The farsesque wedding in San Martin and the via of mezcal during the Carnival 2024
What a celebration. And I should need to take it on my way…
Forget your Martha Stewarts and Emily Posts, because this ain't your grandma's wedding album. Here, in the technicolor fever dream of San Martin Tilcajete's carnival, love takes a backseat to insanity, fueled by enough mezcal to float a noisyi band. My lens, a lone wolf amidst the drunken revelry, captured the glorious absurdity of it all, rendered in stark black and white like a fever dream etched onto film.
It all started pre-game, the "bride" (a strapping hombre adorned with muscles that I think I don’t have) being prepped by giggling friends, faces smeared with paint, laughter echoing off sun-baked adobe walls. The "groom," resplendent in a mismatched mariachi suit and a mischievous grin, downed shots like there was no tomorrow (and, frankly, for some of these folks, there might not have been).
The ceremony, held outdoors under a sky thick with anticipation and fermented agave fumes, was a masterpiece of organized chaos. Vows were exchanged, more like drunken toasts punctuated by bursts of music fire, the officiant swaying precariously on the precipice of sobriety. Laughter drowned out any semblance of seriousness, the whole town transformed into a tipsy chorus cheering on the union of two souls, and a whole lot of mezcal and beer, beer and mezcal.
The post-ceremony bash was a kaleidoscope of color and movement. Drunken couples gyrated to the frenetic music band beat. Faces, contorted in ecstatic abandon, swam in and out of focus, my camera struggling to keep pace with the whirlwind of limbs and laughter. A girl kissed me in the neck and almost on the lips.
As the night dissolved into a mezcal-soaked haze, I stumbled back to my hotel, my head spinning, camera clicking through the last flashes of this Tilcajete Tilt. The black and white photos may seem like static snapshots, but trust me, friend, the echoes of that mezcal-fueled matrimony still reverberate in my soul, a testament to the glorious, messy, unforgettable power of love, laughter, and a whole lot of damn good alcohol.
So, put down your cucumber water and lace doilies, dear reader, and dive into this Tilcajete trip with me. Just remember, when it comes to love, sometimes the craziest journeys lead to the most beautiful destinations. And if you get lost along the way, well, that's just part of the damn adventure. Are you ready for this?
That is the gonzography that I am proposing. A long trip where the direct experience is part of the photography workflow. Are you ready to get in?
