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This photo captures the flag of México waving in el Zocalo, the town square at the center of Mexico City. I included it because it is a powerful symbol of Mexican identyt, and is further amplified by its scale in the image. This photograph relates to the course theme of exploring Mexican culture and identity.

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This is a photograph of la Catedral Metropolitana, in the center of Mexico City, partially built from the ruins of Templo Mayor. I included it in order to portray the impact of European conquest in Mexico’s history, while simultaneously acknowledging the amalgamation of European and Indigenous cutures that produced Mexican culture over the centuries. This ties in with the course’s theme of learning about Mexican culture and identity.

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This is a photograph of the Stone of Coyolxhauqui, amid the ruins of the Templo Mayor, in the central plaza of Mexico City. I included it because of its historical importance, having been located at the center of power for the Aztec Triple Alliance. The archaeological site’s importance in Mexican history relates to the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture and identity through learning about Mexican history.

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This is a photo of the landscape surrounding Mexico City. I included it in my photoethnography in order to contextualize life in Mexico City within its local, arid environment. The continued habitation of this land for various generations, and into the present day, relates to the course’s theme of ways of knowing.

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This photograph captures several climbers ascending the trail up the mountain on their way to the archaeological site of El Tepozteco, in Tepoztlan. I included the photograph in my photoethnography to illustrate the interaction between people in Mexico and their environment. It is in this way related to the course theme of indigenous ways knowing, which are often closely linked to human relationships with the environment.

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This is a photograph of the fountain in the courtyard of el Jardin Borda, in Cuernavaca. I included this image because of its historical significance, having served as a party venue for Maximilian. This location’s historical importance ties back in with the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture, in this particular instance through learning about Mexico’s history.

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This is a photograph, at a distance, of the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent at the archaeological site of Teotihuacán. I included this image for its historical importance in Mexican society, as it once served as the ceremonial center of the Toltec empire. This image relates to the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture, in this case through learning about Mexican precolumbian history.

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This is a photograph taken of La Plaza de las Trez Culturas, in what was formerly known as the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City. It was the site of a massacre during the 1968 Olympics, where police opened fire on protestors. I included this image due to its relation to what I learned during my trip about the history of protest and speech suppression in Mexican history, and it relates to the coure’s theme of issues of education in Mexican society within broader sociopolitical contexts.

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This photo depicts a shaman performing a cleansing ceremony on a group of people. I decided to include this photo in my ethnography because it illustrates the revival of indigenous practices in Mexican society, tying in with the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture.

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This image depicts a visiting professor handing over a toddler attendee of Caminando Unidos to his father. I included this image in my photoethnography because of its spontaneous depiction of human nature. This photograph relates directly to the course theme of indigenous-based learning through its subject matter, since Caminando Unidos is a social service with a curriculum centered on indigenous teachings.

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This photograph depicts a mural featuring such historical figures as Pancho Villa, Miguel Hidalgo, and Emiliano Zapata, the latter featured prominently in the foreground. I included this image to not only provide an example of the the rich artistic tradition exemplified in Mexican murals, but also to show the importance of such historical figures in the Mexican identity. This photograph fits with the course themes of exploring Mexican culture and identity.

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This photograph depicts a sculpture made in the likeness of Emiliano Zapata, a legendary resistance leader from Mexican history. I included this photo because of the historical and cultural significance Zapata has in Mexican society, especially among indigenous communities. In this way, this image relates to the course’s theme of indigenous-based education.

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This photograph depicts a mural painted on the wall outside Caminando Unidos. I chose to include it as an example of the street art present throughout much of the city of Cuernavaca. This relates to the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture through exploring the different artistic traditions in Mexico.

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This photo depicts the sculpture of la Virgen de Guadalupe in the cathedral at Cuernavaca. I chose to include this image in my photoethnography because la guadalupeña is an important symbol of Mexican cultural identity, and relates to the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture.

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This photograph depicts a traditional chinelo costume from the state of Morelos, worn for dancing during carnivals. I chose this image because it further illustrates the cultural syncretism ingrained in Mexican culture, relating to the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture and identity.

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This photograph depicts an alebrije (folk art depiction of an animal) in the form of an axolotl, an endangered species of salamander native to Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City. I included this image because axolotls are often used as symbols of Mexican identity, relating the course’s theme of exploring Mexican culture.

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This photograph depicts a board with a poster of Marichuy, a former candidate for the Mexican presidency, and another poster promoting el Conjeco Indígena de Gobierno (the Indigenous Government Council). I chose this picture because it illustrates the recent increase in awareness for indigenous people’s rights in Mexican society, and in many ways it connects to the course’s themes of indigenous-based learning, advocated for by Marichuy and other such activists.