Postcards From the Sun is a long term project reaching into the world of Viento Solar, a group in Northern Mexico that has been following the Native American Lakota Tradition since early 1981. I first met them in 2008.
Viento Solar, 2021.
This is my exploration of an indigenous tradition adopted by urbanites. Inipi (sweat lodge), Haŋbléčeyapi (commonly known as Vision Quest) and Sun Dance are part of a practice equally mystic as it is disciplined; it can be brutally hard on the body and just as generous with the spirit. People featured in this body of work are not shamans; they are teachers, electricians, accountants, janitors, engineers, marketing agents, workers and housewives. These are small town and city folk that have found a connection with the divine through an ancient practice they’ve made a constant in their lives.
These are brief profiles of some of the people I’ve met along the years attending Viento Solar.
Pictured here, Capri (2013) on the dirt roads of San Juan de la Vaquería, Coahuila, Mexico. Capri is the leader and heart of Viento Solar.
He was born in what is now the abandoned ghost town of La Muralla which used to sit by the side of a highway that ran between the mountains of Sierra la Gavia.
La Muralla was the only stop in the old road where passenger buses made routine stop for fuel and meals. Capri’s father worked as an inspector punching tickets and his mother was a waitress at the town eatery. One day his father skipped town never to be seen again when Capri was around 5 years old.
Growing up in such a desolate place made him wonder into the mountains and sleep outside, marveling at the night skies. He says perhaps his childhood prepared him for his mission in life, Viento Solar. At a very young age he began to understand the meaning of spending time in solitude with only nature to speak to him. He jokingly says these lone nights in the woods were his first Hanbleceyas, before he knew about them.
His mother eventually moved to a small city of Monclova where Capri attended school, dropped out in first grade and began work as a construction worker. From an early age he smoked and drinked to try and fit in with the older men.
From age 17 and on, he’s lead a life of sobriety and vegetarianism. Capri is today also a Yoga master with over 40 years of experience and a trusted masseuse specialized in deep tissue.
As of 2024, Viento Solar has expanded to 10 states in Mexico.
This is La China, she's a baker from the state of Aguascalientes; pictured here as a cedar bearer in Sun Dance 2023 she’s entering the Sacred Circle to help with the purification process. Even though she’s had to deal with a difficult childhood and troubled family circumstances framed by tragedy, she is outgoing and full of laughter, jokes and smiles. She found in Viento Solar a place to let go of pain, overcome misfortune, and look forward to a better self. She is simultaneously one of the toughest and most fragile people I’ve met here, possibly due to her sensibility, impulse and hunger to live in a meaningful way.
Héctor in the purification period a couple of days before Sundance begins. During this time Sun Dancers meditate and experience camaraderie while working and helping at camp chores as they prepare. This is all voluntary and optional.
These are Hector’s stakes, that’s dry blood on them from his previous dance. Sundancers are given 2 pieces of wood and they polish them to make stakes during purification days before Sundance begins. These are the stakes that will pierce them and where ropes will be tied to pull until skin tears and their offering or sacrifice is done. This is all voluntary and optional. Sundancers can choose to dance and fast with no obligation to make the sacrifice. It is however a trance like experience when they decide to go through with it. It’s liberating and helps them break mental barriers as well as heal in metaphysical ways.
Raul is a 60 year old retiree accountant that used to work at Mexico’s state owned electric utility. He’s danced at Sun Dance 8 times, gone on Hanblecha 4 times and now he plans to work the fire 4 years Sundance ceremonies to come, this being his first.
He tells me he wants to volunteer for cedar work after that.
Here he is giving hot coal to Elizma (20) who is helping with Cedar.
Sun Dancer. Supplicant. College bachelor degrees in Accounting, Marketing, Business Management and 3 Master’s degrees in Senior’s Management , Education and Gestalt Formation. Has also taught at college level in the TEC Milenio system.
Anita is a 10 year experienced teacher, she teaches high school social studies and preschool. She’s certified to aid people who’ve suffered strokes, helping them relearn motors skills.
Sun Dancer, this is her first year at Viento Solar.
Irma María and Angel: freelance accountant and instrumentation technician specialized in thermographic inspections.
Angel is recently retired and together with Irma, they have been coming to Viento Solar for 5 years and Sundance for the past 3 years. They say they are very happy since they began following this path, they find peace, tranquility and health in it as well as a strong connection with The Great Spirit.
Víctor is an Electrician. It’s midnight, he is beginning the long night of taking care of the Fire.
He came to Viento Solar 4 years ago invited by his brother. This is the third year serving as a Fire Man at Sundance. His Hanblecha made a big change in life as well as working the Fire. “Being of service to others has made me a stronger person and helped me gain control of my life. I’m grateful for this, I’ve met new people -family- and had great experiences.
The Kitchen, where the other fire burns.
The unsung hero: the kitchen.
I've seen many women along the years (and some men) give all their time and effort to this difficult task. Whether in Hanblecha, the Kiva or Sundance, there are many mouths to feed. Maintaining a happy kitchen is not easy. And having a happy kitchen in the middle of nowhere, serving 3 times a day for 80-120+ people is quite a feat. Thanks to the hands that always give us warm food with great disposition. Coffee, tea, water and fresh fruit. It takes many hands to bring the kitchen to life.
Hunab. Singer, leads the Drum.
Sun Dancer. Supplicant. Voice that leads songs, hand that leads the drummers. Mechatronics Engineer, buddhist; experienced Sun Dancer and seasoned sweat lodge runner.
Lupita is 14 years old and this is her 3rd Sundance and has gone twice on Hanblecha, first one when she was only 12! It’s impressive that even though she is just a kid and behaves like one in front of the camera, she has a very clear idea of what these ceremonies mean for here and what they mean in her life.
Cristina is retired from lumberyard business and currently enjoying dealing in real estate. She is Leader of the women at Viento Solar.
Sun Dancer, Supplicant. She has danced 18 years and gone on Vision Quest 5 times. I’ve known her for years and she’s always quick with humor and filled with love for the work; she is tireless, dedicated and always ready to help.
Héctor. Weaving sage protections the night before it Sun Dance begins. (2021)
Sun Dancer. Supplicant. Marketing bachelor’s degree with two master’s degrees: Strategic Marketing and Integral Gestalt.
Genuinely open and amicable, he may initially seem rough around the edges as he’s not one to mice words or step around.
Héctor is a business man who runs a marketing agency specialized in marketing consulting and strategy development for family run businesses.
More recently, he entered the academic world with his father with whom he partnered and now owns and operates a small university in Saltillo, Coahuila.
Elizma. Cedar bearer.
A well grounded 20 year old Technical Chemist. She is there to help propitiate harmony between Dancers, prayers and spirits with cedar smoke.
Odette, Cedar bearer, first year at Sundance.
Odette is a 25 year old musician focused on Mexican folk music, currently studying cello at Nuevo Leon Autonomous University in northern Mexico. She is joyfully quiet and keeps to herself. She’s at Sundance helping with Cedar, purifying the dancer’s circle and everyone around them. Her boyfriend is a Sundancer.
This is Cesar’s 5th year at Viento Solar.
César is finalizing paperwork for his internship to be handed in as thesis to obtain his bachelor degree in leisure management.
He's an avid sportsman: climber, trailing enthusiast, bicycle user) main transportation) open water PADI level 2 certified diver and third dan Tae Kwon Do black belt. He got a job as a construction worker in skyscraper in Mexico City to learn about rope progressions. He's aiming to get his tourism board certificate as an adventure tour guide.
He's currently more invested in his spirituality than making money, doing handy work as a day player to sustain himself.
"Each experience is unique and unmatched. It's difficult to put into words when you feel connected with everything, in harmony, tuned in and fluid in thoughts, words and actions."
Juanma’s wife looks at his back. She’s checking his wounds after making his sacrifice as a Sundancer. His skin tore from where he was hung by wooden piercings in his back.
This is Gaspar at Sundance 2021 at Viento Solar. He is finishing “weaving” his prayers, which are small tobacco filled pieces of fabric in red, yellow, white and black colors. Each has an intention and prayer. These will be tied on to the Sacred Tree on the first day of the ceremony and will stay there for the entire year until next Sundance when they will be removed to be incinerated.
This is what the leader of Viento Solar drives. He is a wise, humble man whose mission is to serve others. At some point years ago I saw him driving this truck with no rear window for some time and a piece of wood across the frame to support the roof. He calls it The Fire Claw which sounds fierce, but in Spanish claw translates to “garra” which colloquially also means “old rag”. This truck is indeed an old rag but it’s taken many people to their vision quest up in the mountains and brought them back as well. I’ve seen men and women praise life, thank God, bless water; troubled kids experience happiness by inclusion and supplicants making it through Vision Quest, and the joy of being taken back home on this very truck. This old but well used machine has been part of amazing moments in the lives of many. This “old rag” is victor of a thousand battles.
Juan Manuel. After four days fasting, dancing and having hung from a tree until the skin on his back tore, he sat at the drum and played with unbelievable vitality.
Sun Dancer. Supplicant. Civil Engineer, volunteer firefighter and in training to volunteer as paramedic.
Juan Manuel is weaving sage into protections he’ll wear for the next four days on his head, wrists and ankles.
Eder de Jesús and Rosy.
Together they will help Sun Dancers make their sacrifice. The small stakes that pierce Sun Dancers chests, backs or arms will be tied with a rope that runs across the sacred tree and on to Eder. When the signal is given he and Rosy will ride, tearing the stakes from the Sun Dancer's body; the sacrifice will be done and the Sun Dancer will be free to run around the circle to take his/her place again and continue to dance until Sundance is over.
Since he was seven, Eder has loved horses. A man near his home in Guadalajara used to have some out and he was there all the time, self taught. He lives of permaculture, bio-construction and urban orchards. He’s danced at Sun Dance 6 times. He comes to Viento Solar to sing and play the drum, having started 10 years ago at “Raices de la Tierra” and “Amatlán de Quetzalcóatl” after that.
Beautiful morning at Viento Solar. Sundance 2021.
Beautiful morning at Viento Solar camp. Sundance is underway. Sun Dancers have come here to put themselves in the presence of the Great Mystery. These grounds become shared space for men, women and spirits.These are sacred moments.
Miguel is a long time Viento Solar friend. He’s a graphic designer and musician. He’s had his differences with VS leaders, but he’s come back.
Veteran of many years at the fire and sweat lodge, avid musician and electronica composer, passionate about following inner truth, he is a fighter sometimes misunderstood.
Miguel is a special kind of person, interestingly radical, yet this year he came tame as never before. He has been a Supplicant before and he’s come to Sundance to serve and offer his voice at the drum. Many years ago he asked me to be his support on Hanblecha. He told me I visited him by night -even though I was miles away at camp- and that unbeknownst to me, I am a Nahual, a human who can shapeshift into animal form… man how I wish that were true.
There is always a Fire Man.
This is Lalo - aka Lalo Contra - and he’s dressed up specially to go get this year’s tree for Sundance. He’s a social activist, zapatista, self proclaimed defender of the land and territory, actor, member of a folk musician huapango union and lead vocal of his rock band since 1995. He’s been coming to Viento Solar for 17 years, he’s danced 3 years and gone on 2 Hanblechas here.
During purification days, Sundancers go into the sweat lodge early in the morning to pray and prepare. After that they have breakfast and work all day preparing the Sundance Circle and at the end of the day they go into a sweat lodge again. This happens for 4 days, although not all dancers arrive for the entire duration since many travel from other states in the country.
This is Jorge. He is a Supplicant 3 times and Sundancer 3 times. As a teen he ran away from home living in the streets for some time. He met a man on the street who turned him on to sweat-lodges and there he felt a change. He went back to his family. He became a handyman, learned to work electrical installations and eventually went on his own. When I met him he was starting out as an electrician working residential areas. Ten years later, he has his own crew, tends to construction companies and not only does electrical wiring for apartment complexes but also lays concrete, builds pools and sets up water circulation systems.
He picked up photography as a hobby and shoots nature, eagles in particular. He also saw I traveled a lot. So from not having a passport, he went to visit places like Paris, Venice, Madrid, Monaco, Buenos Aires and Lima. He is also now a leader of a sweat lodge in his home city of Aguascalientes and cares for the people who attend.
During purification days Sundancers go into the sweat lodge early in the morning to pray and prepare. After that they have breakfast and work all day preparing the Sundance Circle and at the end of the day they go into a sweat lodge again. This happens for 4 days, although not all dancers arrive for the entire duration since many travel from other states in the country.
Toñita is a hair salon owner. She studied to be a Computer Analyst in the 70s but it didn’t sit well with her so she turned to accounting. After 8 years at a clothing company she went on to set up her own hair salon which she still runs. She’s 67 years young, has been practicing yoga over 30 years and teaches power yoga classes for free in her spare time. She is a Supplicant, been on Vision Quest 9 times and danced at Sundance 2 years in a row aiming for 4. She is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
The gallery below is an excerpt of different ceremonies and years. From the Buffalo Nation skulls brought from Albuquerque to a view of the terrain, these images are meant to briefly portray the experience of walking in Viento Solar.
