Tuesday, July 1, 2008

No Pictures Please

Posted below a stop sign on the Tempe border with Guadalupe is an interesting "NO" sign. It refers to the dances and other ceremonies performed especially around Lent and Easter in the tiny community (one square mile) of Guadalupe. It's a proud little community with a strong ethnic and cultural identity. I like to drive through on my way to hike South Mountain - it's like a drive through rural Mexico, and their Farmer's Market is special.

Guadalupe was founded by Yaqui Indians, who migrated there from Mexico at the turn of the century; now home to about 5,500 Native American and Hispanic residents. The dances and other ceremonies had their origins in the early 1600s in Mexico. The community opens some parts of these ceremonies to the public, but people must observe and respect the Yaquis’ wishes (and the city ordinance!) that no photos be taken and that no drawings or recordings be made.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

GREAT idea to photograph this special sign in Guadalupe! Brilliant. Much better than my "No Skateboarding" sign at Phoenix Daily Photo. :D

Ming the Merciless said...

Hmmm! How interesting! It must be tough to pass down traditional practices and histories if nothing can be recorded. But apparently this wasn't a problem since you said they have been doing the dances since 1600s.

Gerald (SK14) said...

What a shame.

BTW You are shown on the portal (theme section) as not yet posted - this is because you haven't included the code in your post. I don't know whether Igor will let you add it postdated or not.