Sergio Hernández Galindo

Isamu Carlos Shubayama, the son of Japanese immigrants, was born in Peru in 1931. When he was still a boy, his parents, siblings and grandparents were arrested in Lima in response to a request from the U.S. government in 1944. The Shibayamas were taken to the United States, where they were held in detention for two years at a concentration camp in Crystal City, Texas. During the war, the young boy's grandparents were exchanged for citizens of the Allied countries, and Isamu never saw them again.

Shibayama, now 86 years old (going by the name Art), is a ...

It was early in the morning of March 11, 2011, and Midori Suzuki was having trouble sleeping. That same day, the Japanese Mexican Association was to inaugurate an art exhibit called Flor de Maguey that she had organized with some of her fellow painters. After Midori was finally able to fall asleep, a friend called to tell her there had been a massive earthquake in Japan. Still not totally awake, she answered quickly:

“Don’t worry! It’s probably just one of those earthquakes that always happen in Japan,” she said and hung up.

But her daughter woke Midori up ...

The hundreds of thousands of Japanese immigrants who came to the Americas brought only the bare necessities: some clothing, perhaps a few photographs to remind them of home. But they also came with many traditions and customs passed down through their families in their home villages. Despite being separated from their birthplace by thousands of miles, the colors, flavors, and fragrance of food and celebrations on special occasions were unforgettable memories, etched in their minds.

The New Year celebration, shōgatsu, was undoubtedly one of the most important celebrations for the Japanese. To bid farewell to the previous year, on New ...

For Mexico, late 1910 was a time of great contrasts. On the one hand, the celebration of its first centenary in September of that year appeared to show a united and modern country, full of joy and patriotism. This was the image that President Porfirio Díaz, who had governed the country with a firm hand for more than 30 years, wanted the world to see. The “cry of independence,” the grandiose parade, huge monuments such as the Hemicycle dedicated to Juárez and the Angel of Independence, all seemed to indicate that the aging dictator’s version was real ...

Read Part 1 >>

Yasuaki Yamashita was born in 1939 in Nagasaki. Until the second atomic bomb exploded in the city where he was born on August 9, 1945, Yasuaki’s entire life had been one of war, since Japan had been immersed in its occupation of China since 1931, well before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The long period of sacrifice imposed by these conflicts is known by the Japanese as the “dark valley,” or kurai tanima.

Although Yasuaki grew up during the most difficult part of the war, he still had fun playing with his ...