Public Art Presentations: Graciela Iturbide

For this blog post, I wanted to talk a little more about Graciela Iturbide's photography. Specifically this photo of one of the cholas from the White Fence pandilla who were showing Graciela Iturbide around their neighborhood. As stated in class, the women chose where, when and how to pose and take a picture. This form of freedom for the "models" transformed the pictures into the most natural and organic depiction of the culture within their communities and how the women feel they are treated and represented in the community itself. I found this image most interesting because the other two images shown through the presentation by my classmate, Marco Padilla, exerted a powerful aura. The faces of the women in the other pictures, including Cecilia who is in this photo, looked tough and mean.
However, this image shows this harsh chola as a delicate being who is comfortable with exposing her body. I believe that her pose and the closing of her eyes and the fact that she is laying in a bed doesn't depict vulnerability but realness. Although these women were integrated into a society with a culture that does not, as stated by Marco, appreciate or respect the value of women. This picture shows that although she shows that she is a strong person on the outside, she is a delicate woman who wants a peaceful life, maybe away from the violence that gang life brings.