China Poblana & Mariachi: Behind a Folklorico Photo Shoot
This folklorico photo shoot came down to waiting for the light. It’s the story behind Folklorico #5, a China Poblana dancer and her partner photographed mid-turn inside a tequila distillery in Sayulita, Mexico, in 2021.
Watch the shoot: one minute of behind-the-scenes footage from the folklorico dance photography session in Sayulita that produced this print.
How do you make a folklorico photo stand out?
Folklorico is fascinating. It’s like a visual history book, with every one of the 150-plus unique dances representing a different chapter in that book. It’s also hugely popular in Mexico, so there are thousands of great photos already out there. That leaves me with my usual pre-shoot question: how do I create something different?
The dance itself has a long story. The Jarabe Tapatío, also called the Mexican hat dance, became popular in Guadalajara in the 1820s, just a few hours from where we photographed this scene. The dance traces its origins back much further, though, almost 500 years to the Spanish conquest.
Choosing the location: a tequila distillery
I wanted to set a quintessentially Mexican dance in an equally Mexican setting, so I chose a tequila distillery in Sayulita, Nayarit.
Then all we had to do was wait for the sun to come around and give us those perfect light beams. In the video you can see how the scene changes once those beams start cutting through the space and catching the smoke on the floor.
Behind the scenes: the China Poblana dress in motion
Most of the footage is the dancers doing what they do best: dancing. The China Poblana skirt is the star of the frame. When it spins, it fans out into rings of colour beside her partner in his charro suit.
In the video you can watch them repeat the turn several times, with smoke drifting across the floor and the sun coming through, and you’ll see a few of the finished frames appear along the way. Later in the clip there’s also a quick look at a mariachi with his guitar posing with a dancer for a separate set-up.
This was definitely one of my favourite photoshoots of 2021.
Not Prompted. Performed.
My prints are handmade, and that matters to me. Every one of my photos is a creative collaboration. Before a series like this, we look into the mythology and the history behind it, and we speak to the people and cultures involved. They come up with ideas, help draft and shape the images, and help scout locations.
It’s a whole thing, and it’s beautiful that everyone gets involved. It also comes full circle, because everyone gets paid: I pay the models for their time on the shoot and a percentage of every print sold.
That’s about as far from typing a prompt as you can get. (I’ve put my own work up against an AI image generator before, in AI vs Artist: Can a Pro Photographer Beat Midjourney?) And the story doesn’t end with the print: dozens of people have turned my photos into tattoos and murals.
From the shoot to your wall
I shoot on a professional Canon 5D4, so the files hold up at large sizes. I work with a fine art printer in the US who uses Chromogenic printing, a process similar to the classic darkroom method. I prefer it because it gives the images a richness and depth that suits my style. Every print is made on premium Fuji Lustre paper or 100% cotton canvas and is guaranteed not to fade for over 75 years.
If you love this location, the China Poblana & Mariachi Guitar print was also made at the tequila distillery in Sayulita. You’ll find the rest of the series in my Folklorico prints, and everything else in the full fine art print collection.
Folklorico #5
A China Poblana dancer and her partner mid-turn in the light beams of a tequila distillery in Sayulita, Mexico, photographed in 2021.
Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 20×30, 24×36 and 30×45 inches
Price: $80 to $270, on Fuji Lustre paper or 100% cotton canvas (print only, frame not included)
Where was it shot?
In a tequila distillery in Sayulita, Nayarit, a few hours from Guadalajara, where the Jarabe Tapatío became popular in the 1820s.
Are the dancers paid?
Yes, and they’re far more than models. This is a community project. The dancers and musicians in these photos are part of Mexico’s folklórico community, and they helped shape the concept behind the shoot, lending their knowledge of the costumes, the music and the history. They’re paid for their time on set and receive a cut of every print sold.