Patrick Esmonde
(Esmonde Photography, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

by Lynne Doyle 

During this last trip to Oaxaca, through a series of serendipitous circumstances, I had the extreme good fortune to meet Patrick Esmonde, a brilliant young photographer from Phildelphia who had come to the city to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos. Inspired by a National Geographic article he had seen when he was 8 years old, this recent Drexel graduate had finally found the opportunity to come and see for himself. Since Mexico File is always looking for especially talented people, we decided to treat our readers to a couple of Patrick’s extraordinary photos of Panteon Viejo in Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca.  It is my thought that Pat’s pictures are a reflection of his very personal approach to this work – he spoke personally with each family whose ancestral grave he photographed, learning the stories of the deceased. His other photos of Mexico, Peru, Argentina and the US can be seen and purchased from his website, www.EsmondePhotography.com and he can be contacted directly by email at Pat@esmophoto.com.