Photographer's Note
Wall graffiti in San Cristobal de las casas.
The political situation in Oaxaca was still in turmoil in the wake of the teachers strike and the controvertial presidential election (for more) which led to violence and death including assasination of wetsern journalists. Although I skipped Oaxaca in this trip, the tension was palpable in other parts of Mexico, especially in Chiapas.
Theme: Chiapas
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I spent a week in the state of Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico bordering Guatamela. It was the highlight of my trip. As Lonely Planet describes, Chiapas is Mexcio's most enigmatic state with wildly ethereal landscape, mysterious indigeneous cultures and customs, colonial and rebellious charm of San Cristobal de las Casas, majestic Mayan ruins of Palenque, and the political presence of the Zapatistas. Rural people of Chiapas, especially the indigeneous people, are among the poorest in Mexico. About one third of the population are direct descendants of the Mayans, and in rural areas many do not even speak Spanish. On January 1, 1994, the day of NAFTA's initiation, an armed revolutionary group, the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN), or popularly known as the Zapatistas, occupied San Cristobal and three other cities in Chiapas and started the anti-neolibralism "Zapatista uprising". The intent was not to overthrow any government, local or federal, but to focus the world attention to the plight of the poor indigeneous people of Chiapas and to protest the signing of NAFTA. The Mexican army evicted the rebels quickly from San Cristobal, and soon after EZLN declared unilateral cease fire. Since then, except for a few low level conficlts, the Zapatista movement kept a low profile and have been working on the grass root level to improve the standard of living of the indigeneous people of Chiapas.
Now, twelve years later, the omnipresence of Zapatistas is clearly palpable in the cobbled streets of San Cristobal. The city walls are full of revolutionary graffitis, the bars and cafes are adorned with Che Guevera, Emiliano Zapata posters, night life is dominated by rebellious reggae music. Since the uprising, the town has adopted a youthful zeal and has been attracting socially conscious people, especially students, volunteers, intellectuals and artists from various parts of Mexico and rest of the world. The city has become a gathering place for Zapatista sympathizers and a base for humanitarian organizations or groups or even individuals working on indigeneous issues.
I spent most of my time in the beautiful city of San Cristobal. Aside from soaking up all the youthful energy, I greatly cherished the sheer beauty of this charming highland town. I went to the Mercado Municipal (local bazaar) every morning for breakfast. It is an onslaught on all the senses, and I felt like I was in one of the bazaars in Calcutta. I made short trips to nearby villages inhabitated by the indigeneous Tzotziles and Tzeltales people of Mayan descent and could not help but develop a deep respect and admiration for the organic and community based cultures and sensibilities of these communities.
(Reference: Lonely Planet's Mexico, Wikipedia)
Serendipity, alonsote, Wanda1 has marked this note useful
Critiques | Translate
nicoz
(1979) 2007-02-27 8:47
Another cool shot. Bare compo and simple colors work well here with the garffiti!
Well done!
Nicolas
Serendipity
(1045) 2007-02-27 9:16
Hi Prantik,
this is an interesting composition. All that lines are very well seen and attract the look towards the graffiti and the character.
Regards
Marc
bombilla
(3406) 2007-02-27 10:49
Ahora, Oaxca, sí. Se va extendiendo. Poco a poco. La fraternidad de desengaño. La lucha transtemporal. Una historia escrita por las paredes, la tinta hecha de sangre. Pues, no esto. Mejor decir que Chiapas no está solo ahora. Así va la cosa. (Buena toma.) -Hugh
michiels
(4170) 2007-02-27 11:43
hello Prantik,
I like the photo very much, it's a picture with a strong emotional touch. I would prefer it without the car, for me it disturbs the minimalistic idea.
greetings,inn
alonsote
(244) 2007-03-01 0:53
Hi Prantik,
Yes, Chiapas will always be rebel because of the poverty present there. It is incredible that the government does almost nothing to solve this problem. The previous "President" of Mexico had pledged to solve the Chiapas conflict "in 15 minutes".....what a shame...
what a picture full of strength
Alonso
Wanda1
(15142) 2007-03-04 12:54
Hi Prantik,
This is a great shot, the red of her shirt matching the red graffiti on the wall is well seen. Nice lines on the road and on the top of the frame balances out the composition.
Regards
Wanda
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Prantik Mazumder (prantik)
(1136)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2007-01-03
- Categories: Daily Life
- Camera: Canon EOS-350D, 17-40 f/4 L USM Canon
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Travelogue: Mexico
- Theme(s): imagenes de Chiapas [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2007-02-27 8:29
Discussions
- To michiels: the car (2)
by prantik, last updated 2007-02-28 03:58