Cuatro Pescaditos, Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico

Close up of Cuatro Pescaditos, Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico

A black-and-white photograph features an open, rough-hewn window framing the head and shoulders of a woman with dark hair and medium-dark skin. Peering out from a murky interior, she displays 2 fish per hand on the window ledge. A mud-grass mixture textures surrounding walls.
A black-and-white photograph features an open, rough-hewn window framing the head and shoulders of a woman with dark hair and medium-dark skin. Peering out from a murky interior, she displays 2 fish per hand on the window ledge. A mud-grass mixture textures surrounding walls.
Graciela Iturbide, Cuatro Pescaditos, Juchitan, Oaxaca, 1986 (Later print not dated); National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Charles and Teresa Friedlander, in honor of his mother, Jacqueline S. Friedlander; © Graciela Iturbide

Cuatro Pescaditos features a woman offering fish for sale from her home. It is one of a series of photographs Graciela Iturbide created documenting the ancient, matriarchal community of Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico.

For almost a decade beginning in 1979, Iturbide photographed the socially and politically independent women of Juchitán. These women have long been viewed as symbols of national strength.

Unlike some documentary photographers, Iturbide refuses to hide behind her lens when photographing her subjects. Rather than remain an outsider, she acquaints herself with the communities upon her arrival. In turn, the residents invite her more openly into their lives and homes.

She also seeks to represent these cultures without trying to idealize or romanticize their connection to the past. Her images often depict startling juxtapositions of traditional Mexican folk-life with elements of contemporary culture. Her skillful handling of nuanced values of gray lends fleeting moments a timeless quality, as is evident Cuatro Pescaditos.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Graciela Iturbide

  • Title

    Cuatro Pescaditos, Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico

  • Date

    1986

  • Medium

    Gelatin silver print

  • Dimensions

    18 1/4 x 15 in.

  • Donor Credit

    Gift of Charles and Teresa Friedlander, in honor of his mother, Jacqueline S. Friedlander

  • Photo Credit

    © Graciela Iturbide

  • On Display

    No

The Artist, Graciela Iturbide

Graciela Iturbide’s photographs reveal the daily lives, customs, and rituals of Mexico’s underrepresented native cultures.
A black-and-white photograph of an adult woman with short, dark hair looking into the viewfinder of a small film camera. She is outdoors with grass behind her. She holds the camera with her right hand and focuses the lense with her left. She is smiling as she looks into it.