iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

I’ll be at UC Santa Barbara next week talking about the collapse of American democracy and why a $1000 check can’t solve our global migration crisis. All attendees get a copy of Soldiers and Kings.

093

Reposted by Jason De León

Claudia Rojas @claudidaudi.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Got to hear some of my favorite authors/podcasters at the LA Times Festival of Books today 🤓 Jesse Katz @jasondeleon.bsky.social Vanessa Angélica Villareal @paolamendoza.bsky.social Danez Smith @samsanders.bsky.social @zachstafford.bsky.social

1172

Reposted by Jason De León

Celeste Fremon-WitnessLA @celestef.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Hi, friends, this weekend is the LATFOB & I'm moderating the panel: "Undocumented: The Price of the Promised Land," at 10:30 a.m. on Sat. featuring 3 brilliant authors who wrote the 3 spectacular books pictured below. Come on down! @jesspish.bsky.social @jasondeleon.bsky.social

1122

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Incredibly humbled to be nominated for this award and to be in the company of so many amazing writers. @vikingbooks.bsky.social

071

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Today is the one year anniversary of the release of Soldiers and Kings. I wish my buddy Roberto was still here to see how many people have been moved by his story.

1160

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

I really hate that anyone can email me whenever they want but sometimes they send me some gems like “Capitalism is the best system man has devised to create prosperity.” Obviously this is from an AOL account.

050

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Just about every hate email I get is from an AOL address.

220

Reposted by Jason De León

Andrea López-Cruzado @lopezcruzado.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

On Latino USA's latest, a conversation with author and anthropologist @jasondeleon.bsky.social about the unstoppable migration movement and the humans behind human smuggling. Don't miss it! LISTEN HERE ➡️ bit.ly/lusahuman

bit.ly

The Real Lives of Human Smugglers With Jason De León - Latino USA

Renowned anthropologist Jason De León was at a migrant shelter in Chiapas, Mexico in 2015 when he was getting ready...

122

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Excited to visit Edinburgh in a few weeks!

051

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Happening this week in Kentucky!

010

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

We might have an exhibition opening there in the fall.

110

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Thanks so much for reading and for the kind words!

000

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

This is the energy I am now channeling everyday in all my forms of resistance big and small. #resist #fucktheking youtu.be/L-UWZM5ytnI?...

youtu.be

Full Blooded Yaqui Indian (La Bamba)

YouTube video by Honus T206

080

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

The kids fly to Arizona for the show while the roadie and mascot road trip it with all the gear.

160

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

I spoke with folks at my favorite LA bookstore Village Well a few weeks ago about Soldiers and Kings, writing, and some of my favorite authors. youtu.be/_iVXB7xRr34?...

youtu.be

Jason de León Finds Hope in Telling Immigration Stories

YouTube video by Shelf Talkers

160

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

If you’re in Southern Arizona this coming weekend, catch me and my kids rocking out in Arivaca! #refuseresist

020

Reposted by Jason De León

School for Advanced Research @sarsf.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Feb 13: SAR annual Mellon Lecture, co-presented with SITE Santa Fe. @jasondeleon.bsky.social shares the human side of migration through his powerful blend of #archaeology, #anthropology, and lived experiences. sarsf.info/deleon Support provided by the Mellon Foundation.

0309

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I’ll be on the road again this spring!

2121

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

I’ve been told that a new batch of Soldiers and Kings (complete with this nifty little gold sticker) will be landing on book store shelves and online vendor platforms very soon!

4100

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Don’t need to watch that one. It’s imprinted in my DNA

010

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Midnight on a Saturday and I am joyfully watching Dodgers World Series highlights.

130

Reposted by Jason De León

UCPH School of Archaeology @ucph-soa.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

In Copenhagen tomorrow? Free at 4 pm? It is not too late to sign up for our lecture tomorrow by the awesome @jasondeleon.bsky.social amazing contemporary archaeologist, who work is becoming (sadly) ever more relevant. Sign up here archaeology.ku.dk/calendar/202...

archaeology.ku.dk

Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling

Talk by Professor Jason De León from UCLA as part of the School of Archaeology Lecture Series.

053

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

I’ll be in Berlin this Thursday. www.hzt-berlin.de/kalendar/det...

hzt-berlin.de

Migratory Bodies – HZT Berlin

130

Reposted by Jason De León

Matthew Collins @matthewcollins.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

If you are in #Copenhagen this Tuesday @jasondeleon.bsky.social is speaking to the School of #Archaeology at the #UCPH at 16:00 Jason is speaking on "Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling." archaeology.ku.dk/calendar/202... Please register for the reception

Abstract
In 2014, Mexico (with financial and logistical support from the Obama administration) launched Programa Frontera Sur, a security enforcement project to stop Central American migrants from reaching the U.S./Mexico border. In response to this heightened security, migrants have turned to transnational gangs such as MS-13 who have become increasingly involved in the human smuggling industry over the last decade. In this talk, I discuss my new book "Soldiers and Kings", a long-term ethnographic study focused on understanding the daily lives of Honduran smugglers who profit from transporting migrants across the length of Mexico. Using the stories of several smugglers, I examine the relationship between transnational gangs and the clandestine migration industry, the brutal toll that migration plays on people's bodies, and the difficulties of doing ethnography in this violent and ethically challenging context.

Image of Jason De León wearing a t-shirt with the text The War Pigs (the name of the band in which he plays bass). Jason is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana, Chicano, and Central American Studies and Director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a research-arts-education non-profit focused on raising awareness about issues related to migration and assisting families of missing migrants search for their loved ones. De León is the Head Curator of the ongoing global exhibition “Hostile Terrain 94” and author of the award-winning book “The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail.” He is a 2017 MacArthur Fellow and his new book "Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling" was published by Viking in March of 2024 and long-listed for the National Book Award.

0113

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

People have been asking me about where they can find copies of Soldiers and Kings this week. Some retailers are working on restocking by next week, but it looks like places like Powell's and Barnes & Noble still have hard copies for sale.

181

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

The irony of once again being “randomly” selected for secondary inspection at TSA pre-check and then having to explain why I have an eight pound bronze statue in my backpack. TSA Agent: You wrote a book? What’s it about?

0446

Jason De León @jasondeleon.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I’ll be at the Miami Book Fair this weekend with two events on Saturday. www.miamibookfair.com/welcome-to-m...

miamibookfair.com

Welcome to Miami Book Fair - Miami Book Fair

060