Ricanceive

stephsegarra:

I shot this series right after El Paro Nacional which took place on May 1st, 2017. Thousands of people took the street in Puerto Rico demanding an audit of the 73 billion dollar debt the government has accumulated and whose origins are still unclear. In order to pay off the debt a Fiscal Board has been imposed on the island and there have been a number of budget cuts to basic civil services including a $450 million budget reduction to the University of Puerto Rico. Apart from this the island faces a threat of privatization of beaches and natural resources, cuts in pension to government workers, less affordable healthcare, the closing of 184 schools and more. I told Cenit Nadir a model and friend that I wanted to shoot something more political, maybe mix it with fashion photography. I wanted to use her as a model because I knew she would be someone who would understand what we were trying to say. She’s always been very upfront about her views and uses her influence to shed light on Puerto Rico’s situation. Other than this she was the muse for my Not a Tourist Series which ended up being my go to shoot to post whenever I wanted to say something about my island. I then proceeded to invoke the spirit of Anthony Velazquez for creative direction. He’s currently in New York but at the moment he was living in Puerto Rico and doing drag performances using political and social statements using visual imagery. We mixed makeup looks with plain black clothing to emphasize on the expressions that Cenit was making. The idea was to bring more attention to something the three of us care about deeply but still doing what we love which is fashion. With the passing of Maria things have gotten even more difficult. Lots of young creatives are leaving the island, including Anthony & many businesses have closed and now the new GOP tax bill will affect Puerto Rico’s economy even more. No matter where we are we will make our voices heard. 🖤🇵🇷✊🏼 

(via ameerahxp-blog-blog)

betotzin:

“Yana-wana”, the original name for the river and water spirit mother of San Antonio, TX.

1. Part of “White Shaman Rock Shelter Panel”, in Pecos Canyon, South Texas. This prehistoric cave has paintings that are over 4,000 years old.  This particular panel is speculated to be a ceremonial map of Texas showing sacred natural sites and peyote pilgrimage routes.

2. The spirals at the right are thought by many indigenous Texans and scholars to reperesent the four sacred springs tza wan pupako (Barton Springs in Austin), ajehuac sohuetiau (Spring Lake in San Marcos), saxōp wan pupako (Comal Springs in New Braunfels), and yana wana (the Blue Hole headwaters of the San Antonio River). (Names in Coahuilteco)

3. Yana wana/Yanaguana aka The Blue Hole in San Antonio, originally recorded to be a bright blue geyser where many nations such as the Coahuilteco, Comanche, Lipan Apache, Jumano and Carrizo Comecrudo among others were said to come to worship and trade. Due to stress on the Edwards Aquafer it has been reduced from a geyser to a small well since the late 1800s.  

4. Due to continued stress by Central Texas urban development, the Blue Hole often remains dry, only filling after there are record rains to raise the aquifer’s water level.   We still conduct our ceremonies at these sacred water sites to this day.