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The city of Guanajuato, in central Mexico, is built on top of active gold and silver mines that date from the Renaissance. The city’s elegance is a result of the gold and silver hauled out from under its streets and hills by generations of laborers. Despite the stateliness of the city, Guanajuato feels like and is a working town—it is the capitol of the state of Guanajuato, and it houses a large university.

Many of the Latinos living and working in Orange County, North Carolina, are from the state of Guanajuato—I learned that only after having lived in Orange County for nearly a decade. And only when I traveled to Mexico myself did I begin to understand and appreciate the vibrancy of the people who do so much of the important work in our community.

While in Mexico, I spoke with a New York Times reporter from Mexico City, who said that he doubts that any two countries that share a common border have as many cultural differences as the United States and Mexico do. I don’t know if that is a fact. But I love how different Mexico is from the States. And although I have only been a traveler there, I hope these photographs convey some of my feeling for and gratitude to Guanajuato.

For a better understanding of the confluence of Guanajuato and Orange County, anthropologist Hannah Gill in her recent book Going to Carolina del Norte, published by the University Center for Global Initiatives, offers first-hand accounts from Mexican immigrants living and working in Orange County of the immigration experience. Gill is currently writing a book entitled North Carolina and the Latino Migration Experience that will address the changing demographic in the state.

-Adam Gori-