v20n5
The Subterranean Scene
Local gangs known as combos made up of reguetoneros (“reggaeton fans”) in their late teens and early 20s haunt the subway stations of Mexico City. Most combos are guilty of general rowdiness and huffing chemicals in public, like American greasers and...
Deportee Purgatory
About 40 percent of Mexican immigrants deported from the US are sent back through Tijuana. Many of the deported border crossers have established a makeshift shantytown inside a dry, concrete riverbed where the Tijuana River once flowed—called 'El Bordo.'
Here Comes the White-Power Safety Patrol
Matthew has formed a group called the White Student Union that advocates for “persons of European heritage”—what most of us call “white people.” It comes as a surprise to the African American students who feel targeted by the night patrols Matthew...
Austerity's Drug of Choice
Greece's infamous new drug, sisa, is basically meth and filler ingredients like battery acid, engine oil, shampoo, and cooking salt. The majority of its users are poor, often homeless, city dwellers reeling from the psychological and physical impacts...
Employees of the Month
Bridget Collins grew up in Minnesota, across the street from a huge lake that’s frozen most of the year. As we sent this issue to press, she was relaxing on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean drinking a Coca-Cola Light and thinking about...