Claudio Uribe Photography » People

Ready to fly?

Claudio Uribe — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:59:53 +0000

When i look at this portrait in a more objective way i think is just an ok Photograph. I guess what i like a lot was the place and time when i shoot it. This guy was about to climb a big tree trunk to then jump tied by a rope and spin around, he is a “Volador de papantla” (Papantla Flyer). Check the previous post to know all about this beautiful and brave Mexican tradition.

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Brave Tradition

Claudio Uribe — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:56:15 +0000

Los Voladores de Papantla is the mexican tradition i enjoy the most, since a was little i remember myself watching them and feeling scared. The tradition is pre-hispanic and before the conquest the ritual was celebrated in many cultures on the center and south of México until the Spanish prohibited its practice. The ritual survived in few places, the most known is Papantla in Veracruz.

According to Totonac myth, at least 450 years ago there was a severe drought that brought hunger to the people. The gods were withholding the rain because the people had neglected them. The ceremony was created, to appease the gods and bring back the rains. In some versions of the story, the ritual is created by the old men of a village, who then chose five young men who were chaste. In other versions, the five men themselves create the ritual. The tallest tree in the nearby forest is cut down, with the permission of the mountain god, stripped of branches and dragged to the village. The trunk is erected with much ceremony. The youths climb the pole and four jump off while the fifth played music. The ritual pleased the rain god Xipe Totec and other gods, so the rains began again and the fertility of the earth returned.

The Ritual Ceremony of the Voladores of Papantla has been recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) by UNESCO in 2009

Here’s the process event by event on the ritual:

This is the trunk they're going to fly from.

The five Voladores gather around the trunk and do a ritual dance.

The 5 Voladores climb to the top of the trunk

They meet at the top and one of them starts playing the ritual song with a flute and a drum standing at the very top of the trunk

They will fly around the trunk 13 times before reaching the ground

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Karen Tribe girl

Claudio Uribe — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:36:23 +0000

The Karen tribes widely known as “Long Necks” are originally from Burma. In the 80’s the Karens participated in demonstrations against the military dictatorship in Burma, becoming enemies of the state which led to persecution. Some have accused the military government of Burma of ethnic cleansing and suppression of religious freedom. The Thai government have created refugee camps for the Karens where they live in peace living by the land and creating beautiful handcrafts. This photograph was taken in the north of Thailand near Chiang Mai.

“Karen Tribe Girl” won the “Travel photography daily contest” at Photoburst. Thank very much for your support:

Click here to go to Photoburst

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Mixtec girl at Costalegre

Claudio Uribe — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:56:13 +0000

My friend Ruth invited me to Melaque Jalisco to take some photographs for the NGO she works for, its called “Ayuda a los niños Costalegre A.C.”; is a short 3 and a half hours drive from Guadalajara (where i live). She took me to this Mixtec community just outside Melaque where this NGO runs medical and educational projects, she was checking the school they are building there. It took me a little while to actually realize that there was something out of place, because Mixtecs come from the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca in the south of Mexico, very far away from Jalisco. They came here looking for jobs at the chile plantations, as a consequence, they live in very basic conditions there, big families in tiny houses and no running water. Even though that place resembles the meaning of poverty, the experience with “Ayuda a los niños” was very satisfying, as soon as you’re there you feel like you are in a different country, they speak Mixtec language which is a branch of Nahuatl, the language the Aztecs spoke. Their culture is ancient and very rich, it really hurts to see how they’re struggling to adapt to these “modern times”. Just like any other place I’ve been, kids were fantastic, friendly and playful, specially with people carrying cameras like me. This girl followed us for the entire time we were there she was very funny and playful, but everytime I tried to take her photograph she would go shy, i love her silhouette in this shot.

Support Ruth’s NGO, check their website: Ayuda a los Niños

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Panning goodbye

Claudio Uribe — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:08:47 +0000

This is one of my last photographs taken with film, I remember it was the last shot of the roll and decided to do a panning shot. One of he guys on the bike saw me with the camera and waved goodbye. I set the shutter speed on 1/15 for the shot, but to be honest i didn’t expect much from the shot, ended up being one of my favorites.

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His story to the world

Claudio Uribe — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:32:02 +0000

While i was taking photographs in one of the Tsunami camps in Sri Lanka, this man approached me and asked me to take his picture, I did so and after showing it to him he smiled and started talking to my translator, after a brief chat, my translator explained me that his spine was injured at the tsunami and he could not work or sustain his family anymore. He wanted me to take his picture so I could tell his story “to the world”. I was speechless, I mean, if you look at the picture you wouldn’t imagine such a sad story. So I’m doing what he asked me to. I’m sure you all watched the tsunami images on the news and I’m sure you all thought it was a horrible tragedy, but when you’re there, it is just mindblowing, the proportions of the destruction are just beyond comprehension. I respect this man so much, specially the very genuine and honest way in which he asked for help.

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Slum kids

Claudio Uribe — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:04:44 +0000

I was walking through the biggest slum in Phnom Penh documenting the work of this NGO’s volunteers. These two kids followed me pretty much the whole time I was there, they wanted me to show them every photo I took and so I did. The most rewarding moment was when I took this one and showed it to them, they were happy and proud, really enjoyed their company.

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Young buddhist apprentices

Claudio Uribe — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:47:50 +0000

This photo was taken at a Buddhist Monastery/school in Sri Lanka. Families with no means usually send their kids to this kind of places, to receive education and Buddhism teachings.

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Dzibilchaltun México

Claudio Uribe — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:47:01 +0000

Dzibilchaltun is located just outside Mérida in the state of Yucatan México. It’s a brilliant mayan complex, not as popular or spectacular as Chichenitza but amazing nonetheless. The central plaza has now a Roman Catholic church built by the spanish, you can still see the mayan glyphs on the walls of the church. The spaniards destroyed some mayan constructions to get the material for the church.

In this photo, Pedro (our guide) is showing us a picture of the “temple of the seven dolls” on the summer equinox.

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She sells lovely Huipiles

Claudio Uribe — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:45:42 +0000

Valladolid is a beautiful colonial town in the Mexican state of Yucatan. People from dozens of communities around go to the city everyday to sell their products. This lady was selling “Huipiles” which are exactly what she’s wearing in the picture. I asked her if it was ok for me to take her picture, she was so shy and lovely, this is the result.

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