Graciela Iturbide ::

The Cemetery, Juchitan, Mexico, 1988 [in her website, part of the series Birds]

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“This image is

part of Graciela Iturbide’s series on the Juchitan indigenous culture, a major focus of her work from 1979 to 1988. Located in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, the Juchitan is a matriarchal society in which women are in charge of everything from commerce to religious ceremonies. In The Cemetery, taken in 1988, Iturbide depicts a woman carrying firewood through a cemetery made up of modest adobe tombs. Swallows circle around, filling the frame of the image. The scene is beautifully surreal, but also foreboding. The photographer creates her own reality, moving past Mexico’s Catholic traditions into Indian mysticism.” source of image and quote: ICP