In Guad We Trust by Dawn Franco
Participants of the festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe make their way up the mountain.
For many years, as tradition, in December every year, different cultures of many ages climb Tortugas Mountain in Las Cruces, NM.
The hike, which some participators begin at 7:00 a.m., is a spiritual experience and re-enactment of when the holy Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to the native Juan Diego near Mexico City. The native Pueblo of the Tortugas community participates as well as different religious sanctions of Catholicism.
Hundreds participate in the event from young children to the elderly. Some pilgrims walk up the mountain barefoot, or carrying a cross to symbolize the struggle of Jesus, others carry candles, many carry rosaries and some carry shrines, flags, and articles of clothing to honor the Virgin.
The top of the mountain is utilized to represent a closer relationship with God and the Virgin. Many pray the rosary on the climb up, but many say their prayers at the top of the mountain in the stone structure on their knees before a statue of the Virgin, which is carried by the church early in the morning before the ceremony. Later in the morning there is a mass and the tribe performs a dance around Our Lady of Guadalupe.
After arriving at the top and prayer many stay with their friends and families building small fires and enjoying burritos, tamales, and other food groups.
There is not only tolerance, but graciousness amongst the different cultures that honor the same sacred madonna despite minor differences in the Pueblo and Catholicism, and a enormous sense of community at the event. Many members help each other up the mountain and for the hike down walking sticks are made from natural materials called quoites.
At the end of the sacred ceremony before night a signal fire is lit by pueblo leaders to signal participants still on the mountain that the time has come to return back to the Pueblo.
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Nice story and a good idea.
However there are three issues with he Project: Firstly, The shoot is good but the depth of the assignment isn’t there because it is only this one event. There are things that go with this event that are essential to show if you are going to show depth, going to show more than someone who did the climb would show. What? I am sure they do a lot of preparation to do this even (back at the Pueblo, in individual homes, at the park where they begin the hike from), no? Your job is go beyond a casual viewer goes. That would be -precisely- into those homes and Pueblo, etc. When we use the word “immersion” in class it is this depth we are talking about. It means that you have to give this more than one day. You have to immerse! I don’t see repeated visits to the subject as we discussed.
Secondly, the assignment stated: “This is a color assignment and thus powerful color is essential.” The weird thing is is that is actually what you have. But you converted them to B/W and in this case that is a self-defeating idea. These people, the Guadalupe, the shrines in the middle of the desert, these are screaming COLOR!
Lastly, not as obvious, I think you could do more -particularly in terms of color- by shooting the shrines at times that are not during the march, National Geo style. Use that “sweet light” to make this story pop eyes (it has the potential to do so).
Summarizing: 1) Put the color back in. Without it you have stripped the project of its heart, 2) Put at least a shoot or two more in to gain depth, 3) Bring that extra effort of time and come down from that mountain in the dark, perhaps, BUT with extraordinary images that a casual snap-shooter would never sacrifice their time to get.
Excellence is all about extra effort/Sweat Equity/Time Invested.