Image: Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Pueblo
'La Vida Campesina: Portraits of Rural Mexico' runs from August 11, 2026, through January 16, 2027, in the 3rd Floor Foyer Gallery. The exhibition presents Peter J. Marchand’s black-and-white photographs of rural communities and cultural traditions across six regions of Mexico, including Baja California Sur and Oaxaca.
Among the people represented are the isolated ‘Sudcalifornianos’ of Baja California’s Sierra de la Giganta. The photographs also portray the Indigenous Zapotec and Chinantla peoples inhabiting opposite sides—and environments—of Oaxaca state’s Sierra Norte.
This collection of black-and-white photographs captures the spirit of rural folk and the rhythms of life in out-of-the-way Mexico. Taken as a whole, the collection dispels any attempt at stereotyping ‘Mexicans.’
Marchand is a writer and photographer whose work often explores the relationship between people and their environment.
Among his several books are the photo-documentaries ‘The Bare-toed Vaquero,’ published by the University of New Mexico Press, and ‘When Farming’s in Your Blood,’ published by Ripple Effect Publishing. His latest book, ‘Sierra de la Giganta People and Plants,’ published by Bell Mare Productions, explores native uses of medicinal and edible plants in the desert mountains of Baja California Sur.
