initial sand sculpting in the plaza © Alicia Estrada

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  This twelveth annual workshop in Oaxaca is open to serious amateurs and professional photographers. While there will be help with the more advanced functions/operations of the camera, participants need to be comfortable with the basic workings of their equipment. Digital photographers must bring a laptop computer with their camera software installed and know how to download their own images.

The instructor is a highly qualified teacher who has a passion for her art form. With her knowledge of cameras, culture, locations and photo imaging, she will provide a balanced guidance and instruction to assist participants in obtaining fulfilling results.

Participants will receive shooting instructions and lectures relating to particular issues of photographing in Oaxaca, as well as photography in general. Critique/problem solving sessions will follow most shooting events including the downloading and viewing of digital images. Within the city there will be a shooting excursion to the Mercado Abastos to photograph and buy figuros, bread, flowers – articles needed for the special ofrendas (altars). We will visit The San Miguel Cemetery during the day when graves are being cleaned and sand carpets and altars are under construction. We will return at night for the candlelight, music, and processions. There will be shooting field trips to local villages like the comparsa in Etla, where local people dress in outfits with mirrors and bells to dance in the plaza; the San Antonino Cemetery where prizes are awarded for the most unusual and elaborate decorations on ther unique mounded tomb formations; Xoxocotlan with flowers, candles, and people crowded together. Arrazola provides a change of pace and visits to shops and homes of some of Oaxaca’s talented wood carvers. Include the Holloween parades of children in the morning and innumerable processions through the plaza of young people and adults in the evenings wearing costumes or carrying candles you have countless, incredible photo opportunities.

ABOUT THE DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION
Mexican “Day of the Dead” celebrations hold much fascination for visitors. It is a soleman and prayer-filled celebration, yet it is festive and even irreverent – grinning sugar skulls are a common adornment. It is a remarkable merging ofpre-Hispanic “cult of the dead” traditions with Roman Catholic All Saints and All Souls Day remembrances. During Day of the Dead, ancestral spirits are invited to return to visit those who continue on Earth. The dead are lured by colorful, flower-filled altars decorated with bread, sugar figures and offerings of favorite dishes and drinks that the departed enjoyed during life.

In Oaxaca, Day of the Dead includes fabulous SAND SCULPTED CARPETS in Bellas Artes and in the cemeteries. Each surrounding village has its own special twist on the celebration – dances are performed in one, the souls of small childdren are thought to visit at four in the afternoon in another. The commemorations remind people that death is illusive, life is eternal and the intangible presence of a loved one is everlasting.

Day of the Dead lasts for days in Oaxaca, presenting a week filled with isually stunning images. Fabulous candlelit altars ae constructed in stores, churches and homes. Blazing orange flowers line altars and gravesites to mark the way for the spirits. “Sand carpets, mostly depicting religious figures, skeletons and other images, can be photographed uring their construction and as they are judged as finished work. Small villages, unkon to tourists, will be visited.

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TUITION: $2,350 usd (includes hotel. Fieldtrips, entrance fees, instruction)

DISCOUNTED TUITION FOR SHARED HOTEL ROOM (PARTICIPANTS ONLY), ARRANGED BY PARTICIPANT. ASSISTANCE IN MATCHING ROOMMATES PROVIDED BY THE WORKSHOP UPON REQUEST

DEPOSIT: $600 usd
WITHDRAWAL FEE: $200 usd
NO DEPOSIT REFUND: AFTER JUNE 30, 2010
NO REFUND: AFTER AUGUST 31, 2010

Contact Jo Brenzo for more datails

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