[D66] The Breathtaking Beauty Of Mexico’s Indigenous Communities

[R.O.]

  Photographer Captures The Breathtaking Beauty Of Mexico’s Indigenous
  Communities

By
Carolina Moreno
huffpost.com
2 min
View Original 
<https://getpocket.com/redirect?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fphotographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d%3Fguccounter%3D1%26guce_referrer%3DaHR0cHM6Ly9ubC5waW50ZXJlc3QuY29tL3Bpbi8zNDU2NTEzNDAxMzI1MDc4Mzkv%26guce_referrer_sig%3DAQAAAJY4c7dqnyBI-0Q2VKS7uM3Qxa9cp8prQRHXqyL08LhNmW4afUunD2iRyhU8DbRvOj7WCXQR9UhB2rXHO4gmsuZdzCf4YYswP12C5pIgnnn7c7qWnHNjov4DaRacK9dNo8SBU_RsELiWgmBa3BqmVsGPf6k_X4P_t1ZySJuingO6>

Diego Huerta's goal is to document all of the indigenous groups in the 
country.
Tehuana women wearing their traditional headdress. The Tehuana-style of 
clothes was popularized by Mexican icon Frida Kahlo. Tehuana women 
wearing their traditional headdress. The Tehuana-style of clothes was 
popularized by Mexican icon Frida Kahlo.

Diego Huerta Tehuana women wearing their traditional headdress. The 
Tehuana-style of clothes was popularized by Mexican icon Frida Kahlo.

  *


  *



  *




  *





  *






"Oaxaca was something that had to happen, it was something that I didn’t 
look for. It simply occurred."

That's how photographer Diego Huerta 
<https://www.instagram.com/diegohuertaphoto/> describes his work in the 
southern Mexican state, where he has diligently traveled to for the past 
four years to document its indigenous communities with breathtaking 
portraits.

The 30-year-old Mexican photographer began working on this project, 
titled "Inside Oaxaca," after traveling to Oaxaca and inadvertently 
witnessing the Guelaguetza 
<https://www.flickr.com/groups/guelaguetza/pool/>, its biggest annual 
celebration and parade that features traditional dances and customs from 
the States' eight regions.

"I was struck by all the colors and by the faces of the various 
delegations, and I wanted to know where they came from," Huerta told The 
Huffington Post via e-mail. "It was at that moment that I knew I had to 
go to their place of origin to know more about their traditions and 
customs and document them via my portraits."

Huerta says this photo of a Tehuana woman and a dog is one of his 
favorites. "We traveled about 8 kilometers on a dirt road that took us 
to the sea, when we finally arrived we walked toward some sand dunes I 
saw in the distance. On the way there a dog began following us," he 
said. "As soon as we stopped the dog got close to her and laid down next 
to her, finding the shade she made with the sun." Huerta says this photo 
of a Tehuana woman and a dog is one of his favorites. "We traveled about 
8 kilometers on a dirt road that took us to the sea, when we finally 
arrived we walked toward some sand dunes I saw in the distance. On the 
way there a dog began following us," he said. "As soon as we stopped the 
dog got close to her and laid down next to her, finding the shade she 
made with the sun."

Diego Huerta Huerta says this photo of a Tehuana woman and a dog is one 
of his favorites. "We traveled about 8 kilometers on a dirt road that 
took us to the sea, when we finally arrived we walked toward some sand 
dunes I saw in the distance. On the way there a dog began following us," 
he said. "As soon as we stopped the dog got close to her and laid down 
next to her, finding the shade she made with the sun."

About 15 percent of the Mexican population identifies as indigenous 
<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/IndigenousPeoplesRightsInMexico.aspx>, 
according to the United Nations Human Rights Council. That number jumps 
to 56 percent in Oaxaca, where there are 16 different indigenous groups 
<http://www.history.com/topics/mexico/oaxaca>.

"In Oaxaca something very interesting happens: there is a mix of the 
modern and the traditional, of the indigenous people and the mestizo 
people 
<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/IndigenousPeoplesRightsInMexico.aspx>, 
that fight to conserve that indigenous part that they inherited," Huerta 
told HuffPost. "The portraits that I’ve done are from four of the eight 
regions that exist in Oaxaca (after four years I’m only halfway through 
the project) and they are people that I’ve met directly in the villages 
or small towns that I’ve visited. Some of those people I can now call my 
friends."

As part of his project, Huerta travels to remote parts of the State and 
has photographed women and men from the Zapotec, Mixtecos, Mixes and 
Chontales communities. His project in Oaxaca will feed into a larger 
photo endeavor he has planned called "Native Nation," 
<http://behindmystories.com/portfolio/nativenation/> which consists of 
documenting Mexico's more than 50 indigenous groups.

The Austin-based photographer shares many of his portraits on his 
Instagram account. <https://www.instagram.com/diegohuertaphoto/> In the 
long run, Huerta hopes that his photo projects create "an empathy for 
indigenous people, and that that empathy be a trigger to respect them 
and value them," he said. "Discrimination doesn't only exist in the 
United States. In Mexico there's a high degree of discrimination against 
native people. And there's a lot of ignorance from modern society 
towards them."

Check out some of Huerta's photos from "Inside Oaxaca" below, and more 
on his Instagram account <https://www.instagram.com/diegohuertaphoto/>.

  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b083f5c6092f2b>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b083f5c6092f2c>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b0daf53af12ec9>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b0a06d58073460>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b0daf53af12ec7>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b0daf53af12ec8>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b0a06d5807345f>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b083f5c6092f2a>


    Diego Huerta
  *
    <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-captures-the-breathtaking-beauty-of-mexicos-indigenous-communities_n_5704038ce4b0a06d5807300d#570408f5e4b083f5c6092f2d>


    Diego Huerta

Download <https://app.getpocket.com/read/3061363395>


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.tuxtown.net/pipermail/d66/attachments/20200727/635c9317/attachment-0001.html>