Being There Isn’t the Only Reward
As if being there isn’t reward enough, capturing a private moment for a more introspective image always is. To say nothing of the many memories made indelible by photographs, with the discovery of the unnoticed details emerging later, upon review. Young girls lock arms to rehearse a dance; a small boy runs into the frame unseen.
There, in the photographs above, is El Convento de San Miguel Arcángel de Maní, along the Convent Route in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. It’s a remarkable 16th century Franciscan compound, built on the backs of some 6,000 Mayan laborers, atop their demolished pyramid. ♣
See more photographs from my Mission Mexico gallery HERE.
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Awesome photos and moments. Wish I was there!
I especially like that first photo, Jann.
janet
That’s the one that most interests me, too, thanks, Janet.
Wonderful pictures.
Have you ever taken photos of the missions in California?
Thanks, Matthew, just one of two; most of my travels on the mission church circuit have been in Yucatan, Chihuahua and New Mexico. How about you?
Just a few snaps – nothing artsy. Maybe someday.
You may be closer than I am . . . hope you do.
Beautiful. But how sad ” built on the backs of some 6,000 Mayan laborers, atop their demolished pyramid” . Would be so painful to see something important to you be demolished and then be forced to build something on top of it!
Painful, indeed, but that’s the history of the Spanish conquest of Central America, as I learned on that Yucatan journey to photograph the mission churches. The Franciscans followed on the heels of the conquerors to bring their religion to the Mayans, forcing them to dismantle their temples to their own gods to build churches to the new god. You see remarkable examples of it all over Yucatan, except in the pyramids that still remain today. Thanks for discerning the underlying story, Tina.
Especially love the first photo with the hard textures mixed with the softness of that beautiful curtain. And, of course, the threesome in the background is superb!
Thanks so much, Stacy, I’m glad you too relate to that. I can just imagine so many stories associated with that moment.