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The ‘REAL’ Mexico

by Lydia Gonzales

As a Mexican-American (very American), I was curious about what the real Mexico was like.

Guadalajara was an introduction to a culture similar to my own upbringing and the experience of a traditional yet cutting-edge city vibe. Some residents say Guadalajara, in Jalisco, is like an adolescent that doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up. With a history going back nearly 500 years, Guadalajara should have surpassed adolescence by now. Yet, as growth continues, the urban seams of the city are bursting open even farther.

Litter, traffic and American corporations such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Burger King, Wal-Mart and 7-Eleven can be found in abundance throughout the city.Yet Guadalajara firmly preserves its historic city structures and traditions including churches, music, people and ways of life.

What many profess to love about their communities despite rampant urbanization are the generous, goodnatured and friendly attitudes of the people who reside there. From the youth of the city to the residents of the small towns that flank Guadalajara, many consider the good-will attitudes of the people to be the area’s greatest assets. People remain amigable or friendly, and the environment remains beautifully humble.

Black Boots Ink | Workshop Mexico
June 17-23, 2007
Instructor/Photographer: Emilio Bañuelos

WORKSHOP MEXICO 2007 PARTICIPANTS
Isrohan Alvarez, Zapopan | Elena Carrasco, San Francisco | Ivan Cruz, Guadalajara | Alexcia DeVásquez, San Francisco | Gustavo Espino, Zapopan | Eric Fullmer, San Francisco | Perla Gomez, Guadalajara | Lydia Gonzales, Bakersfield | Tim Gonzalez-Mena, Oakland | Kelly Koehler, San Francisco | Kija Lucas, San Francisco | Foppé Mallory, Pinole | Cristina Martinez-Canton, San Jose | Cecilia Monroy, Chiapas | Colt Peterson, Alamo | Genaro Ramírez, Zapopan | Jorge Roa, Zapopan | Jorge Romero, Guadalajara | Diana Sánchez, Oakland

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Black Boots Ink is about the curiosity that makes you walk into a new situation. It is about wandering in the company of strangers, about stopping, walking, working, protesting, progressing–it is about all of us.

The first Black Boots Ink Workshop takes place in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, with photographer Emilio Bañuelos. The seven-day workshop culminates with a public exhibition of the final images and a selection of the images will be considered for publication in blackbootsink.com.

Workshop Mexico, participants will have the opportunity to make images that show relationships between people and their environment.You will learn to photograph people and landscapes while creating a visual narrative. Workshop sessions are designed for practical use with instruction for daily shooting, personalized working critiques and editing.

Morning workshops will be held at Instituto Cultural Cabañas a cultural center designed by Manuel Tolsá in 1810. The Instituto’s106 rooms and 23 flower-filled patios house art exhibitions and the main chapel displays 57 murals by José Clemente Orozco from1938-39, including The Man of Fire.

Afternoons will be set aside for daily trips to visit Guadalajara’s neighboring towns. We will travel by bus to visit the Basilica de Zapopan, which dates back to 1730, the Zona Rosa, and the village of Tapalpa, Jalisco, where you will have time to make photographs and learn about contemporary Mexico.