Posadas are an important part of Mexican Christmas celebrations. The word posada means “inn” or “shelter” in Spanish, and this tradition re-enacts Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay in Bethlehem. A procession goes from house to house. Those outside the house sing the part of Joseph asking for shelter and the family inside responds singing the part of the innkeeper saying that there is no room. The hosts give the guests food, such as tamales or tostadas and a hot drink such as ponche, a warm spiced fruit cider. Then the guests break piñatas and the children are given candy. We were invited by our neighbors to participate as one of the houses they stop at… and we contributed a piñata to the festivities. Here’s some images from the teeny little Posada that our block held a few days before Christmas. (Press the arrows on the right or left side of the images to view all the images in the gallery)
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Today was Dia de la Revolución in Mexico. November 20th marks the anniversary of the start of the 1910-1917 Revolution— when Francisco I. Madero and his supporters worked to unseat the dictator Porfirio Díaz, who had remained in power for more than three decades.
Our little pueblo celebrates with a small parade of children and adults dressed in the traditional dress of the revolutionaries. Here’s some photographs I took during the parade. The kids were so cute!
Here’s a great article for those of you who would like to start collecting photography: 10 Tips For Collecting Photography
People who have added my photography to their collections are from all over the world — some have contacted me after seeing my photographs hanging in the airport in Austin. My collectors are also from all walks of life, from students and teachers to hi-tech professionals, movie directors and basketball executives. I appreciate them all. So, what’s stopping you from collecting photographic works and hanging them on your walls?
On Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), I styled a photo shoot with two young women who are also good friends. I did all the make-up myself and chose a location here in Mineral de Pozos, Mexico. The San Pedro ruins provided the perfect backdrop for my shoot. Alejandra and Malenii were terrific models and very patient with my broken Spanish language instructions (thank goodness for universal hand signals). Thanks to Jaime for being my translator when needed and teaching me phrases for future styled shoots with Spanish speaking models. I love how these turned out and I think I’ll make it an annual project here in Mexico.
These images are available as fine art prints and licensing.
Camera: Pentax 645Z
Editing Software: Adobe Lightroom, Alien Skin Exposure 7
On Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), I styled a photo shoot with two young women who are also good friends. I did all the make-up myself and chose a location here in Mineral de Pozos, Mexico. The San Pedro ruins provided the perfect backdrop for my shoot. Alejandra and Malenii were terrific models. My previous post shows the medium format color images from the shoot. This post features the digital infrared images using a Supercolor IR filter.
These images are available as fine art prints and licensing.
Camera: Nikon D300 (IR conversion)Editing Software: Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop
Putting full “Catrina” make-up on a 4-year-old is not a simple feat. But little Ava was a trooper and held still long enough to get her face made up for the festivities that night. I took a quick portrait of her after I was done and then took a couple of portraits with her gorgeous parents.
November 1st is All Saints Day or El Dia de Todos los Santos in Mexico. The deceased children (little angels) are remembered on November 1st with toys and colorful balloons adorning their graves. In Pozos, on this day, the children dress up in costumes and go to various homes to collect candy, much like Halloween night in the USA. A group of us gathered at the home of a friend with bags of candy and greeting the children. There were many more children than we expected and we ran out of candy. I photographed them as they came into the entry to collect their sweets.
We’re coming down to the last day of the annual celebration to honor the town’s patron saint: El Señor de los Trabajos (The Lord of Work). Yesterday was a busy one for Pozos — the day before was quiet because of heavy rains. We wandered around in the evening, looking for yummy food from the street vendors and photographing the scenes encountered. We saw tons of market stalls, food stalls set up everywhere, carnival rides, street dogs looking for scraps, indigenous dancers in colorful costumes and headdresses, and people of all ages making their way on their knees to end their pilgrimage at the church at the top of the hill. Here’s some of the scenes I captured yesterday.
Life in Mexico Photography
Life in Pozos – La Fiesta de El Señor de los Trabajos
Posted on May 29, 2014
Yes, it’s a big week here in Mineral de Pozos, Mexico. It’s the annual celebration to honor the town’s patron saint: El Señor de los Trabajos (The Lord of Work). Many Mexicans pray to El Señor de los Trabajos to help them find work to provide for their families. This is also the patron saint of our parroquia.
This week is a busy medley of processions, native drumming, dancing, marching bands, music, markets and food stands along with the constant artillery pops of firecrackers and fireworks at all hours of the day and night. There is so much going on, it’s overwhelming to experience for the first time. This fiesta is something the entire town prepares for and looks forward to all year. The fiesta will end on Sunday with the arrival of a large pilgrimage of indigenous people from Mexico City and other states of Mexico.
I love photographing Pozos and and feel blessed to live here. I will post more images as the fiesta continues, but here’s a sampling of what I photographed earlier today.
Stephen and Meredith’s wedding day ended up being one of the coldest days of the year in Austin. But, that didn’t stop these two from having the time of their lives and making sure their friends and family enjoyed the day too! This wedding was a blast to photograph and these two had more than enough love keep everyone warm — that and the Winter Tent at the Allan House.
Many thanks to Shawn McAdams, my second shooter. Be sure to watch the wedding video trailer at the end of this post!
Venue: Allan House, Austin, TX
Catering: Whole Foods Market Culinary Center and Catering
Dress Designer: White by Vera Wang for David’s Bridal
Floral Designer: Fleurish Austin
Hair and Makeup Stylist: Brizy Tait at The Beauty Jar
Bridesmaid Dresses: custom made from Etsy Store Alex Dress
DJ: Jacob Noack from Live Oak DJ
