Early Saturday morning I was on my way to the doctor’s office, thus walking with purpose. However, turning onto Constitución, along the south side of Santo Domingo, I had to pause…
A photo shoot in progress? I didn’t actually have a doctor’s appointment, just dropping by for a consultation (common here), so I lingered.
HE was obviously modeling “glamed-up” Aztec. But SHE…
Hmmm… Japanese??? Of course not! Comparing it to images found in the codices, it, too, is an extremely stylized expression of the fashion and hair of some classes of Aztec women.
¡Muy hermosa!
Update: I think Sheri is probably correct. This may be a promotion for, or at least evoke, the annual reenactment of the Donají la leyenda, during Guelaguetza. It is the legend of Princess Donají, a Zapotec princess who was kidnapped and decapitated by rival Mixtecos. Her beautiful head was later found intact by a shepherd under a lily. The body and head were reunited and buried together near, what is now, the city of Oaxaca’s airport. The face of Donají appears on the official shield of the city of Oaxaca de Juárez.
The elevation and celebration of this story makes me wonder how today’s Mixtecos feel about it…
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View From Casita Colibrí 