All photos © David Rochkind. Above: “Border,” February 2007, Mexico.

David Rochkind’s series, “Heavy Hand, Sunken Spirit” is about the social costs and consequences of Mexico’s violent drug war. In the four years since President Felipe Calderon’s inauguration, over 35,000 people have been killed and kidnappings have skyrocketed. The cartels are ruthless, leaving the gruesome nature of their crimes visible to everyone.

Rochkind explains how Mexico is a country in crisis: “The government is battling the drug cartels, the drug cartels are battling each other and there is a palpable fear across the nation. Corruption exists throughout the state and complaints of human rights abuses by the army are widespread. The line between criminals and the authorities is so blurred that the average citizen fears everyone. These photographs attempt to move beyond simple depictions of carnage to explore the stress and tension that is left in the wake of such violence and illustrate how this conflict will impact and handicap Mexico’s future.” Rochkind’s exhibition, “Heavy Hand, Sunken Spirit,” opens at Blue Sky gallery in Portland, Oregon, on February 2, 2012.

Above: This stretch of the border divides Nogales, Arizona, at left and Nogales, Sonora, at right. There has been little violent spillover into the U.S., though recently U.S. citizens have been killed with more frequency in Mexico. In March of 2010, two U.S. Consulate workers were gunned down in Ciudad Juarez. –Courtesy of Blue Sky Gallery

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All photos © Luis Fabini. Above: 2010 Vaqueiros / Brazil. The vaqueiros wear the handmade uniform of protective leather clothing necessary for roping cows amidst lethal thorns throughout the bush caatinga.

“Horsemen of the Americas”, is a personal study of a breed of man whose culture and relationship to its natural habitat has continued to adapt and evolve over 400 years. These working horsemen, though seldom recognized, have been a pillar of the economy and the history of the Americas since the time of the Conquest. In the United States and Canada these horsemen are called cowboys, in Mexico they are known as charros, in Ecuador as chagras, in Colombia and Venezuela as llaneros, in Peru as chalanes and qorilazos, in Chile they are called the huasos, Brazil has its pantaneiros and vaqueiros, and  Uruguay and Argentina’s the gauchos.

“Man and horse is the most formidable partnership ever forged between two living beings. Through an intrinsic bond with the land, a philosophy of masculinity, freedom and courage, these magnificent centaurs invented a new way of life, and continue today, though their number has dwindled. A way of life is surely disappearing: their traditions, their languages, and their particular legacy is being lost forever”, Fabini says.  Fabini started working on this project in 2004, and has spent an average of eight months a year on the road since then. He will be looking for a book publisher and exhibition opportunity over the next year as he concludes the 8 year project. To see more of  Luis Fabini’s work click here.
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© Flor Garduño. Above: Nahual Man, Guatemala,  1993.

Contrasto publishing house has just released Trilogy, a collection of the works created by Flor Garduño over the course of thirty years in Mexico and Europe. It is pervaded by myths and legends and reflects Garduno’s navigation through a magical land that echos Mexico, where she was born. The book is presented like a “dance” in three times: bestiarium (real and fictional images of enchanted animals), fantastic women (a celebration of the feminine universe) and silent natures (objects created to maintain her playful spirit). More about Garduño and her work is available here.

All photos © Maya Joseph-Goteiner

Dia de los Muertos, (Day of the Dead) is a tradition that celebrates life and encourages human contact with the dead. In the Oaxacan region of Mexico, every town has its unique rituals. My intention with these images is to highlight the warmth and communal sensibility of the holiday. Children and grownups dress up, gathering in the cemeteries to be close to their beloved family members who have passed. Music and dance highlight the festivities, particularly at comparsas which are carnival type processions that travel to every home in a town and often last until the wee hours of the morning. – Maya Joseph-Goteiner

To see more of Goteiner’s work click here.

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© Paul Strand/Aperture Foundation. Above: Church gateway, Hidalgo, 1933.

On view now through November 15, 2010 at Aperture Gallery, Paul Strand in Mexico is a historic exhibition comprised of over a hundred photographs by one of the great modern masters, including Strand’s vintage prints; stills from his classic film, Redes (The Wave; 1936); and previously unseen documents and ephemera related to Strand’s time in Mexico in 1932-34, and again in 1966. This unique and important photographic portrait of Mexico at a critical point in its history will open at Aperture Gallery on September 16, 2010, to coincide with the celebrations commemorating the bicentennial of Mexico’s Independence (1810) and the centennial of its Revolution (1910).

From Oct 15, 2010 through Oct 16, 2010 Aperture will present  symposiums bringing together a distinguished group of international scholars and practitioners from Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To find out more about the Paul Strand in Mexico symposiums click here. (more…)