Photographs of African Descent Women in Mexico
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
8-3-2025 11:00 PM
Description
Dr. Maria Dolores Ballesteros Páez, Postdoctorate Researcher, INAH/UNAM (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Mexico City, Mexico
Photographs of African Descent Women in Mexico
Women of African descent have played a crucial role in the visual representation of these communities in Mexico. For decades, they have been subjects for photographers who sought to capture the picturesque or portray their ethnic otherness. This trend spans from foreign photographers like Teobert Maller and William Henry Jackson in the 19th century to Tony Gleaton’s work in the 1990s, as well as from Aguirre Beltrán’s ethnographic photographs in 1949 to Maya Goded’s Tierra Negra in 1991. Most of these images were produced by outsiders—men who visited the communities, took photos, and left—driven primarily by a fascination with the exotic or the unfamiliar coastal populations. However, with the democratization of camera access, the responsibility of documenting family moments, and greater opportunities through art programs, women began stepping behind the lens.
On the one hand, personal photography by women has captured memories and kinship, helping to build family histories within African descent communities in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico regions since the mid-20th century. On the other hand, professional photographers like Rosario Nava, Dolores Medel, Mara Sánchez Renero, Susan Luna, Massiel Hernández, and Koral Carballo, have documented traditions, celebrations, and everyday life within these communities—whether as members of the communities themselves or through extended engagement with their inhabitants. For some, photography became a means to explore their own identity and roots; for others, it offered a way to understand their past or see their communities in a new light.
Maria Dolores Ballesteros Páez is a postdoctoral fellow at INAH/IIA, as part of the University Consortium on Afro-Latin American Studies ALARI, Harvard University. She has participated in conferences and seminaries in Canada, US, Spain, UK, and Mexico and she has published academic papers in several journals (Tzintzun, Cuicuilco, and Latin American Studies) as well as chapters published by INAH, CIALC, and Harvard University. Her research now focuses on photographs and art of African descent populations in Mexico in the XVIII, XIX, XX and XXI century.
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Ballesteros Páez, Maria Dolores, "Photographs of African Descent Women in Mexico" (2025). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day 2025. 66.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2025/schedule/66
Photographs of African Descent Women in Mexico
Dr. Maria Dolores Ballesteros Páez, Postdoctorate Researcher, INAH/UNAM (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Mexico City, Mexico
Photographs of African Descent Women in Mexico
Women of African descent have played a crucial role in the visual representation of these communities in Mexico. For decades, they have been subjects for photographers who sought to capture the picturesque or portray their ethnic otherness. This trend spans from foreign photographers like Teobert Maller and William Henry Jackson in the 19th century to Tony Gleaton’s work in the 1990s, as well as from Aguirre Beltrán’s ethnographic photographs in 1949 to Maya Goded’s Tierra Negra in 1991. Most of these images were produced by outsiders—men who visited the communities, took photos, and left—driven primarily by a fascination with the exotic or the unfamiliar coastal populations. However, with the democratization of camera access, the responsibility of documenting family moments, and greater opportunities through art programs, women began stepping behind the lens.
On the one hand, personal photography by women has captured memories and kinship, helping to build family histories within African descent communities in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico regions since the mid-20th century. On the other hand, professional photographers like Rosario Nava, Dolores Medel, Mara Sánchez Renero, Susan Luna, Massiel Hernández, and Koral Carballo, have documented traditions, celebrations, and everyday life within these communities—whether as members of the communities themselves or through extended engagement with their inhabitants. For some, photography became a means to explore their own identity and roots; for others, it offered a way to understand their past or see their communities in a new light.
Maria Dolores Ballesteros Páez is a postdoctoral fellow at INAH/IIA, as part of the University Consortium on Afro-Latin American Studies ALARI, Harvard University. She has participated in conferences and seminaries in Canada, US, Spain, UK, and Mexico and she has published academic papers in several journals (Tzintzun, Cuicuilco, and Latin American Studies) as well as chapters published by INAH, CIALC, and Harvard University. Her research now focuses on photographs and art of African descent populations in Mexico in the XVIII, XIX, XX and XXI century.
Comments
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