“Stephanie Routh: Stories of Cuetzalan”
Manuel’s on Congress, through June 7
Stephanie Routh sustains a steady gaze as she talks about her travels to Cuetzalan, a small village northeast of Puebla, Mexico. As the other, she avoids writing herself into the culture she documents through photography. That doesn’t seem to be an easy task for many Americans visiting or retiring to Mexico. A glance at the businesses in expatriate communities, such as a Blockbuster Video and Domino’s Pizza, reveals the compulsion to insert modernity, altering the lives of both natives and tourist.
The works that Routh is exhibiting at Manuel’s examine how insiders attempt to remain outsiders in their own back yards. The images, documenting such daily activities as caring for a child or running through the rain, are discreet, except for one. The subject of Straight Eyed Woman stands startlingly poised in her awareness, while her congregants swirl in oblivion during this, the moment of their capture. What did Routh do when she realized she had been caught by the Straight Eyed Woman? Releasing a hardy yet nervous chuckle, she says “I ran away!”
As I look into the sepia-toned eyes of the Straight Eyed Woman, I recall a similar incident. Waiting endlessly in a midafternoon summer mist in Central Mexico, the subject scribed herself onto a murky puddle. As soon as the American tourist photographed her reflection, a vicious argument ensued with the woman shouting, “Robarlo! Robarlo!” I didn’t need to speak Spanish to realize she was accusing him of stealing her image to sell to “Geographic Nacional” while she would receive no compensation. She said the matter could be settled by giving her 50 pesos. He handed her the money.
This article appears in May 13 • 2005.