1) Diego Moreno is a photographer from Mexico who has a serie of photographs called Los Panzudos Mercedarios or “Beautiful Monsters”. Unfortunately, it is unknown what camera the photographer uses. However when it comes to the technique and composition he prefers placing his subjects t in the shadow with a very limited source of light which gives the photographs a moody feeling.
2) Los Panzudos Mercedarios can be translated as “paunchy” or “pot-bellied”. In preparation for the feast which honors the Virgin of Mercy, participants elaborate costumes and masks as a symbol of religious sin. The fatter the costume is the better. By marching alongside the Virgin, the people might get rid of their sins. This particular serie of photographs has a deep meaning for the artist because there is a connection between the characters and his beloved aunt who had an e=illness that affected her appearance. Sometimes she was treated unfairly because of this disease.
3) Mexico is a country that has many traditions that are very different from the rest of the world. Having skeletons at home, worshiping death and adoring “beautiful monsters” is a normal thing. I like how the artist tried to tell the viewers about his culture by placing those monsters into people’s houses when they form a part of the family or a part of the everyday ambient. This photographs are not only documenting the local costume but also letting the viewers know about a very different culture, how people perceive the unusual and the no obvious. Perhaps having in mind his aunt, Moreno is letting us know that it is possible to live peacefully with something that doesn't fit or is off-standart and consider it beautiful.
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