Unearthing the temple: Portraits of the Mazahua and Mixteca at Mexico City’s Templo Mayor
I’VE STARTED TO REALIZE that meeting and photographing different cultures and subjects with diverse belief systems can broaden one’s spiritual and cultural horizons much more rapidly than just studying them from a distance at home. It might be a cliché to say this, but I really feel it’s easy to become jaded when we grow up in a Western culture — and, even worse, not even be aware of it.
The last part of my stay in Mexico really brought this to my attention. One of the many events I shot in Mexico was an indigenous rights conference, held at the Congressional Building. During the proceedings, a short, dark-skinned man wearing traditional tribal clothing approached me. He introduced himself as Lobo Blanco, and as we talked, I learned that he was from an indigenous tribe called the Mazahua. He seemed excited to hear that our tour was concerned with human rights, and he invited us to a private event at what he described as a sacred temple, which I later learned was Templo Mayor.
I was more than happy to accept the invitation, secretly excited about the opportunity to meet the other tribe members.