By: Ivan Moreno, Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP).- Colorado artists want to give a futuristic makeover to the rustic sheep wagons used by immigrant workers across the West. Immigrants from Peru, Chile, Mexico and Nepal who come to the U.S. sometimes live in worn-out one-room trailers in desolate landscapes, including in Wyoming, California, and Utah. The working conditions caught the attention of Colorado lawmakers this year, but no legislation materialized. Immigrant advocates argue that the workers’ living conditions and salaries are deplorable, while sheep ranchers maintain that their workers were treated and paid fairly. Artists with the Yuma-based nonprofit M12 say the least they can do is spurce up the portable homes in a creative way. They created three proposals to revamp the sheep wagon — known to the workers as “campitos” — and will show the designs on the walls of a trailer turned into a gallery, along with an old sheep wagon for comparison. “There’s be