According to the Center for American Progress, by the 2020 presidential election, millennials will be largest voting population, making up around forty percent of the electorate. If there is one thing we can all agree on in politics, it’s that our country is divided. What is less certain is where the future of our country is headed. Exactly how millennials will influence our collective future is the question that this project aims to uncover.
Through interviews across Colorado; a rodeo in Monte Vista, the Southern Ute Bear Dance Powwow in Ignacio, high schools across rural and urban communities, and with representatives from both the Young Republicans and Young Democrats of Colorado, this project’s focus is to humanize some of the voices of the young population in order to better understand their beliefs, where those beliefs came from, and ultimately, how they might influence the next election.
A school bus dropping off students from the Mountain Valley School, in a foster home in Saguache, Colorado.
Cowboy kid in a rodeo Saturday in Alamosa, Colorado.
Roughhousing in the cafeteria, Mountain Valley School. Saguache, Colorado.
Drug paraphenalia in an abandoned train. Montevista, Colorado.
Craig Coal Station. Coal mining is one of the main topics that has divided the population. This plant is just five and a half miles away from downtown, polluting and creating microclimates due to his activity. Yet at the same time, providing the majority of the town with jobs. Craig, Colorado.
A little girl waits for her turn to go on stage at The Southern Ute Bear Dance Powwow. It is during these three days that the Ute Tribe gathers to celebrate the coming of spring, symbolized by the bear coming out of hibernation. Ignacio, Colorado.
A man prepares the field for a new competition round in the "Spring in the Valley Rodeo." Alamosa, Colorado.
For most of the teenagers in rural areas, their only option is to leave their hometown looking for better job opportunities or sign up for the military as a career. This senior student is about to join the Navy, in keeping with the family tradition serving in the military. Moffat County High School - Craig, Colorado.
A few miles away from the town of Saguache, there is an empty lot of land, with properties sold for a few thousand dollars per acre. People come here to settle down or use it as a place to grow marijuana, due to Amendment 64, which legalized the plant in Colorado. Saguache, Colorado.
West Cinema. Craig, Colorado.
A homework scale representation of a Cowboy/Native American battlefield. Denver, Colorado.
A young kid prepares for a mutton bustin' (sheep-riding) competition at "Spring in the Valley Rodeo." Alamosa, Colorado.
Bullriders at the backstage. Alamosa, Colorado.
Boxes of didactic material in a middle school classroom in Denver, Colorado.
No more than 500 people inhabit the town of Saguache. There are no shopping centers or stores, which forces people to drive 45 minutes to stock up on groceries. Saguache, Colorado.
Two brothers in the parking lot outside of a rodeo. Alamosa, Colorado.
Kids entering the classroom after recess. Saguache, Colorado.
Buck, a Vietnam veteran from Texas, plays with a little boy, during a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Saguache, Colorado.
Kids from a small primary school collect leaves to play with during recess. Mountain Valley School - Saguache, Colorado
Mountain Valley School trophies. Saguache, Colorado.
Temperamental weather moves across a playground. Craig, Colorado.
A small gang from the suburbs of Craig. Craig, Colorado.
Some of the kids who attend the Mountain Valley School in the town of Saguache live in poor conditions without running water and electricity. The school sometimes represents the only place where kids find shelter, affection or support. Saguache, Colorado.
San Luis Valley landscape. Alamosa, Colorado.
Javier Alvarez - Photographer
"Explore the world through the lens of Brooklyn-based Chilean documentary photographer, Javier Alvarez. Álvarez's work focuses on social themes and human relationships within marginalized groups.