Primera Comunión, Chalma, Estado de México (First Communion, Chalma, State of Mexico)

Contemporary Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide turned to photography after the loss of her six-year-old daughter Claudia in the 1970s. She explores notions of identity and tradition in her evocative and poetic practice, where the presence of indigenous culture prevails. She explains, “I take pictures to get to know my country better.”

In this photograph, Iturbide pictures a young girl on the near side of a churchyard gate on her way to her first communion. Her attire—frilly white dress and skull mask—signals the combination of both pre-Hispanic ritual and Catholic rite that are at play. While the title of the work, the white dress, and the bouquet of flowers signal the girl’s first communion, the mask recalls a celebration of the Day of the Dead, a Mexican festival that can be traced back as far as the Aztecs.