This photo has been scanned from Art and Antiques magazine. It is a photograph by Graciela Iturbide. It was taken in Juchitan, Mexico in 1979. She just won the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography. This photo is fabulous on so many levels. The first, for me anyway, is that this lady could stand still with these creatures all over her head. You KNOW how I feel about "creatures", even little ones like scorpions and crickets. If you offered me a million dollars, I couldn't do what this woman is doing.
On another level, I actually have seen a woman down near Barre de Potosi walking around like this - about six or seven years ago. It was an awe inspiring sight.
And the last level, how patient did the photographer have to be to get this shot? How many shots did she take to get it right? Good job.
I have the opportunity to go to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec near Hualtuco the end of January for some incredible festivals and ceremonies. Part of the trip would be learning to cook the indigenous food in that area, which could possibly be iguana. I haven't decided if I'm going on this "adventure" yet or not................
5 comments:
What I want to know is how she got them to STAY on her head. Were they that tame, or were they just afraid to jump? Did she give them some kind of treat to stay there? Did she tie all their tails together and make a sort of live iguana hat?
You have to be either a real pet lover or mad about your food to wear those things on your head (LOL)
"Part of the trip would be learning to cook the indigenous food in that area, which could possibly be iguana."
Some days being a vegetarian just feels better than others...
Why do you assume they are alive? Perhaps they are stuffed.
Well 1st Mate, I think they "drugged" them, hopefully - hopefully they had little iguana diapers on too.
Calypso, I didn't say I would EAT the iguanas........yuk!
Ahh Michael, you are SO smart! It never occurred to me that they might be stuffed. Maybe because I saw the woman many years ago and they were alllllll alive!
Not to horn in on Michael's brilliance - I had the same thought - I went back and reexamined the photo and let the thought of them being dead go because they look alive - but yea maybe they are well 'taxidermed'. Dead or alive it is a strange headdress.
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