“I go as a wanderer, photographing in a country often strange to me. I hear words not known, see things I don’t understand, view acts of kindness and violence, smell new odors and taste new foods; I walk down small, unfamiliar cobblestone streets. I react and photograph intuitively. When in Mexico, I am dizzy with new experiences and free to go anywhere and to do anything. The feeling is of endless possibilities. My limitations are my only restraint.”
— Harvey Stein
American photographer Harvey Stein’s fascination with Mexico began when he was a teenager. Compared to the mundane surroundings of his youth in Pittsburgh, Mexico seemed a mysterious and ambiguous place that was nearby, yet so far away. As a child, Stein was haunted by the notion of death and that someday he would no longer exist. He discovered by reading books about Mexico that the Mexican people viewed death as a natural part of life that should be celebrated. This made Mexico very comforting and special to him.
