Chico Sanchez | Day of the Dead In Oaxaca

Photo © Chico Sanchez-All Rights Reserved

At the beginning of November, Mexican families invite the dead over for dinner. While the Dia de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is close enough to Halloween to be confused with it, and be all about ghouls and goblins, it's not.

It's about honoring the dead, and about blessing of souls. Nowhere is this observance celebrated as it is in Oaxaca, to which locals and tourists flock to participate in its rituals. This observance goes back some 3000 years, way before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the region. It evolved during the years, and its current festival is a mix of pre-Columbian customs and Christian teachings. The Aztecs believed that life and death coexist, and during the Day of the Dead, the dead can visit the living.

Coming Back Home is an audio slideshow produced by Chico Sanchez who's just returned from Oaxaca, photographing the scenes and rituals on its November 1 Day of the Dead. It features narrative, an interview and the music of local bands.

I've featured the work of Chico Sanchez, a freelance photographer based in Mexico City, on a number of occasions. He was born in southern Spain and moved to Latin America in 2001 when he started working with Reuters in Venezuela. He collaborated with the European Press Photoagency, Agencia EFE, and freelanced for various newspapers and magazines. He currently focuses on stock photography, producing audio-slide shows and freelancing.

Ed Peters: Beyond The Indus

Photo © Ed Peters-All Rights Reserved

"It’s the challenge of capturing the texture of life, created by these contradictory elements, which draws me to India’s streets." -Ed Peters

And so writes Ed Peters prefacing his Beyond The Indus photo gallery... and what a photo gallery of captured moments of life! Just take a look at the photograph above...a man asleep, horizontally inert..and sort of Hindu angel floating above him, next to an askew small painting of the Taj Mahal, and a sliver of a woman staring at the photographer...

I was torn between featuring Beyond The Indus or Mexican Proximity (many of the photographs are from Oaxaca, my favorite Mexican town), but I decided to feature Ed's work from India because I was so taken by the above image.

A New York-based retired photojournalist, Ed is a Leica M9 user, as well as a Canon 5D Mark II for his photographic work. Possibly influenced by the work of Costa Manos and Alex Webb, Ed is obviously drawn to color...to the interplay of contrasts between shadow and light...and to the streets.

In an interview with Leica Liker, this is what he says about why he does street photography:

I find it enjoyable. Otherwise why bother? I like the process of walking, the challenge of making successful images, and the element of gamesmanship involved.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Ed Peters worked as a freelance photographer, before joining the staff of The Star Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. He subsequently relocated to Asia where he photographed the plight of Burmese refugees, and the pro democracy movement in Nepal. Returning to the United States, he joined a photo agency and photographed a wide variety of stories. These include the famine in Somalia, war in the former Yugoslavia, traditional wrestling in India, and the continuing AIDS crisis. He is now focusing on his personal work, especially street photography.

Chico Sanchez: La Guelaguetza

Photo © Chico Sanchez- All Rights Reserved

As part of the celebrations in honor of the Virgin of Carmen, residents from Oaxaca state's eight regions travel every year to the capital to offer traditional dances, while the residents from Carmen Alto and Carmen Bajo neighborhoods participate in banquets, offerings and processions throughout the city....and this is how Chico Sanchez describes his latest audio-slideshow Deep Friendship.

The Guelaguetza is an annual indigenous cultural event in Mexico that takes place in the city of Oaxaca as well as in nearby villages. The word Guelaguetza means "offering" in the Zapotec language, but its means much more. In traditional Oaxacan villages, people attending the festivities bring food, alcoholic beverages, etc. Each person's offering, or "guelaguetza" triggers a reciprocal exchange, and enables the reinforcement of social ties.

Chico Sanchez is far from being a stranger to The Travel Photographer's blog. His audio-slideshow work has been featured on it on many occasions.

He is a freelance photographer based in Mexico City. Chico worked in Venezuela, collaborating with Reuters, European Pressphoto Agency, Agencia EFE, and freelances for various newspapers and magazines.

The Frame: The Virgin Of Guadalupe

Photo © Anita Baca-All Rights Reserved

Did I realize that the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 14th Street (not far from where I live in New York City) would commemorate one of Mexico's most important religious holidays this past Monday? Of course not. I only find out stuff like that after the fact.

However, The Frame of The Sacramento Bee has featured 17 photographs of the celebration of this popular religious festival in Mexico City when millions make the pilgrimage to honor the dark-skinned virgin, said to have appeared to an Indian peasant on Dec. 12, 1531.

According to the captions accopmpanying the images, an estimated 5 million people from across Mexico arrived at the basilica Monday carrying large frames, wooden sculptures and ceramic statues of the virgin on their backs. The Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is recognized as a symbol of all Catholic Mexicans.

I chose to feature Anita Baca's photograph (above) showing a pilgrim who journeyed by foot from the state of Hidalgo, posing for a photo in front of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, while a fellow pilgrim stands by, not only for its colors but for its composition. Notice how the curve of the dark sombrero matches the curve of the icon.

Chico Sanchez: Mexico & Saints

I am pleased that Chico Sanchez (whose work has been featured on this blog many times) has now self-published a book of his wonderful photographs of Mexico. Chico's photographs of religion, faith and spirituality are published here in full color. It shares his journey through Mexico, a country of faith, mysticism and religiosity.

He has also announced another self-published book, Saints. In this book, Chico documents the celebrations and rituals honoring Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and all the Saints in Spain. The first part of the book features images from Andalusia, while the second is of images of the Way of Saint James pilgrimage in northern Spain.

Chico Sanchez is a Spanish photojournalist based in Mexico City since 2007, who worked in Venezuela for six years with Reuters, EFE, EPA and various newspapers.

Enrico Martino: Dia De Los Muertos

Time flies, and it's this time of year...once again! Observed on November 1st and 2nd, the Dia de Los Muertos is around the corner. Family and friends gather to pray for loved ones who have died. It is celebrated in Mexico, where it's virtually considered a national holiday. Traditionally, private altars honoring the deceased are built using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the dead. Visiting cemeteries, crypts and graves is also a tradition during these two days.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (known as calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas. Also common are sugar skulls, inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Other special foods include pan de muerto (bread of the dead), a sweet egg bread made in many shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.

For those who are interested in documenting the Dia de los Muertos, photography workshops in Oaxaca are almost a tradition as well, and are plentiful.

Enrico Martino is an editorial, geographic and documentary photojournalist specialized in travel and cultural assignments. He's a contributor to Italian and international magazines, to include Meridiani, "D"-Repubblica, Epoca, Espresso, Panorama, Focus, Gente Viaggi, In Viaggio, Airone, Panorama Travel, Sette, Traveller, Tuttoturismo, Elle, Marie Claire, Merian, Spiegel, Die Zeit, Jeune Afrique, Altair, Rutas del Mundo.

Sara Galbiati: Lucha Libre In Mexico

Photo © Sara Galbiati-All Rights Reserved

Sara Galbiati is a freelance photographer based in Copenhagen, who graduated from the Danish School of Media & Journalism. She worked in various Danish national newspapers, and has accumulated awards in the Danish Picture of the Year, POYi, Canon Grant For Best Student Portfolio, the Danish FOTOKRAVLING, and was nominated for the Joop Swart Masterclass 2011.

I was drawn to Sara's Lucha Libre portfolio (actually there are two...one is a documentary style gallery, while the other is portraits of the wrestlers). Lucha Libre is a combination of sport, show-business and violence, and epitomizes the fight between good and evil....or between the good guys and bad guys in our current vernacular. The bouts are choreographed and winners are selected in advance.

Lucha Libre is extremely popular in Mexico, and has been a part of Mexican culture since the 1930’s. It's estimated to be the second most popular sport after soccer. According to Wikipedia, modern Lucha Libre require wrestlers to wear colorful masks designed in the likeness of animals, gods, ancient heroes, and other archetypes.

For an audio slideshow of Lucha Libre, Chico Sanchez has produced one here.

Alinka Echeverria: The Pilgrims Of Tepeyac

Photo © Alinka Echeverria-All Rights Reserved

Alinka Echeverria is a Mexican visual artist who was recently named 2011 winner of the HSBC Prize for Photography given by the HSBC Cultural Foundation of France. Her work for this prize showed 300 of the 6 million pilgrims that make their way to the Guadalupe Basilica, near Mexico City, bearing statues of the Virgin.

Her website has two interconnected galleries: the first is the black & white The Pilgrims, of portraits made in the Temple of Tepeyac, La Basilica de la Virgen de Guadalupe in Mexico City on the anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the indigenous Mexican Juan Diego.

The second gallery is of color photographs, titled Road To Tepeyac, and is of backs of 300 Mexican Catholic pilgrims on their journey to the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City. The photographs of the pilgrims are cut out from the rest of the scene, leaving us their backs and their religious images and icons.

The hill of Tepeyac is the site where the saint Juan Diego met the Virgin of Guadalupe in December of 1531, and received the iconic image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Leslie Mazoch: Escaramuzas

"We're not just pretty things anymore".

Charreria is Mexico's most traditional equestrian sport, and was dominated by males for many years. However, the presence of skilled female equestrians performing dangerous and synchronized exercises while riding sidesaddle led to the creation of escaramuzas (the Spanish word for scuffle) charras. These women train tirelessly for the chance to show off their equestrian choreography.

Escaramuzas is a "photo-movie" produced by Leslie Mazoch of her black & white stills and ambient audio, which includes a beautiful poem in Spanish (with English sub-titles). It could have been titled Mexican Amazons, since it documents Mexican women who take up this noble sport, and who ride their horses sidesaddle. From what I gathered from the slideshow, the escaramuzas was an accidental tradition that started in 1953, and was influenced by the gypsies of Spain.

Leslie Mazoch is a photographer and photo editor for the Associated Press in Mexico for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Prantik Mazumder: Mexico

Photo © Prantik Mazumder-All Rights Reserved

 Prantik Mazumder is a self-taught photographer, originally from Calcutta, India, and moved to North America for his graduate studies. Currently settled in Ithaca, New York, he's pursuing a career in scientific research.

He traveled to Mexico in 2006 with his first digital SLR, and has images from New Orleans, Ithaca, Peru and Mexico. I particulalry liked the above picture made in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, because of its colors and composition...and for the graffiti.

The Revolucion signage with the graffiti asking the local police not be brutal while the woman is covering her eyes is a message in itself.

Michelle Frankfurter: Destino

Photo © Michelle Frankfurter- All Rights Reserved

Having read Cormac McCarthy’s, The Crossing, Michelle Frankfurter started to photograph along the US-Mexico border, and focuses her photo essay Destino featured on Burn magazine on undocumented Central American migrants who travel across Mexico in an attempt to reach the United States to work.

It's a sad tale that highlights not only the harsh risks inherent in such an endeavor, be it from criminal gangs, from corrupt police, from accidents to a myriad of other life-endangering events on the way.

A number of photographers attending the Mexico Foundry Photojournalism Workshop chose a similar subject for their documentary projects, and the area known as La Lecheria, where migrants seemed to converge to hitchhike north-bound trains, was a magnet for those photographers.

Michelle Frankfurter is a documentary photographer who worked for three years as a staff photographer for daily newspapers: The Herald – Journal and Post Standard in Syracuse, New York. She spent three years living in Nicaragua where she worked as a stringer for the British news agency, Reuters and with the human rights organization Witness For Peace. In 1995, a long-term project on Haiti earned her two World Press Photo awards. She has worked for a number of editorial publications, including The Guardian of London, The Washington Post Magazine, Ms., Time, and Life Magazine.

Maya Elise Joseph Goteiner: Dia De Los Muertos

Photograph © Maya Joseph-Goteiner -All Rights Reserved

I just saw lovely photographs by Maya Joseph-Goteiner on PDN Photo of The Day, and thought I'd feature her work from Oaxaca and elsewhere relating to the Dia de los Muertos festivities, which was featured on PDN here as well. You can also see more of Maya's work on her blog.

The Dia de los Muertos is a Catholic celebration of the memory of deceased ancestors celebrated on November 1 (All Saints) and November 2 (All Souls). Its origins can be traced back to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, such as the Zapotec, Aztec, Maya, Purepecha, Nahual and Totonac. Rituals celebrating the lives of dead ancestors has been observed by Mesoamerican civilizations for at least 3,000 years.

El Rey: East Los Angeles' Mariachis

This is a delightful short documentary featuring Mariachis musicians in East Los Angeles produced by Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari. The piece features Mariachi musicians who gather on corners of the streets of East Los Angeles looking for work, whether in birthday parties, in cafes, restaurants, quinceañeras, weddings and the like.

To my delight, the main singer belts outs out the famous Mexican song "Volver Volver", initially without the accompaniment of musical instruments. I used to hear it played often in the zocalo of Oaxaca...just delightful.

According to Wikipedia, the term "Mariachi" is said to be an adaptation of the French word for marriage or wedding "mariage" as this type of musical formation plays at these events.

via The Click

Rodrigo Cruz: Women Warriors

Photo © Rodrigo Cruz-All Rights Reserved

The reason I go out onto the streets with my camera is simple: I want to tell people's stories in an intimate way through powerful imagery. -Roberto Cruz

Rodrigo Cruz is a freelance photographer with a particular interest in abuses of human rights, especially against women and children in his native Mexico. His work was published by National Geographic and The Washington Post, and by NGOs such as Amnesty International. He was shortlisted for the 2010 Anthropographia Award for Photography and Human Rights; received an honorary mention in the photo contest ‘Global World: through the lens of human rights’; and was selected last year to participate in PhotoEspaña’s Descubrimientos in Guatemala City.

I met Roberto at the inaugural Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Mexico City in 2008, and he was one of the indispensable members that made it such a success. Many of the photojournalists, whether instructors or students, relied on his knowledge, contacts and assistance for their projects and classes.

Have a look at Rodrigo's Women Warriors and Dance of Mice; these are two unusual traditions practiced in Guerrero in southern Mexico. One of his audio-slideshow projects especially relevant at this time when illegal immigration is being targeted in our southern states is The Promised Land.

For further details on Rodrigo, his projects and talent, drop by Canon Pro Network.

Jon Guido Bertelli: Last of Zapatistas

Photo © Jon Bertelli -All Rights Reserved
Jon Bertelli is an international photographer, who currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, but was raised in Florence and academically trained in the visual arts there and in Oslo.

He lived in Mexico in the late nineties, and documented the last surviving Zapatista fighters; the veterans of the 1910-20 Mexican Revolution of the South, led by the famed (and feared) Emiliano Zapata. While Pancho Villa's revolution was concentrated in the north of the country, Zapata and his insurgents represented the south.

Jon photographed the surviving insurgents; most of which were over 100 years old. These were idealistic men and women who sacrificed their well-being and lives to follow Zapata. Many were decorated as war heroes by the Mexican government, and some have been recognized internationally for their bravery.

You have the choice of seeing Jon's The Last of the Zapatistas on his website, or on FOTO8 where his portraits have been made into an audio-sideshow.

The audio track used is La Soldadera by Garcia-Pujol and Jimenez. While it's a beautiful and appropriately evocative piece, imagine if the audio of the elderly Zapatistas' voices, telling us a bit of their exploits, was also included!!

Trevor Snapp: La Santa Muerte

Photo © Trevor Snapp-All Rights Reserved
Trevor Snapp is a self-taught photographer with degrees in anthropology and African studies, and his work is syndicated with Corbis and Millennium Images. His clients include Stern, National Geographic Traveler, BBC, Time.com, Chicago Tribune, Marie Calire and others. He has also worked for a variety of NGOs such as Heifer International, Gates Foundation, and Intrahealth in Africa.

Now based in Kampala, Trevor photographed La Santa Muerte in Mexico, among other galleries of Central Amercia

The cult of Santa Muerte is unusual because it's the cult of the drug lords, the dispossessed, and criminals. There are many shrines to Santa Muerte in the capital city, but Tepito is where the most popular shrines are. Tepito is an infamous barrio and its tough reputation dates back to pre-Hispanic times. The neighborhood is a warren of mean streets and alleys, lined with auto-body shops and small stores. It's here that the prostitutes, drug dealers and petty thieves come to pay their respect to the saint. It's also where the common folk; housewives, cab drivers and street vendors come to make their offerings...tequila bottles, candles, money and flowers.

The gallery strikes a chord with me since I photographed in Tepito in 2008, along with two other photographers, when we were within a hair's breadth of being mugged.

My Work: Ocotlán Matron

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
During my Oaxaca Mini Photo-Expedition™ a few weeks ago, we drove to Ocotlán de Morelos which is located 30-40 kilometers from Oaxaca, and photographed at its weekly market. I found it much more photogenic than those in Oaxaca proper such as the Abastos and Benito Juarez markets; perhaps more authentic is a better description.

Notwithstanding, the Zapotecs are not fond of being photographed, and I had to be somewhat circumspect when photographing in such an environment. One of the photographs that almost works is the one of the Ocotlán matron above. The wall colors are great, the blue basket matches her frock, and her expression is phenomenal...but her posture is not quite as I would have liked it.

As I slowly moved to the right to adjust my framing after this photograph was made, she saw me and ran inside the store.

Ah well...perhaps another time I'll be luckier.

Gloria: Maestra de la Guelaguetza

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
During the Oaxaca Mini Photo~Expedition™ last week, we attended a Guelaguetza performance at one of the town's old hotels. I managed to get our group in the dancers' dressing room just before the performance, where we were introduced to Gloria, an experienced dancer who was dubbed "La Maestra" by the rest of the dancers.

Although heavy-set, Gloria had the flexibility, energy and liveliness of dancers half-her age, and she deafened us with her rhythmic whistling during the most frenetic parts of the dances. A real professional, with a wicked sense of humor.

La Guelaguetza is a perfomance of traditional dances from the seven regions of the state of Oaxaca. The performance is a re-creation of the original dance steps and music passed down through the generations. Dancers, and even musicians, wear costumes representative of their respective district, which are decorated with ribbons and sometimes bells.

The origin of the Guelaguetza dances dates fro pre-Columbian traditions, and the word "guelaguetza" is originally Zapotec Indian which means an offering or gift. In the true spirit of guelaguetza, the dancers at the end of their performance toss gifts, usually of fruits and vegetables, into the crowd. These offerings represent their region's specialty and include straw hats, flowers, mangoes and even pineapples.

This is what I described in my earlier POV post, and the fruits were eagerly awaited by some poor Zapotec children watching the children Guelaguetza.

Here's my gallery of La Guelaguetza photographs, made in 2007, which has additional details.

POV: Children Should Never Go Hungry

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
The Zocalo, with its cultural activities, is the very heart of Oaxaca, and is a daily magnet for locals and tourists alike. It also attracts vendors of various trinkets, as well as poor children (all of them indigenous...possibly Zapotecs) who attempt to make a few pesos by selling chewing gum. Approaching the restaurants' tables occupied by tourists, these children sometimes shyly ask for left-overs. In fact, that's what three little girls did one evening. We gladly gave them whatever was on our table, and one of us even asked our waiter for a bag to give them half her pizza.

During a festive Guelguetza dance festival of schoolchildren, I looked beyond the colors, music, laughter and frenetic motion, and at the periphery of the stage, saw a Zapotec boy with arms outstretched in askance for fruits from one of the young dancers.

You see, after each dance the young dancers would reach into baskets of fruits, flowers and vegetables, and toss them to an appreciative audience. The Zapotec boy was in that audience, and wanted fruit. Mind you, not for keepsake as perhaps the families wanted, but to eat. However, I also noticed he never reached into the basket full of apricots just inches from him...no, that would be stealing. He just wanted the young dancer to give him one...and he got a fruit.

Not only was I sobered at this sight, but I also read in these unfortunate children's eyes an uncomprehending acceptance that they would never take part in an organized Guelaguetza dance such as the one they were witnessing. I also sensed that they understood that it was so because they were poor and were racially different. They would never wear the colorful Guelaguetza costumes. All this boy could muster was an old over sized baseball cap, and a dirty shirt.

No child should go hungry and no child should beg for food. Ever.

Oaxaca: La Guelaguetza

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy -All Rights Reserved
Our "almost-a-week-long" Oaxaca Mini Photo-Expedition™ was replete with daily serendipitous photo opportunities. Lynn Padwe, Carl Meisel, Li Lu-Porter, Maria Dikeos and I roamed the streets of this wonderful town in search of photographic scenes, and we weren't disappointed.

Naturally, it was the Zocalo...the throbbing heart of Oaxaca, that offered the most in terms of photo ops, and we made the most of it. It's always a wonderment that Oaxaca (and certainly other similar towns in Mexico) always has something going on in its main square. During our 5 days there, every evening saw some sort of cultural event; a classical performance by the Oaxaca orchestra, a performance by a wide-throated Mariachi singer, a Guelaguetza festival for young children (above) and the weekly dance event.

After photographing the events, we would invariably make a beeline towards the various cafes and restaurants that line the square for drinks and/or dinner.

Note: I've recently noticed that a number of travel photographers have now started to appropriate the Photo-Expedition moniker that I've used for years. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.