Cristina Garcia Rodero

Photographer Cristina García Rodero is perhaps best known for her breakout book of photographs, titled España Oculta (Hidden Spain) (1989), the product of more than a decade spent studying and documenting traditional religious and pagan festivals around her native Spain and across Mediterranean Europe. The award-winning series includes black-and-white images such as La Trinidad, Lumbier (1980), which records a dramatic pilgrimage that has taken place on the Day of the Holy Trinity since the 19th century. This project piqued Rodero’s interest in ritual celebrations and behaviors. She has since documented unique cultural traditions worldwide, including the cult of María Lionza in Venezuela and Holi, the Hindu festival of colors in India. At the 2001 Venice Biennale, Rodero debuted her series “Rituals in Haiti,” which documents Voodoo rituals on the Carribean island. Rodero studied painting at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Madrid; she joined Magnum Photos in 2005 and became a full member in 2009.