Penafiel's photographs give grassroots Mexico a face

Adrian Smith, Contributor, Jakarta

Any attempt to portray a nation's people in a single collection of photographs, whether intended or not, comes loaded with meaning. My People is a case in point.

This collection of 38 color portraits taken by Mexican photographer Manuel Penafiel subjectively portrays the faces, figures, dress, customs and activities of the people of Mexico.

The subject matter appears timeless. Though they were all taken between 1975 and 1982, barring one noticeable anomaly in 1999, there are in fact few visual references for the viewer to place any of these photographs in any particular time frame.

And the human activities and living conditions depicted are decidedly down-to-earth and streetside, the like of which could find similar comparisons in many parts of the world, including Indonesia. Take the Taco and popcorn seller, for example: The colorful simple designs of his streetside stall would not seem too out of place at a local warung.

However, while, for instance, women selling mangoes, chilies, flowers and flags at markets are more or less a global phenomena, there are cultural markers that give the place away, such as the inimitable geometric Indian fabric designs. And within these designs, there are subtle variations that indicate particular regions and locales, though these are all but likely lost to the virgin viewer.

Then there are the customs and rituals, such as La Danza del Venado (The Deer Dance), which reenacts a dying deer's moments as it is hunted down at the hands of hunters.

A religious context is given with La Crucifixion, which portrays an Easter procession with a live man, enacting Christ, being carried on the cross and a weeping Virgin Mary surrounded by burly local men dressed as Roman soldiers.

There is even a candid portrayal of private grief, Candida, in which a mourning elderly woman sits beside the body of her late husband. The modesty of the room and the obvious impact of the situation make this memorable scene touching.

But the humbling world of daily work for the many laborers, tradesmen and craftsman portrayed make the most numerous appearances; from a glass blower to fishermen casting their nets, from farmers plowing the earth to laundry women chatting beside a river.

The closest resemblance to elevated reality for the detached voyeur only appears fleetingly in Charros (Cowboys) as they strut their stuff on horseback out on the plains, though for them, it appears to be all in a day's work rather than anything approaching heroic.

It is as if the photographer means to say that the real people of Mexico are those at the grassroots level, who are tied to the land, hardworking and stoically steeped in local customs, religion and tradition. Anyone dressed in a suit, works in an office, lives in a high-rise apartment or drives a car doesn't get much of a look in.

But My People unashamedly achieves what it set out to do; namely to instill in the viewer a familiarity with the age-old institutions, traditions and values upon which mainstream Mexican identity is built.

My People is on at La Casa de Mexico, Jl. Panglima Polim III No. 1-3, Kebayoran Baru open on July 17 and runs until July 21. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.