November 5–December 15, 2010: Exhibition: Violence Towards One is Violence Towards All: Photographs by Moysés Zúñiga Santiago

Friday, November 5-December 15, 2010

Violence Towards One is Violence Towards All, an exhibit of photographs by Moysés Zúñiga Santiago

Violence Towards One is Violence Towards All is an exhibit showcasing the recent work of award-winning Mexican photojournalist Moysés Zúñiga Santiago in the town of Mitzitón, Chiapas. The searing collection of photographs that comprise the exhibit vividly documents the ongoing conflict between the Mitzitón’s majority, Catholic-identified supporters of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN),and the minority, the Evangelical congregation known as the Army of God. While usually covered as a religious conflict between Evangelical Christians and Catholic Zapatista supporters, the conflict in Mitzitón is closely tied to struggles over land rights as the Mexican government has begun construction of a major highway that runs through town lands. It also has its roots in the government’s ongoing low-intensity counterinsurgency against the EZLN and its affiliated villages, and in the decades-long tensions in Chiapas between Catholics identified with liberation theology and those identified with the official positions of the Catholic Church.  Since 2009, confrontations have erupted between the Zapatistas supporters and the Army of God, who the Zapatistas believe are an instrument of the Mexican government under the veil of a religious organization.

The exhibit is part of the Hemispheric Institute’s recent conference: States of Devotion: Religion, Neoliberalism and the Politics of the Body in the Americas. The conference and exhibit are made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, and the co-sponsorship of the Center Study of Gender and Sexuality and the Department of Photography and Imaging at New York University.

November 5-December 15, 2010

A native of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Moysés Zuñiga Santiago began his study of science and technology at the University of Xalapa in Veracruz in 1998 where he worked in television, photography and radio. In 2003, he began work in Xalapa at Diario AZ as a photojournalist and was subsequently hired by Milenio de Veracruz as the photography editor.  Beginning in January of 2006 he served as the correspondent for Mexican photography agency Cuartoscuro (www.cuartoscuro.com) during Subcomandante Marcos’ ‘Other Campaign’ and traveled the entirety of Mexico with Marcos.  During this time, Zúñiga also worked with the Associated Press (AP), EFE (Spain) and Agence France Press (AFP). Since 2007, Zúñiga has worked with La Jornada in San Cristobal de Las Casas and covers the Chiapas region for the Associated Press and EFE. In 2009 he received a Rory Peck Training Fund grant for freelance journalists in high-risk areas from the Rory Peck Trust.