Product Description

In this book, award-winning photographer Miguel Gandert records the sacred rituals and dances of the mestizo peoples of the upper Río Grande in 130 exquisite black-and-white photographs. Included are images of the two great Indo-Hispano regional traditions, the Matachines conquest dance drama, complete with monsters and bull, and the multifaceted Comanches celebration, with its equestrian victory play and boisterous dances. The image and story of Our Lady of Guadalupe are in evidence everywhere in a sacred landscape crisscrossed with procession and pilgrimage. Four essays provide the background for viewing Gandert's work. Enrique R. Lamadrid presents the folkloric context for the rituals and dances, tracing the mixture of Indian and Hispanic elements in the public celebrations performed today in towns and villages all along the Río Grande. Ramón A. Gutiérrez examines how the Río Grande culture traveled up and down the river, defying international borders. Lucy R. Lippard discusses the social relations among participants in Gandert's photographs-the subjects, the viewers, and the photographer himself. Chris Wilson provides biographical information on Gandert and traces the development of his aesthetic.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2877352 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-21
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From Library Journal
Comprising 130 stunning black-and-white photographs by Gandert and essays by Southwest scholars Lamadrid, Ram"n Gutierr z, Lucy R. Lippard, and Chris Wilson, this collection reveals, in image and print, a colorful and enduring mestizo culture in the upper R!o Grande corridor. The survival of history and a memory of tradition saturate Gandert's work with meaning and depth. The photographs resonate with movement and reverence as they capture the swaying, stomping bodies of Nuevo M xico Indo-Hispanos performing sacred rituals and dances rooted in the syncretism of garb and gods of the Old and New Spains. The performances of birth and blessings, conquests and pilgrimages, and music and death, so aptly captured by Gandert, serve as ethnographic windows to this border culture, while the essays poignantly provide a richer understanding of their cultural and historical contexts. Highly recommended. Silvia Heredia, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Miguel Gandert has been photographing the social rituals, people, and landscapes of his native New Mexico for twenty years. Gandert's photographs have been exhibited widely in museums and galleries around the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Customer Reviews

Powerful images of archetype, myth, and heritage!
My 28-year residency in New Mexico ended with my recent move to California. Viewing Miguel Gandert's photographs opened the floodgates of memory in ways I had not anticipated.

Gandert's images carry the viewer into the most important dimension of ritual: the experiential element. Witnessing these ritual dances, even as a mere spectator, can be a moving experience. A vivid recollection of one New Year's Day at Jemez Pueblo Plaza comes to mind. I sat crosslegged on the ground at the inward-facing edge of the assembly, following the action of the Matachine dancers. A little boy portraying El Torito, the bull, was being chased by a whip-wielding Abuelo, who represents both wise elder and taunting clown. I held my hands over my head, feigning a protective gesture in mock fear, as they ran around me in ever tightening circles. The double-line pattern of the danzantes suddenly shifted and swept over me on both sides with ribbons flying in a swirl of color. In that moment I found all concept of time and structure collapsing into liminality. Afterwards, I became concerned that I might have inadvertently violated ritual space. Upon expressing my feelings to a tribal member, however, I was assured that no such transgression had taken place and that I might have even received a blessing.

The event described above could, no doubt, be interpreted quite differently from another standpoint and through another's eyes. Similarly, this book can be appreciated on many different levels. It's relevancy to universal elements and ritual may resonate with a widely diverse audience. Gandert and four knowledgeable essayists create a compelling cultural admixture of polarity and paradox. The resultant images emerge through layers of time, space, and history like so many bubbles from some deep, ancient well. This book is truly a verbal and visual treasure.

Readers interested in expanding their knowledge of the Matachines tradition will also find a valuable resource in The Matachines Dance: Ritual Symbolism and Interethnic Relations in the Upper Rio Grande Valley by Sylvia Rodriguez.