by Bryan Gibel
Daily Lobo
There's a strong African influence in Mexico, according to Susan Luna's photographs.
Luna's photo exhibit, "The African Presence in Mexico," is a collection of images that show Mexico's African heritage, and then some.
The series is an affirmation of herself and her country's often overlooked African inheritance, she said.
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The photographs are in the lower level of the SUB through July.
"First, it recognizes that my family has African roots," she said. "Second, it acknowledges that African influences exist in Veracruz, and they must be recorded and registered."
The exhibit features stil life photos and portraits from Tamiahua, Coyolillo, Mata Clara and Yanga, all of which are towns in the Mexican state of Veracruz.
Photos of UNM students visiting these communities in July 2006 are also on display.
Sagrario Cruz, a Mexican anthropologist who taught at UNM last semester as a visiting Fulbright Scholar, said that Luna's exhibition is important because it shows Mexico's African ancestral roots.
"Most Mexicans would tell you that there was an African presence in Mexico, but it disappeared and was dispersed," she said. "What this exhibition shows is that there is a contemporary Afro-Mexican population."
The photos are part of a larger project that seeks to capture the images of African communities in the Caribbean and the Americas, Luna said.
"In addition to the Afro-Mestizo presence in Veracruz, the project tries to celebrate the black diaspora in the world," she said. "So it crosses various locations and communities in the world."
In the United States, Luna's project called "Celebrating the African Diaspora" will document African-American communities in Mississippi, Louisiana, Viginia, Texas and New Mexico.
It will also feature photos shot in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle and Portland, Luna said.
She said the project's photographs seek to capture the essence of African communities in different countries.
"What the photos present are phenotypes, as well as the architecture and gastronomy (of each community)," she said. "They're also a historical document and a celebration. They show all the social, cultural and political manifestations of the culture."
For the first leg of the project, Luna has been shooting photos of the African presence in New Mexico.
She said she has shot more than 1,000 images in the past two months, working primarily in the regions of Clovis, Vado, Blackdom, Santa Fe, Las Cruces and El Paso.
Her work in New Mexico will be part of a permanent collection in the Charlie Morrissey Research Hall at UNM and the African-American Cultural Center at the State Fairgrounds.
She said she intends for her larger project on the African diaspora to be published.
Cruz said Luna's photography shows the shared cultural heritage between people of African descendancy in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America.
"Something very interesting is to discover more links between the United States and Mexico, and these links exist with many other countries with African populations in the Caribbean and Latin America," she said. "In looking at Luna's photography, we discover many more common denominators than we thought - in terms of food, music, belief systems and work."
But, Luna said, her work is more than just an investigation of the shared culture that permeates the African diaspora.
"It's a very important project that will last for various years," she said. "It tries to give a perspective, through all of the images, of my experiences as a photographer, as well as all the wealth that these cultures and places offer me. But the most important thing is that it is not only something that is recognized as being present, but is celebrated. It's a celebration and a festival."
