Fiesta, On the Viga

This picture shows a big number of Mexican people and families near to what seems to be a very narrow river and with very little water. There are also men dressed in white and wearing a sombrero using sticks made of wood to move their small canoes along this small river. There is a well-dressed girl inside one of the canoes waiting to reach her destination, while the people in the ground seem to be getting all their belongings and family together before jumping in one of the canoes. This is one of 287 photographs in an album entitled, “Tourist Album: Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah” and the picture was taken by an unknown photographer during 1902.

Based on these observations, I deduct that the people that came to this location seem to be celebrating or having a traditional event in the river. The men with the sombreros seem to be the ones in charge of giving the people trips on their canoes. The reunion of this enormous amount of people could signify a big day or a big victory for the Mexican people. These deductions bring me to the question: What are they celebrating? Also, what if they are not celebrating. Are the people just trying to get to the other side of the river?

The Quarter Deck of a Country Ship

In this picture there are around thirty men that form the crew for a ship. There are also two men wearing captain hats while holding the boat helm. The men in the quarterdeck of the ship are pushing a big wheel made of wood while another man is playing the violin next to them. Other men in the crew are on the ropes that go to the upper level of the boat. While on the back of the picture there is a well-dressed woman that seems to be talking to a big bearded man. William Johnson in India took this picture between the years 1855 and 1862.

Based on these observations, I can deduct that the men pushing the wheel seem to be slaves or unpaid workers based on their miserable look and their clothing. The two men wearing captain hats seem to be the captains or the owners of the ship. It can also be deducted that this a big ship based on the fact that at least thirty men are needed for it to navigate; while the function of this ship could be the transportation of wealthy people and their goods from India to different parts of Europe.

One might ask some of the following questions when looking at this picture: What are they transporting on this ship? Also, How many people were on the ship?