Mixteco Project
The largest native population in the State of California is the indigenous Oaxacan people and families migrating from southern Mexico primarily from the State of Oaxaca. Countless times I’ve traveled the busy freeway taking me past the Oaxacan laborers working the row crops in our agricultural fields. A back to the road is their identity.
It was through a family friend I was introduced to MICOP (Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project) a non-profit that provides support for 20,000 Oaxacan people living and working in Ventura County. My vision is to put faces to the fleeting backs of these workers in the fields. Over the past two years I attended MICOP’s monthly community meetings and began taking portraits of the families. In return, I offered to give a professional quality photograph to people who could otherwise not afford them.
Facing linguistic and ethnic challenges I feel there is something optimistic and uplifting about the Oaxacan people as well as their pride in deep cultural roots. As a photographer, taking pictures is a rewarding passion, giving back my skills and talent to the MICOP community feels like a small contribution on my part.
