Chronicling Mexican womanhood through portrait photography

A new photobook offers an expansive look at the iconography and expression of the female experience in the Latin American nation.

With the rise of studio photography in the 19th-century, the portrait was liberated from provenance of the ruling class and quickly became popular with the masses. As the technology evolved, portrait photography became increasingly accessible, inspiring legions of hobbyists worldwide to chronicle their private lives with cameras of their very own.

In Mexico, the portrait readily found its place among women who took pleasure in the endless possibilities of self-expression in this ever evolving medium. They visited studios as well as created their own works, becoming both artist and muse.

Now the new book, Las Mexicanas, (RM), offers a revelatory look at Mexican women as they imagined themselves: proud, powerful, sensual, complex, creative, playful, mysterious, and above all: not to be trifled with. In the hands of the many, vernacular photography became the lingua franca of collective identity, as it recorded both milestones and mundane moments alike mapped out over a lifetime.

“There is a quality of intuition that is very natural, and not contrived. There is an ease in vernacular photography because they find the person or situation deeply important or pleasing,” says Mexican photographer Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, who edited the book.

Working from a private collection of more than 3,000 images accumulated over a decade of visits to the flea markets of Mexico City, Monasterio weaves images made between the mid-19th century and the 1960s to create a kaleidoscopic tapestry of Mexican womanhood. As the book unfolds, the fictions of photography, gender, and identity gently blur into sumptuous haze, imbuing the images with mythic possibilities.

“There is something obsessive in the impulse to capture a moment in an image, to condense a person through the shutter in order to recreate her before our eyes,” Brenda Navarro writes in Las Mexicanas. “The printed image of a person is not immortal, but it is eternal; it transcends the time and space in which it was taken, and it shows us that which only time can reveal.”

Functioning as both art and artefact, these portraits offer an expansive look at the iconography of Mexican womanhood seeking its fullest expression. Included in the book are spreads devoted to women who repeatedly sat for portraits, and in doing so authored visual diaries whose allure only continues to grow.

Monasterio points to the hand-coloured photograph of a woman in front of a blue background, and notes that the collection includes more than 20 photographs of the same woman found at different times.

“When you see them together, there is this idea of self-expression of the model, constructing a new persona in different images,” he says. “How you read a photograph depends on who you are and your experiences. You link that image to another one, and to your own memories.”

It was a serendipitous discovery that offered a redolent reminder that though vernacular photographs have not historically received their proper due, a wealth of cultural history lays tucked away in long lost photo albums whose inherent value only increases with age.

Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Instagram.

Support stories like this by becoming a member of Club Huck.

Latest on Huck

Crowd of silhouetted people at a nighttime event with colourful lighting and a bright spotlight on stage.
Music

Clubbing is good for your health, according to neuroscientists

We Become One — A new documentary explores the positive effects that dance music and shared musical experiences can have on the human brain.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Indoor skate park with ramps, riders, and abstract architectural elements in blue, white, and black tones.
Sport

In England’s rural north, skateboarding is femme

Zine scene — A new project from visual artist Juliet Klottrup, ‘Skate Like a Lass’, spotlights the FLINTA+ collectives who are redefining what it means to be a skater.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Black-and-white image of two men in suits, with the text "EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER" in large bright yellow letters overlaying the image.
Culture

Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?

Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.

Written by: Emma Garland

A group of people, likely children, sitting around a table surrounded by various comic books, magazines, and plates of food.
© Michael Jang
Culture

How the ’70s radicalised the landscape of photography

The ’70s Lens — Half a century ago, visionary photographers including Nan Goldin, Joel Meyerowitz and Larry Sultan pushed the envelope of what was possible in image-making, blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A new exhibition revisits the era.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Silhouette of person on horseback against orange sunset sky, with electricity pylon in foreground.
Culture

The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth

Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Couple sitting on ground in book-filled environment
Culture

The British intimacy of ‘the afters’

Not Going Home — In 1998, photographer Mischa Haller travelled to nightclubs just as their doors were shutting and dancers streamed out onto the streets, capturing the country’s partying youth in the early morning haze.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to stay informed from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, with personal takes on the state of media and pop culture in your inbox every month from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.