A “meander map” of the Rio Grande shows how the river’s flow has driven and reflected border politics.
Filmmaker Nicole Antebi traces the history of the Rio Grande to create an animated "meander map" of the river. Here she explains her process:
I went to work, reading each treaty and convention between the U.S. and Mexico that divided the river, ordered it to be channelized, and allocated its water. Each agreement tried to reconcile the nations’ boundaries, a difficult task in part because Texas is the last recipient (before Mexico) in water allocation from the Rio Grande/Río Bravo, after it traverses three states and thirteen dams. Each time, the river would always change course, defying the binding nature of these agreements. Again and again throughout the last century, its agency brought politicians back to the table to renegotiate the boundary line.