Rented Borders documents the lives of foreigners living in downtown Panama City, their adaptation in small rooms and modified apartments, their lifestyles around the spaces that they have turned into their homes.
Nowadays, it feels like the country doesn't fully accept its multicultural reality. Leading to inequality, labor exploitation and xenophobia for migrants and a migratory system that has turned into a business for the government.
During the almost 2 years I've been documenting Nurys, Luis (Colombians) and Jose (Venezuelan), they have been living in the rooftop of Penta Building and Cristina who lives with her daughters Victoria y Sofia (Colombians as well) and a friend of hers at Amelia Building.
The migratory crisis that extends across Panama has many faces. "Rented Borders" looks forward to show how migrants continue adapting with a housing and migratory system that condition their life in every extent.
Walter Hurtado I Storyteller
Walter Hurtado (1993) is a freelance photographer and visual storyteller based in Panama. Walter´s work is focused on social justice, human rights, and migration related issues.