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    Betina Garcia (Danish School of Journalism)
    Award of Excellence | Portfolio
    Latinos in Kentucky
    Mexican Luís Antonio Cortez rests in his room. He lives in the Stables at Keeneland. He's is a legal migrant worker who works in the States eleven months a year at the racehorse tracks. For the past three months he has been working at Keeneland. He gets up every day at 2.30 to water the tracks, train expensive racehorses for the horse owner Arnold from 5 till 8.30 and then works with maintaing the track so the horses won't fall from 9.30-7 PM. He represents a large group of migrant workers who work in the equestrian industry in the States. "I do it for my family so I can provide for them," he says. He has a son a wife back in Mexico.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    While horses are preparing and millions of dollars are at stake the Migrant workers Luis Cortes and his friends are working from 8 AM till 7 PM to maintain and keep the track in a good shape, so the million dollars horses won't break their legs during Breeders Cup in Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday October 31, 2015.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    Pictures from Keeneland on Saturday, October 18, 2015 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Luis Antonio Cortez and his brother José from Mexico works in the stables, where they live for the next two weeks before going to Florida.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    At Keeneland thoroughbred race course Adrián Ramires (left), Rolando Nolasco (center) and José Cortez from la Piedad in Mexico works fixing the turf so the 10 million dollars horses won't fall on Sunday, October 19, 2015 in Lexington, Ky. José get's up every day at 2.30 to water the track, then he rides horses from 4.30 till 9 and then work at the turf from 10-6 pm. He works like that 9 months a year. In november he'll go to Mexico for two months to see his family.
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    Life in Mexico
    Susana Mendez sits in her bedroom in La Piedad, Michoachán, Mexico on January 12, 2015. It's one of the most dangerous places in Mexico where extortion, rape, assault and kidnapping is a part of the daily life for the local citizens. Susana is missing her brother, who mysteriously disappeared in August, 2015. He left her mothers house and has never returned and the family is desperately looking for him. They have no idea what has happened to him. He was running an errand, she kissed him goodbye and said see you but he never returned to the house. "I just hope and pray to God that he is still alive. I don't want to think that he is dead. I'll keep my faith and just wishes that he's alright," she says. Mexico is the country in the world that has the most kidnappings. President Enrique Peña Nieto announced that the number of kidnappings had dropped in 2014 with 990 documented cases while the non-governmental organization Alto al Secuestro (Stop The Kidnapping) claimed 1,766 kidnappings took place in the first six months of 2014. Many kidnappings aren't being reported as the victims fear the kidnappers, why the actual number could be way higher. Some organizations say over 100,000 cases a year.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    Mexican dancers perform a national dance at the celebration of the Latino festival in Lexington, Kentucky, USA on Saturday September 19, 2015. The goal of the festival was to promote the Hispanic culture and people as it is the fastest increasing minority in the U.S.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    Betsy Vergara is a 15-year-old Mexican girl who just moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky from Minnesota. The family moved here after their 5-year-old daughter got killed in a car accident. It was too hard for the parents to stay in Minnesota as everything reminded them of their youngest girl. "I kinda have this hatred against myself. I never really appreciated her. The family made fun of me and said I was jealous of her. I never really was. It's natural for an older sister to have a little sister who's annoying and she would annoy me, but I would take care of her. Now I regret I didn't appreciate her more," says Betsy.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    Hispanics is the he biggest and youngest minority group in the States currently counting 54 million people (2013). Never before in the history of America has a minority ethnic group made up such a large share of the youth in America. One-in-five schoolchildren are Hispanic and every fourth child born is Hispanic according to Pew Research Center. By the year 2060 Hispanics will constitute 28 % of the population in the U.S. Undocumented kids are playing at night near the train tracks.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    Melanie de León waits for her turn to take the stage at the Latino festival in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday, September 19, 2015. The festival promotes and celebrates the Hispanic culture. Hispanics are now the biggest minority in the U.S with a population of about 54 million people (2013)
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    Luís Vergara Nevarez, 19, from Puerto Rico was left by his mom when he was 6 months old. He has been living in more than a 100 foster homes in the ghetto areas in Puerto Rico and by the age of 13 he took care of himself by working illegally. When he was 18 years old he found his mom, who lived in Bowling Green and came to live with her. It has not been easy as he doesn't understand why she left him. "It's difficult as she can't explain why. I try not to blame her and be happy that I'm with her now,” he said. In the States Luís started high school and wanted to get an education. After a fight with his mom she called the police and sent him to jail for 31 days to teach him a lesson. She said she was scared of him hurting her, when he got upset. That meant that he had to drop out of school and now he has to go to school at night and work to earn money. "I just want to be somebody and have success," he says.
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    Latinos in Kentucky
    Ricky Nuñez works at Baja Autoservice where they specializing in tires. He has been in the States for quite some time, but was born in Mexico. If somebody bleeds you'll notice that no matter what color their skin is, the blood color stays the same. That's what we all need to remember. We are all the same," Ricky says.
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    The Invasion from within
    Marcos Espinoza, 17, is one of the Hispanics who stays very true to his roots. He comes from a family of Rancheros, the Latino version of an American cowboy. He grew up in California, but the family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky seven months ago so they could live on his grandfathers ranch. On the ranch he lives with his two siblings, parents, his moms parents and his uncle. Everyday he rides horses and help his uncle and grandfather maintaining the ranch and taking care of the cattle.
    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    Marcos Espinoza, 17, is one of the Hispanics who stays very true to his roots. He comes from a family of Rancheros, the Latino version of an American cowboy. He grew up in California, but the family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky seven months ago so they could live on his grandfathers ranch. On the ranch he lives with his two siblings, parents, his moms parents and his uncle. Everyday he rides horses and help his uncle and grandfather maintaining the ranch and taking care of the cattle.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    The family went to a surprise birthday party for their cousin. From left: Marcos uncle Juan Barrillas with his girlfriend Blanca, a 23-year-old Mexican girl, who is carrying the couples first child. Next to Juan is grandfather Manuel Barrillas who is enjoying a talk with his brother. They are a total of 11 brothers and one sister in their family. In the Guatemalan culture it is very natural to have a lot of kids. "The more the merrier," they both say. Manuel loves all his grandchildren and spends a lot of time with them passing on his Guatemalan culture and values. He has 6 grandchildren so far.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    Marcos is cleaning the stable after a day of riding on September 16, 2015. He lives with his two siblings, parents, his moms parents and his uncle. Everyday he rides horses and help his uncle and grandfather maintaining the ranch and taking care of the cattle. "I've always been a ranch boy. Like a country boy," he says. Marcos goes to Bowling Green High School and will graduate in the Summer of 2016. It was his grandfather Manuel who introduced him to the ranchero life style and he has been hooked ever since he sat on a horse for the first time at the age of five.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    Overview of the ranch at night. Grandfather Manuel Barrillas bought the ranch with his sons Juan and Manuel Barrillas about three years ago as the market for a farm was very cheap in Kentucky compared to California where the prices are increasing rapidly. Grandfather Manuel is born in Guatemala and was raised on a farm. In 1986 he had to flee his country as local guerrillas were kidnapping and killing people who came from the Middle class and higher, which was the reason he brought his wife and three sons to America.The situation is more stable now, but local extortion and kidnappings is still part of daily life. "You could never feel safe and that is very stressful, because you're constantly worrying about you and your family's safety ," he said.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    Almost every Friday and Saturday the family makes a bonfire and friends of the family come to the ranch to drink beer and hang out. They normally listen to Mexican music and sing along. Marcos sits next to his cousin Elisa Yamileth, who is 15 years old. Marcos hasn't been here so long, so he doesn't know a lot of people yet. He has friends of all races. “I have American friends, Mexican friends, and African American friends," he said. He does not feel that anyone is judging him by his race; rather that it is just hard to make friends. "I haven't experienced anyone being racist more them being stuck-up. Most of them don’t like to talk to people they don’t know,” he said. “But I have a few friends at school, and they are pretty cool.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    Nayda Espinoza, 12, is sitting in her parents bedroom at the ranch on December 28, 2015. Nayda sleeps in the same room as her parents until the family is done expanding the house, so she can get a private room. Nayda dreams of being an Interior or Fashion Designer. Now she has her own chickens she's in charge of and sell the eggs they produce to family and friends that way learning to do business.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    On a Saturday in December the group took a little trip to their Guatemalan friend Wilsons workplace where he takes care of the cattle outside Bowling Green, Ky. The caught some cows so they could practice their roping skills. It's essential to be a true ranchero, as you sometimes need to catch the cows in order to give them medicine or slaughter them. Marcos loves doing roping and being on his horse Maximo. "To get away from everything and everyone, I would just go riding. I would saddle my horse and just leave. You live in the moment, it is just you and the horse," he said.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    After a day of roping Marcos' uncle Chino Barrillas hand got a bit hurt. Chino is one of the Hispanics in the U.S. that works in the construction industry. Hispanics comprise 30% of the U.S. construction workforce. Hispanic workers play a large role in the U.S. workforce, especially in industries with a high proportion of production or blue-collar occupations. In 2008, Hispanic production workers made up 36% and 30% of the workforce in agriculture and construction respectively, and encompassed 22% of the employees in all industries.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    On January 9, 2016 the family is throwing a surprise birthday party for the grandma Elisa Barrillas. Marcos sits in the kitchen with his uncle Manuel and Pedro Nuñez, a Mexcian friend of the family. The ranch has become a place that always gather a lot of people from Mexico and Guatemala as they all share the same values and have a understanding for their Hispanic culture.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    Marcos stands between "Cowboy" and his grandfather Manuel on December 19, 2015 in front of the bonfire at the ranch. Marcos stands between "Cowboy" and his grandfather Manuel on December 19, 2015 in front of the bonfire at the ranch. When Manuel first came to California his brother-in-law got him a job with an American constructor. He started out by taking trash from the construction area. When he quit the job 20 years later he was one of the constructors and had built several houses in Malibu. "Coming to America was a hard transition especially with the language barrier. We worked 12 hours a day and it was hard work, but I am very appreciative that we could work, so I could provide for my family. We were a huge group from Guatemala working there, which was nice because we all came from the same background," Manuel said.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    On Saturday September 26, 2015 Marcos cousin Elisa Yamileth is having her Quinceañera, which is a Mexican tradition for celebrating a 15th birthday. Yamileth is being taking to the church in a horse carriage in Bowling Green, Ky where the family will gather for a ceremony. Her cousin Paco makes a selfie or her and her cousin. In the back her uncle Juan Barillas and two friends of the family got their horses dressed up so they could do a parade. In Mexico the quinceañera is considered the moment a young girl enters womenhood.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    It’s sunday and Marcos is resting in the hammock at the ranch. His parents go to Iglesia La Hermosa, a Hispanic church every sunday. They try to make him and his siblings go too, but they won’t force them. “I don’t like going so much. I will rather stay here and chill with my uncle and his friends”, he says. The mother felt people were a bit racist when she went here a few years ago. "One time I was in the mall and talking to my cousin on the phone in Spanish. The women looked at me with disgrace because they weren't used to see Hispanics. Today it's different, now there are way more hispanics over here," Julissa says.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    At a surprise party for the grandma Elisa Barrillas all her grandchildren kiss and hug her before she has to blow out the candle while the rest of the family is clapping and singing in Spanish. Manuelito is the youngest grandchild at the age of 5, who at this point only knows a few words of English. His grandfathers never learned English and they take care of him during the day so his parents can work.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    On a Saturday in December Marcos' brother Francisco (or Paco as they call him) also went to their Guatemalan friend Wilsons workplace where he takes care of the cattle outside Bowling Green, Ky. After they had practiced their roping skills Paco waits for them to leave the ranch. He is 19 years old. He also likes riding horses and the ranchero lifestyle but at the age of 16 he got more into cars and now study to be a mechanic. Paco has an American girlfriend he has been with for over a year. "It is true that there are many differences between Americans and Hispanics. That is why I mostly hang out with people like me, who are hispanics but born in America. We understand each other. But the Americans are nice too, like my girlfriend,"he said.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    Marcos Espinoza and his family are preparing for the celebration of Elisas 15th birthday party know as the "Quinceañera", where about 200 people will attend. They slaughtered a cow so they had meat for the party. "My dream is to get my own ranch or in fact have a bunch of them," Marcos said in his perfect English. It's the way he has been brought up and the way he wishes to continue.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    At a party at the ranch the twins are playing foosball on January 9, 2016. The Hispanic kids often get caught in the system as they are legal when they are born in the U.S. About 295,000 babies were born to unauthorized-immigrant parents in 2013, making up 8% of the 3.9 million U.S. births.
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    Story: The Invasion from within
    The invasion from within
    One of Marcos’ best friends is Hector Gardunó. He rests on the 4x4 after they went riding. The ranch gathers a lot of Hispanics, giving them the feeling of being back in Mexico. "It's like being in two different worlds, out here it's like daydreaming", Marcos says. They ride together almost every day. Mexican Gardunó works at an American owned ranch just outside of Bowling Green. “I like it, I get to stay out all day and work with horses,” he says. Out of the 54 million hispanics in this country 64.1 % of them are Mexican.
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    He, She, IT
    Alexander Lane Miller was born as a girl but feels like a guy. He’s in the first phase of his transition from female to male while finishing college and portraying the school mascot at Western Kentucky University. He’s one out of 770.000 persons who identify as transgender people in the U.S. He always wear a sports-bra while going to the beach. "People always look at me weird at the beach. I hate looking myself in the mirror. I just want to be a guy," he says.
    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Alexander Lane Miller was born as a girl but feels like a guy. He’s in the first phase of his transition from female to male while finishing college and portraying the school mascot at Western Kentucky University. He’s one out of 770.000 persons who identify as transgender people in the U.S. He always wear a sports-bra while going to the beach. "People always look at me weird at the beach. I hate looking myself in the mirror. I just want to be a guy," he says.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Alexander Miller is about to give himself a shot of testosterone for the first time. His family doesn't support him why he can't afford to keep going to the doctor to get his shot. He went there for the first two shots and to get his blood tested. He has seen multiple youtube videos to learn how to shoot himself, but can't figure out how to get the needle through the lid. He didn't knew that he had to remove the blue lid, but eventually found out. A bottle is 89 dollars and will last for five months while the doctor is 50 dollars every time.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Alex works alongside studying broadcasting as portraying the character of Big Red, Western Kentucky Universitys mascot. Nobody knows who's inside the suit or wether it's a boy or a girl inside the suit. "I’m not pressured to be a girl or a guy cause Big Red is an it. "In todays society where everything is so focused on gender and people keep asking you what are you or what gender are you - I currently get that a lot and Big Red gets that every single day," Alex said.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    According to Alex it’s very hard to change sex, in particular the process of being in transition. In 2015 he came out to his family and friends as a lesbian because he liked girls, but at the same time he dressed very masculine. His mom had a hard time dealing with him being a lesbian why they haven’t talked since September, 2015 and she doesn’t know he know identify as a transgender guy. “I felt like an outsider as a lesbian. I was forced into this category and now I’m in a completely different category. I’m in a constant state of confusion,” he said.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Alex went with team Big Red to perform at Mascot Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fl in April, 2016. He wasn't allowed to stay in the room with the other guys on the team due to his sex. The worst is when Alex looks himself in the mirror. "I'm on my way to finding my happiness. I see the small changes and I know this is who I'm supposed to be. I just prefer my body to be covered up until I'm fully transitioned," he said.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    “There's a lot of people especially older people who love the Tops and Big Red. Maybe if they knew that a transgender guy was in the suit they might act differently, just not welcoming. I hate feeling like that," Alex said. He feels Kentucky is a difficult place to be as a transgender guy.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Alex is enjoying a moment with his girlfriend Courtney Kay Smith in between Big Red events. They have been together since October, 2015. When they met each other he was a girl and his name was Lexus Chante' Miller. Courtney never looked at him that way. "I love him for who he is and not for his body parts. Even if he would get all the surgeries I will still love him for the person I fell in love with," Courtney said.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Courtney is getting Alex ready to perform as a Drag King at a Drag show at the Club Play in Nashville, Tennessee. They hope Alex will earn some money performing to fund the deposit for an apartment in Dallas, TX, where they will move on the day of Alex's graduation. He was inspired by his drag name "Alex Ryder" and ended up with Alexander Lane Miller, which was legalized in March, 2016.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Alex graduates at Western Kentucky University. He's the first in his family to ever receive a college degree. Nobody from his family came to celebrate it. "Today's a really difficult day. It really hurts that my family haven't been there for me. I'm through, but this could have been such a different school year, instead I had to go through all of this alone and without any support from my family," Alex said. According to a survey from the National Center for Transgender Equality 57 % out of 6450 people asked had been cut off from their families.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    On the day of Alex' graduation ceremony Courtney and him left for Tennessee to celebrate with Courtneys family. The morning after they moved to Arlington, Texas to start a new life. It was very hard for Courtney to say goodbye to her mom, who has always been very acceptive of and kind to Alex.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Alex and Courtney arrive in Arlington, TX where they found a room in a house they will be sharing with a transgender guy Alex got in contact with through Facebook groups. He also talked to Elijah who came to help them get settled in their new room. They started testosterone treatment with two days apart.
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    Story: He, She, IT
    He, She, It
    Courtney and Alex take a nap in their new room. They are exhausted after months of worrying about money and how to make it to Texas as they don't have a very strong support system. "I see myself being happy when I get to Texas. It's all there; a good job, a great physique and I will pass 100 % as a guy," Alex said.
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    Nikon INC. MediaStorm National Geographic Missouri Photo Workshop National Press Photographers Foundation University of Missouri
    Photography at the Summit True/False Film Fest