Revista de Antropología Visual

Self representation has been widely discussed within the disciplines of Anthropology and Cultural Studies. Being the Salving Angel for some and the Advocate of the Devil for others, reality shows a practice much more complex and interesting.
Pedro Hernández Guzmán, tzeltal Indian from Tenejapa in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, decided to document the feast of Carnival of his native village using photography and texts. In February 2001, his documentation was shown in a historic exhibition on the central square of Tenejapa. In his work and during the inauguration, Hernández defined himself explicitly as an indigenous photographer, joining successfully his indigenous background with the practice of photography.
In his case, the process of self representation not only fortified a local tradition, but defined and strengthened a individual identity. Although not always easily, the subaltern do have lots of possibilities to bring together their local origins with the numerous aspects of modernity.