By Michael Shaw

Photo: José Gaytán / El Tiempo de Piedras Negras. Los agentes les proporcionaron lentes especiales para que pudieran disfrutar juntos de este fenómeno único y esperado. The agents provided them with special glasses so that they could enjoy this unique and expected phenomenon together.

In a striking photograph captured by José Gaytán for El Tiempo in Mexico, a Border Patrol agent and three detained migrants share a moment of wonder during the recent solar eclipse. The picture, which quickly went viral, depicts a moment of unity as the men, using glasses supplied by the agent, share the celestial event.

It so thoroughly captures the heart and short circuits political hatred that it’s worth studying its piece (or peace) parts.

Audacious Humanity

The Del Rio Sector along the Texas-Mexico border is the area where Governor Abbott has pursued iron-fisted immigration enforcement measures that have put Texas at odds with federal authorities and even the far-right Supreme Court. That includes arresting asylum seekers for trespassing and installing cascades of concertina wire along the Rio Grande.

You might write off the photo as a token goodwill gesture. Still, the picture is a radical departure from the norms of Abbott Land. With migrants and refugees often labeled by the far right as outlaws, predators, and even subhumans, the image defies these characterizations as the eclipse, and the officer framed as an empath stresses our common and universal bonds.

Perfection in the Details

The photo seems so simple and evident it practically defies analysis. But what exactly is driving it?

Composition on high

Beyond the group goodwill, the uniformed agent and the man in the foreground are so aligned that any hierarchy is erased. Also, the juxtaposition of the men on one side of the frame and the long dusty ditch and desolate, near-endless highway on the other amplifies the men’s connectedness, tightly clustered as they are in the near foreground.

About those shackles

So much for the governor’s cheap criminal trespassing law. The photo’s vibe alone renders the handcuffs ridiculous.

Who said anything about the weather?

Given the ominous cloud cover’s appearance, the undeterred fascination, keyed by the shorter man’s smile, further charges the moment.

Man number one

I hope he didn’t damage his eyeballs. The fact that the man didn’t get a pair of glasses, I would argue, helps ground the moment in reality. Underpinning the moment of kumbaya is the reminder, even in this moment of zen, that the immigrants remain on the short end.

Visual Analogies

Norman Rockwell: From “Concord to Tranquility” and “Salute the Flag.”

Given the border politics, the U.S. election frenzy, and the fact that Donald Trump nixed a congressional deal to preserve immigration as a campaign wedge issue, I’d suggest the rare vertical gaze injects some irony. Outside of air shows, fireworks displays, escalator rides, and the extremely rare astronomical event, the body language of folks peering skyward is also reminiscent of pledging allegiance.

Considering the Source

José Gaytán’s photo for El Tiempo is just the latest instance of foreign journalists and international media capturing scenes from America. Would that have anything to do with the fact this image is bursting with equality?

José Gaytán for El Tiempo. Lunes 8 de abril de 2024 – Piedras Negras

Checking our ethnocentricism, Gaytán’s other eclipse photos also deserve to be appreciated. These were taken on the Mexican side of the border, on the northeastern edge of Coahuila, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass.

Eagle Pass as Feel Good?

Not to spoil the wonder, but it’s hard to reconcile this warmhearted moment with the fact that Eagle Pass has been ground zero for Abbot’s war on migrants. It’s also the site of the most significant number of migrant deaths, the river crossing claiming the lives of at least 225 of the 895 total migrants who lost their lives along the Southwest border in 2022, as personalized in a powerful WaPo photo story published just yesterday.

Even so, José Gaytán deserves lofty praise for this rare time out and the eloquent reflection on our higher nature.