Reynosa through its children's eyes

A mustachioed man sits and strums a guitar in his daughter's bedroom.

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Three children boot a soccer ball across a dusty street.

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A pit bull lunges toward the lens, a chain link fence separating him from the photographer.

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The rugged scenes depicted in these photographs may come as a revelation to those unaware of Reynosa's trials and tribulations. For the fifth-graders who took them, however, the images that compose the Life in a Border Town exhibit aren't the "clicks" of a lifetime - they're moments like a million others in the only reality they've ever known.

The exhibit is the brainchild of McAllen artists Jonathan Searfoss and David M. Freeman.

The artists aspired to capture life on the U.S.-Mexico border, but some major obstacles held them back.

Searfoss grew up the son of missionaries in Mexico, and the telecommunication executive loves the country and its culture. Freeman, teaches art classes at South Texas College and curates exhibits for the museum there, has practiced art and taken photographs for years. Together they aimed to capture the most intimate moments of life on the U.S.-Mexico border, but their graying beards and conspicuous light complexions turned out to be too great an obstacle.

Instead, they employed the eyes and hands of children to shape their vision.

The men passed out 92 disposable Kodak cameras to students at Felipe Carillo Puerto primary school. Searfoss gave the children a photography lesson, a booklet on how to use the cameras and a list of 10 items to capture. He returned weeks later and collected the cameras.

"This is priceless, because the kids have license and access to things that are incredibly personal," Freeman said.

The idea may not be completely original - BBC journalists did the same thing with kids in Baghdad - but it is a first for the border.  A grant from the McAllen Arts council covered the cost of the cameras and developing the film. The Mexican Consulate helped find more money from First National Bank and other donors to complete the exhibit.

A panel of judges selected the top five photographs in May; the McAllen Chamber of Commerce displayed the project this month.

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A humvee rolls down a busy street, a soldier mounted at the machine gun.

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A squat woman scowls and thrusts a shining statue of Poncho Villa above her head.

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A pair of smiling girls stand arm in arm, the colors of the Mexican flag run through one child's clothes and hair ribbons.

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The artists spent the spring selecting the best of the  2, 200 pictures the children shot.

Many focused on Christmas, given the November launch of the project. A few photographs captured people reveling in the streets. But most of the photographers didn't stray beyond the front door.

"A lot of the kids playing photos were taken inside the house," Searfoss said. "I think that's a statement to what they're living. They're not out in the streets."

While the specter of violence fueled by drug-trafficking hangs heavy over Reynosa, it's not all gloom and doom.

Student photographer Miroslava Hacencia Navvarro dressed her dolls and her family dog in elaborate costumes and posed them in action scenes. She told an imaginative story with hand-written cards.

She also broke the rules, but kindred spirits are forgiving.

 "As an artist, breaking the rules is just as creative," Freeman said.

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A donkey chewing grass along a busy highway.

A little girl doing a flip off a balance beam inside a cramped room.

A small kitchen, the stove marred by rust.

The view across the river is mundane for those in the Valley who see such scenes every day - but how would it look to people in Houston? Chicago? Little Rock?

The Mexican Consulate and the project's creators think the exhibit stands to make the most impact far from home.

"Both Jonathan and David think, and we agree with them, that the further north this goes, the more impact it will have,"  said consulate spokeswoman Miriam Medel.

The exhibit is currently on display at the Casa de Cultura in Reynosa. After that it will move to San Antonio, and hopefully farther, said Medel, who is working with consulates in other cities to display the photos.

The organizers hope people see the bigger picture in the stark cultural differences portrayed in the exhibit.

"Children are children," Medel said. "It doesn't matter where they're from."

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Zack Quaintance covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.