Customer Reviews

Mexico's Sierra Tarahumara: A Photohistory of the People of the Edge

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Sadly, the fine photos in this book are overshadowed by erroneous text. The editors at the University of Oklahoma did not do their job. A hotel in Areponapuchi is mislocated at another train station, Bahuichivo. Cerocahui is placed at the edge of the Urique Canyon instead of in a high mountain valley, an arroyo becomes a canyon. The book seems to contain good information but the many errors caused me to question what is true and what is not. Likewise, many photo captions are so questionable that they detract from the superb photography.

Raat and Janecek's lovely book is a detailed look at the people and the land of Mexico's Tarahumara, the mountains and canyonlands in southwestern Chihuahua, a place "on the boundaries of civilization."

Enough can not be said about the evocative photography of Janecek -- simple compositions in rendered in luminous black and white that straddle the line between the documentary and the artistic. Janecek apparently spent six years traveling and shooting this region and the place seems to have gotten under his skin. He produces portraits, images of nature, images of work, and images of architecture which stand up to the finest traditions of b&w photography of Mexico and Western America -- a fine tradition to be a part of, indeed!

The text is intelligent and wide-ranging, covering both history and late 20th century life, providing a perspective at a part of Mexico where pre-Columbian identity still exists.

Hardback, cloth over boards with a sewn binding in dustjacket. A compact and handsome piece of work, 212 pp. 10 pp of End Notes and a 4 p Bibliography Essay. Indexed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Sierra Tarahumara: Where the Dead Play While the Living Sleep
The Raramuri: Footrunners from the Past
Cave Dwellers, Padres, and Evangelicals
The Search for El Dorado
New Rails to Old Places: Modernization and Mexicanization