From the state of Guerrero, which begins about an hour south of Mexico City on the road to Acapulco.

This place is known as Tierra Caliente or “Hot Land”, which refers not just to the relentless muggy weather, but also to the local… explosive temperament. This is the land where for decades or actually even centuries, we hear of people getting shot or still to this day getting hacked to death with machetes in rural brawls and vendettas.

This is a land where city folk drive past while tensely gripping the steering wheel with pedal to the metal, where it seems nearly everyone knew of somebody who was assaulted after parking by the side of the road because of a flat tire, engine overheating, or to answer nature’s call behind bushes.

Nowadays - I believe since the 1990s - there is a wide and fast toll road, so most travelers can avoid the perilous situations that came with the older, narrower, winding roads.

The current narco environment is just a contemporary layer to a blunt bloodlust that seems to have always been there, like crabs in a goddamned bucket, a place of corruption, brutality and misery where any potential tide that tries to lift all boats is resisted with violence.