La Vida es جميل

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Mexico | Monday, November 7, 2011 | 5 photos

These photos are from my visit to Coyoacan for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico City. I am currently living here as an Educational Advisor for Mexican students who are interested in pursuing their studies in the United States. During this day, people buy pan de muerte (bread of death) to give to their ancestors at alters or gravesites. My intention with these photos was to portray the connection between the living and the dead. The perspective from which the photographs are shot is from a person contemplating this day as s/he goes through the tradition of buying the bread that is only offered during this time of year. This person is pondering the symbolic significance behind this day and while in the bread shop sees “Men do not live on bread alone” and comes to the conclusion that “hope” or “esperanza” is another food for man.
Receiving this scholarship is important to me because I see symbolism in everyday life and realize there are many artistic outlets for expressing such symbolic messages --- one of them being photography. I once asked a friend how he took such profound photos and he told me to make sure that it has some sort of meaning to me before taking the shot. I hope to explore South Africa and take photos of what really holds value there. I will be going to Tanzania in June 2012 as a Peace Corps Volunteer and am hoping for a chance to see and understand another part of Africa and to portray what I will learn through my photography.