb is irregular. Learning all the irregular verbs can be a tough ro-- you know.

[I Am Robot]

Ash, I think you would be right if Bean was trying to say, "We go" but "Vamonos" is a better choice to say, "Let's Go!"

[Charlotte]

Robot- I think VAYAMOS is the best choice for "Let's go."

[Brian]

I think Carlos MenSTEALia is a gigantic tool, but the segment he did on his show about the sign was pretty hilarious.