Galembo’s images offer an awe-inspiring counterpoint, a rare bridge onto a culture in which creativity and self-expression are close to the divine.” — Chiomi Nnadi, Vogue Since 1985, photographer Phyllis Galembo has traveled extensively to photograph sites of ritual dress in Africa and the Americas. In this body of work, Galembo turns to Mexico, where she captures cultural performances with a subterranean political edge. Using a direct, unaffected portrait style, the photographer captures her subjects informally posed but often strikingly attired in traditional or ritualistic dress. Masking is a complex tradition in which the participants transcend the physical world and enter the spiritual realm. Masks, costumes and body paint transform the human body and encode a rich range of political, artistic, theatrical, social and religious meanings on the body. In her vibrant photographs, Galembo highlights the artistry of the performers, how they use materials from their immediate environment to morph into a fantastical representation of themselves and an idealized vision of a mythical figure. She captures her subjects suspended between past, present and future, with their religious, political and cultural affiliations—their personal and collective identifications—displayed on their bodies. This book is bilingual in English and Spanish.