Opinion | The Masks of Mexico
Photographs by Russell Monk with Text by Valerie Mejer Caso
Mr. Monk is a photographer. Ms. Mejer Caso is a Mexican poet and visual artist.
SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, Mexico — We Mexicans live behind masks of our own creation, even if in these portraits they are more a symbolic gesture of futility than protection.
Masks have long been a part of our cultural history, from the Lucha Libre masks to those worn for la Danza de los Viejitos, a traditional folk dance from the State of Michoacán.
They are like a garment that protects our vulnerabilities and allows us to express ourselves.
The city of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, where we live, was quick to enact a strong response to the coronavirus and, as a result, the city has one of the lowest case rates in Mexico. But its citizens, already economically battered, have been depleted by the pandemic.
A young construction worker, preacher and butcher wear masks that are representative of the tools used to make a living, liberate us, and to fix things. A versatility borne out of hardship and necessity.
In a year where everything has been turned on its head, there appears to be nothing out of the ordinary about wearing a mask made of a chicharrón, a tin heart or the husk of a tamal.
There can be beauty in resistance.
Read the article on The New York Times website
View an additional version in Italy’s Internazionale Magazine