‘Photographic tribute’ to Poniatowska presented in Chapultepec

In the open-air gallery located in Chapultepec Forest, the Photographic tribute, in honor of Elena Poniatowska. The images of a group of Mexican artists are intertwined with portraits of different moments in their lives and quotes from their literary work to propose a dialogue with the chronicle of recent Mexico.

My life has been one huge question, asking others how they manage to live, to paint, write, create, do interviews, chronicles, to live and be happy.she replied when interviewed by the press at the ceremony. These photographers taught us a life lessonhe added about some of the creators exhibited on Paseo de la Reforma Avenue.

A few days before the presidential change, he stated that Claudia Sheinbaum She is a woman we can all trust, that is very important..

Graciela Iturbide, whose image of Frida Kahlo’s bathroom was included in the exhibition, was brief and emphatic about the feeling at the table set up inside the Botanical Garden: We all adore Elena. We love her very much..

For her part, actress and former senator Jesusa Rodríguez recalled that the ancient Greeks, also known as Hellenes, went to the oracle when they had a transcendental question or wanted to know about the future. Today, faced with tantric mysteries or to learn about the reality of the bizarre world, We go to the Chimalistac colony, we sit in some yellow armchairs in Elena’s living room and we ask her the answer to any existential doubt that torments us.. Last time it was about the scope of artificial intelligence.

An example of Elenita’s oracle, open to anyone who walks through the gates surrounding the forest, reads: Women can speak better about themselves than many writers.

At another point, the sign with a white background states: Life is fully justified in itself when you observe the things of nature with some intelligence and purity.a phrase that emerges from the greenery of the urban forest next to the influx of cars.

Curator Oswaldo Ruiz explained that bridges were made between 19 photographs of contemporary artists alongside portraits of the author of The night of Tlatelolco made by six authors, including her son Emmanuel. Among the large-format prints were interspersed some quotes from the writer to include your voice in the form of written words.

A trip from the 60s

It was important that the photographs, both in color and black and white, dialogue around the vision of Mexico that Elena Poniatowska has described in more than 20 books. The time spectrum of the photographs is broad, since the oldest dates from around the 1960s and extends to contemporary times.

Carmina Rufrancos, literary director of Editorial Planeta, mentioned that in May 2023 the publication of the Elena Poniatowska library began under the Seix Barral label It is a great honor to host the work of one of the most important authors of Latin America and to undertake this adventure with the help of wonderful photographersgathered there, with the exception of Kati Horna, Tina Modotti, Lourdes Grobet and Mariana Yampolsky, who have since passed away.

Who is the lady?asked a girl with a foreign accent as she observed the commotion and a swarm of cameras on the sidewalk in front of the National Museum of Anthropology. A polite voice, with a tone of pride, answered her: The writer Elena Poniatowska.

Smiling, her expression full of curiosity before each image, reading the different quotes framed next to the portraits and contemporary photographs, the winner of the 2013 Cervantes Prize walked through the exhibition next to the lake, gleaming, enormous and hanging on the railings.

Mónica Pacheco Skidmore, executive director of Chapultepec Park, hosted the opening ceremony inside the Botanical Garden, where Elena Poniatowska walked to, accompanied by Argel Gómez Concheiro, head of the Mexico City Ministry of Culture.

At all times, the 92-year-old honoree appeared smiling, curious, happy, protected like the most delicate flower in the garden, although her voice never sounded through the microphone after the speeches of the members of the presidium.

Instead, another voice echoed from beyond the bars: Thank you, ma’am!which was accompanied by several shouts of applause from the open-top floor of a bus carrying tourists.