Scope and arrangement
The Contemporary Afro-Mexican Photography collection, dated 2010 to 2021, represents the photographic works of five photographers, Hugo Arellanes, Toumani Cámara, Héctor Careaga, Koral Carballo, and Dolores Medel. Their photographs document the Afro-Mexican community living in Mexico, the heritage and traditions passed down through the generations, the challenges of today's environment, and themselves.
Hugo Arellanes' photographs touch upon several themes that are impactful to the Afro-Mexican community who mostly live in the coastal communities of Mexico. The collection holds two large groups of Arellanes photographs: Despedimientos (Farewells) series, and El Polvito En Tus Zapatos (The Little Dust on Your Shoes) series."
The Despedimientos is an exploration of the impact of climate change on the Costa Chica community. Arellanes describes these works as an attempt to reconcile the impending doom with blissful ignorance of those community members who are uninformed about the climate crisis. The images are untitled and feature photographic subjects that show the impact of drought, birds in flight, and a girl braiding her hair. The other group El Polvito En Tus Zapatos depict objects. Arellanes explores these objects that have different uses in his community of Costa Chica. These objects known as "el polvito en tus zapatos" tell the story of people, how the community lives, and their customs. The rest of Arellanes' works are self-portraits, including one in which Arellanes wrote "Black Lives Matter" across his back.
Toumani Cámara's photographs mostly examine his Mexican and African identities. There are several photographs that reflect how Cámara sees and questions his identity, including images depicting his father (although he is not identified as such in the photographs, Cámara has confirmed his identity). As with the other photographers, Cámara illustrates the events impacting Mexico with a photograph from the series La invasion de los invadidos, where Cámara traveled to the United States Border with a reporter to explore the migrant crisis of Black refugees.
Koral Carballo's photographs are in two series, El misterio del disfrazado (The Mystery of the Disguised) and Siempre estuvimos aquí (We Were Always Here).
The Misterio del disfrazado series reflects Carballo's exploration into her family's African heritage in the 2010s. This series emerged from her time spent in Coyolillo, where she developed a meaningful relationship with an Afro-Mexican family that specializes in creating masks for Carnival performances. This celebration dates back to when enslaved Africans were brought by Spanish colonizers to work on sugar cane plantations. Carnival first started when enslaved people were given a single day off and they wore masks to disguise their identities. The photographs include several images of individuals dressed in preparation for Carnival.
The Siempre estuvimos aquí series depicts both Koral Carballo and Hugo Arellanes facilitating community-based workshops to teach Afro-Mexican communities how to preserve their personal photographs. The photographs entitled "Album Exhibition, Chacahua, Mexico," and "Album Exhibition, Coyolillo, Mexico," both show family pictures of the community members including one from the Family Archives Exhibition in 2021. The photograph "Lucha" is part of Chapter III "The Afromexican Path." Carballo's photographs aim to analyze the Afro-descendant route from a historical reinterpretation.
Dolores Medel's photographs comprise two series, En fuga interminable (Endless), and La sangre es un mar immenso (The Blood Is An Immense Sea).
En fuga interminable reflects on the history of transatlantic travel from the colonization of America by the Europeans, a fear of the sea, the history of the Veracruz slave trade, and modern day environmental issues. Medel's photographs include a cargo ship burning in the water offshore, churning waters, and close-up portraits of the people who live in the area. The next series La sangre es un mar immenso was generated by a team of researchers investigating the Afro-Mexican community in Cuitlahuac, Veracruz.
Arrangement
Alphabetical by surname of photographer.