The Mexica and Storytelling

JP has spent the last decade photographing the same group of Mexica, or Azteca, dancers. In that time he learned how connected the Mexica are to their mythology, to ancient stories passed down across generations. That’s when he realized that, as these stories were so vital to Mexica culture, they needed to play a bigger role in his portraits.I started these cultural photography workshops because I was frustrated at not being able to create the travel photos I wanted to. Candid photos are fine, but I wanted my portraits to show the personality and history of people – to show the real Mexico.