Huellas: Prints of a Curandera

“Quiero dejar Huellas-- I want to leave my Print”-- said Rosario Gaspar López when I first met her in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico.  Rosario is a Curandera-- a traditional healer-- from the Zapotec community of Santiago Laxopa.  These prints were captured as we journeyed together through the beauty of her path during my visit in 2010.  I am interested in documenting the story of Rosario because of my personal experience in the Mexican spiritual tradition of Curanderísmo, and also because of the unique culture of her community.  This project is important because it reveals a rich legacy of indigenous healing and way of life that has been undervalued and unrecognized by many in modern society, and yet has been perpetuated in Native populations throughout Mexico and elsewhere.  The photographs show the simple beauty that exists in Rosario’s community, and the natural elements that uphold and maintain existence such as the earth, water, fire, sky, sacred food and plants.  The sacredness of the natural world is the root teaching of the Curanderísmo path.  It is my hope that this body of work will serve as a means of engagement between different cultures by exposing the unique imagery, spirituality, and living history of Rosario’s tradition.

Please enjoy the variety of photographs by clicking on the thumbnail images posted below.