These coyote sculptures in Mexico are guiding migrants to safety

Each year an estimated 400,00 Central American migrants enter Mexico, fleeing violence and poverty. With his coyote sculptures, Mexican artist Libre Gutierrez is building a lifeline for those crossing through unfamiliar territory.

The sculptures — installed along known migration routes — house water bottles, feature route maps and have contact information for shelters and organizations that can help migrants navigate a safe passage through Mexico.

See more of Libre Gutierrez's story in Interrupt This Program's Season 3 Mexico City premiere this Friday, October 13th at 8:30pm.

If it just helps one person, one migrant, to not get mugged or to find a safe place to sleep one night, I'm satisfied. That means you can change the life of someone with a sculpture.- Libre Gutierrez

The symbol of a coyote features prominently in Gutierrez's work and Mexican mythology and he says, "The coyote is a person who smuggles you from one country to another."

Gutierrez thinks that the danger migrants face and the way those in Mexico regard them is "an issue that needs to be talked about."

"We talk shit about the U.S. government — the way that it treats Mexicans — but we treat Central American migrants horribly as well."

For Gutierrez, he wants to send a message of caring to those passing through: "Even though I don't know you, I care about you."

Art as political protest, as a means of survival, as an agent of change, as a display of courage and delight. Interrupt This Program explores art in cities under pressure. Interrupt This Program Season 3 premieres October 13 at 8:30pm. Catch up on the first two seasons now.