From the 28th of May until the 17th of July, Metamorfosis Documentation Project in collaboration with the Consulate of Mexico in Albuquerque and the National Hispanic Cultural Center are presenting the exhibition “Veinte Años de Fiesta”. History & Literary Arts Building at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Year after year, the Fiesta returns. The preparations remain the same - the processions, invitations, ceremonial meals, masses, and dances. Everyone in the community knows the process, the order, and the approximate timing of each event; yet the Fiesta always has something new to offer. The ritual calendar, with its fixed or movable dates, marks the passage of time, blending Christian and ancestral traditions to create a vibrant expression of contemporary Mexican indigenous religiosity. The Fiesta symbolizes the end and the beginning of a cycle, decay and regeneration, danger and security. It reaffirms the sense of belonging to the community—a feeling that is strengthened by dedicating a special time to celebrate. Beyond community, family, and social commitments, the Fiesta unites everyone, creating a space where rules are relaxed. 

Metamorfosis Documentation Project has documented dances and public ceremonies in several states across Mexico. Throughout these years, photography has been a part of these projects, serving as both documentation and a research tool. Over time, the photographs accumulate, creating a growing collection. When it comes time to catalog, edit, and archive, thousands of photos are reviewed. Whether by association or artistic merit, some images stand out that are deeply moving. These are some of them.
In the Fiesta everyone shares and professes a collective knowledge, and yet each year they experience it as if it were new, as if they had never participated before. They see it through the eyes of the children they once were, leading the procession.