Global Press Journal Connections: The World in Photos

Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico

Viviana Alavés pours beeswax on a candle at her family’s shop in Teotitlán del Valle, a town in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. For residents of Teotitlán del Valle, marriage requires one of two things: asking for the bride’s hand before she leaves home or offering an apology for having taken her before asking. In either case, each aunt, uncle and parent of the groom must bring candles to the bride’s parents’ home. There, the bride’s parents will light each candle as a symbol of the good wishes and blessings the family bestows on the marriage, which will take place when the candles run out, approximately one year later.

Photo by Ena Aguilar Peláez

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Sharon “Chachi” González Colón one of the original founders of Colectivo Moriviví, a collective of women artists, paints a mural of a girl with soapy hands and bubbles, titled, “El Distanciamiento es Físico No Social” in Santurce, a neighborhood in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The mural intends to be a message of prevention, support and solidarity in the face of the coronavirus.

Photo by Ishbel Cora Rodríguez

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Jerry Gabriel gives information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, to Milot Prévilien on his weekly walk through Avenue Maïs Gâté, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Every week, Gabriel distributes face masks and informational leaflets about COVID-19. After talking with Gabriel, Prévilien agreed that he should wear a mask.

Photo by Marie Michelle Felicien

Tecámac, Mexico

Fabián López installs a door in the hallway of a home in Tecámac, State of Mexico. He has offered his services to his neighbors since the coronavirus forced the blacksmith shop where he worked to close. In spite of the health emergency, he’s been able to find enough work to maintain an income.

Photo by Aline Suárez del Real

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Manuel Gómez works every night selling tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs, quesadillas and other items from his mobile cart on Avenida Chapultepec, a major road in Guadalajara, Mexico. He says sales have been down between 70% and 80% over the last two months, leaving him more worried about the economic situation than about the coronavirus.

Photo by Maya Piedra

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Pigeons wait for tourists to feed them at Parque de las Palomas, a park and tourist attraction in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ever since the coronavirus arrived in Puerto Rico and the government declared a curfew on March 15, tourism and business have suffered. Now, with a new executive order, most businesses are beginning to open with required precautions, though some remain closed for safety reasons.

Photo by Ishbel Cora Rodríguez

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Héctor Perdomo Encarnación sells masks on Avenida Juan Ponce de León, a main thoroughfare in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Before the coronavirus hit Puerto Rico and the government declared a curfew on March 15, Perdomo Encarnación worked in the construction industry. His work was halted to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Now he sells masks, which his friend makes, Monday through Friday in the San Juan communities of Santurce and Condado.

Photo by Ishbel Cora Rodríguez

Mexico City, Mexico

Juan José Gutiérrez Pinal, 47, makes kites at home to sell to neighbors in Mexico City, Mexico. He sells them every February and March, but since his construction job was suspended due to the coronavirus, he decided to sell the kites this June too.

Photo by Mar García

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico

Employees of Jurisdicción Sanitaria, the government institution in charge of public health centers in the borough, disinfect public areas in downtown San Cristóbal de las Casas, a city in Mexico’s Chiapas state.

Photo by Adriana Alcázar González

Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico

José Azcona stands in front of his shop in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico. Azcona is a monero, someone who makes giant puppets for celebrations. All events in Oaxaca have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, putting Azcona and his fellow moneros temporarily out of work. “My puppets have just been here,” Azcona says. “They haven’t been able to go out onto the streets.”

Photo by Ena Aguilar Peláez

Mexico City, Mexico

Karen Cerón, right, helps Karla Rey prepare for a dance performance in downtown Mexico City, Mexico, during “Contigo en la distancia,” which means “with you at a distance.” For LGBTTTIQ+ Pride Day, the National Coordination of Dance hosted the daylong event – which included live dance performances, classes and talks – on its social networks.

Photo by Mar García

Puebla, Mexico

From left, Pamela Rodríguez Vela, José Ramón Fernández and Octavio Escobar Blancas paint a home in Puebla, Mexico. Neighbors, community groups and nonprofits around the city organized a neighborhood cleanup of the historic city center. Participants were entered in a raffle, and the winner had their home painted for free.

Photo by Patricia Zavala Gutiérrez

San Isidro del Palmar, Mexico

Guillermo Antonio Altamirano Ramírez monitors his cornfield on the banks of the Tonameca River in San Isidro del Palmar, a town in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. The river flooded in August after heavy rainfall, leaving soggy crops and football fields. “No one is denying that this is how nature is,” Altamirano says, recalling when Hurricane Paulina came through the area nearly 23 years ago. “This doesn’t even compare to Paulina. This was just a little flood.”

Photo by Sarai González

Chilpancingo, Mexico

Herman Vázquez García, better known as Alibastik, sews wrestling masks in Chilpancingo, a city in Mexico’s Guerrero state. Vázquez has been wrestling for more than 40 years, but he slowed down toward the end of 2019 to prepare for his retirement from the ring. In addition to participating in the sport, he makes masks for wrestlers, a trade that today has become part of his economic sustenance. “This job doesn’t make me rich, but it does help me take care of necessary expenses,” Vázquez says.

Photo by Avigaí Silva

Mazunte, Oaxaca, Mexico

Erika Martínez and Silverio Arango make bread to sell at the Mercado Alternativo Artesanal in Mazunte, a town in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. “The recipe is the same one we’ve been using since we started almost six years ago,” Arango says. “Except that we improved it by using sourdough instead of yeast.”

Photo by Sarai González

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico

César Aceves makes chiles en nogada at his restaurant, Mesón de la Cofradía, in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico. The dish, which features stuffed poblano chiles and a walnut sauce, is offered during August and September because that’s when the ingredients are available.

Photo by Marissa Revilla

Ecatepec, Mexico

Roberto García emcees an event on the roof of a home in Ecatepec, Mexico. García has used his talents as a sonidero to entertain neighbors since the pandemic began. “We did it with the aim of paying tribute to the neighbors who had fallen ill or passed away due to COVID and bringing a bit of happiness and music to everyone in quarantine,” García says. His rooftop sonideros gained attention over the months, which eventually led to an invitation from Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Ecatepec, an artist collective, to play in Ecatepec.

Photo by Aline Suárez del Real

Calpan, Puebla, Mexico

Aldahir Díaz Aguilar, left, and Pedro Maldonado discuss operations as they walk through a creole poblano chile farm in Calpan, a region in Mexico’s Puebla state. The duo work with Sociedad Cooperativa Sabores de Calpan, a cooperative that encourages local residents to visit farms to learn about plant cultivation.

Photo by Patricia Zavala Gutiérrez

San Pedro Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico

Rosa Martínez, 45, sells fish on the streets of San Pedro Pochutla, a city in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. “We are selling less than normal,” says Martínez, a single mother. “Before, I used to come every day. Now I come to sell every other day, but I have to come and sell, so I can take care of my children.”

Photo by Sarai González

Orocovis, Puerto Rico

From left, Laila Torres, 16, Jezael Torres, 12, and Ilianys Miranda, 8, load soil into a wheelbarrow for planting in Orocovis, a mountainous town in central Puerto Rico. Approximately 14 children have been meeting at the Solidarity House, in the Miraflores sector of Orocovis, since early July for ecology camp. At the camp, known as the Miraflores Children’s Agricultural School, children plant and harvest food and learn about inclusive language, agroecology and sustainability.

Photo by Ishbel Cora Rodríguez

Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico

Livier Poblete Gutiérrez anoints Edna Carime Abad Delgado, left, with smoke before she enters a temazcal, or sweat lodge, in Chilpancingo, a city in Mexico’s Guerrero state. In this neighborhood, Emperador Cuauhtémoc, healing temazcales are held frequently. Carime Abad Delgado says the ancestral ritual can improve the immune system.

Photo by Avigaí Silva

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Arnulfo Mastranzo paints arrows in the parking lot of Bodega Aurrerá, a shopping center in Puebla, Mexico.

Photo by Patricia Zavala Gutiérrez

Oaxaca, Mexico

The artists known as Line Marker, left, and Notek adhere an image to a wall in downtown Oaxaca, Mexico. Line Marker chose Benito Juárez for the image to provoke humor and represent strength in these difficult times. “In Mexican history, Juárez symbolizes the determined struggle against invasion,” Line Marker says. “It’s the same now: the invasion of a virus that evolved and is generating fear in its wake.”

Photo by Ena Aguilar Peláez

Mexico City, Mexico

Joel Espinoza Román, 17, left, and Aída Lucero Hernández, 32, clean and paint the metal used to assemble a market stand in Mexico City, Mexico. The pair construct, maintain and disassemble stands throughout the city for people who operate the temporary markets during the day but need them taken down overnight.

Photo by Mar García

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Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Tecámac, Mexico

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Mexico City, Mexico

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico

Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico

Puebla, Mexico

San Isidro del Palmar, Mexico

Chilpancingo, Mexico

Mazunte, Oaxaca, Mexico

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico

Ecatepec, Mexico

Calpan, Puebla, Mexico

San Pedro Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico

Orocovis, Puerto Rico

Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Oaxaca, Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico